German-Israeli actor (1928–2022)
Michael Degen
Degen in 2012
Born (1928-01-31 ) 31 January 1928Died 9 April 2022(2022-04-09) (aged 94) Citizenship Germany Israel Occupations Actor Theatre director Writer Years active 1963–2022
Michael Degen (31 January 1928 – 9 April 2022) was a German-Israeli actor,[ 1] in film and theatre, as well as a theatre director and writer.
Early life
Born in Chemnitz as the younger son of Jewish parents,[ 2] Degen survived the Holocaust in Berlin, while his older brother was sent to Palestine via Denmark and Sweden.[ 3] His father, Jacob Degen, was a language professor and businessman of Russian Jewish descent. On 13 September 1939, Jacob Degen was arrested by the Secret State Police and taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Subjected to severe abuse over the weeks that followed, he was released on 2 February 1940 but never recovered from his injuries, dying shortly afterward.[ 4] To survive, Michael and his mother, Anna, hid in a Berlin allotment until the end of the war.[ 5]
In 1946, Degen appeared on stage for the first time[ 2] and received his education through a scholarship at the acting school of the Deutsches Theater in East Berlin. In 1949, he emigrated to Israel for two years.[ 3] [ 6] [ 7] Degen served as a soldier in Israel and acted in theatres in Tel Aviv .[ 3]
Career
In 1954, Degen joined Bertolt Brecht 's Berliner Ensemble at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in East Berlin.[ 2] [ 6] In 1955–1956, he worked with the Schauspiel Köln . From 1956 to 1963 he was at the Mannheim National Theatre , followed by the Schauspiel Frankfurt in 1963–1964.[ 2] From 1967 to 1973, he worked at the Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin [de ] .[ 2] During his career, he played Shakespeare's Hamlet 300 times.[ 8] [ 9] [ 10] A reviewer of The Times wrote of Degen's acting in Harry Buckwitz 's 1965 Hamlet production at Schauspiel Frankfurt, "Nervously impulsive and sometimes violently emotional".[ 11] Degen performed in Munich, Salzburg and Hamburg and worked with directors including Ingmar Bergman , George Tabori [ 12] Peter Zadek [ 13] [ 14] and Claude Chabrol .[ 3] [ 15] He was Moliere's Dom Juan in Ingmar Bergman's production at the Salzburg Festival [ 16] and Adam in Kleist's The Broken Jug .[ 17] He was also a director: his premiere was in Goethe's Urfaust in 1972.[ 15] [ 18] He was a director for four years at the Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel [de ] , Munich.[ 18] Degen began appearing in films in 1963.[ 19] In Franz Peter Wirth 's Buddenbrooks television adaptation (1979) , he played the role of Bendix Grünlich.[ 20] [ 3] [ 21] He played Adolf Hitler in Michael Kehlmann 's 1988 film Geheime Reichssache [de ] as well as Dr. Martin Sanders in Diese Drombuschs .[ 22] His last role was the vain Vice-Questore Patta in the television series Donna Leon .[ 23] [ 21]
Degen wrote in his 1999 debut Nicht alle waren Mörder. Eine Kindheit in Berlin. (Not All Were Murderers. A childhood in Berlin. ) about his own experiences during the Nazi era.[ 24]
Personal life
Degen lived with his third wife in Hamburg.[ 3] He had four children from previous marriages.[ 3] He was an Israeli and German citizen.[ 7]
He died on 9 April 2022 in Hamburg, at the age of 94.[ 15] [ 3] An obituary of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called Degen "an actor of melancholic elegance".[ 9]
Legacy
In 2006, Jo Baier filmed Degen's memoirs with Aaron Altaras and Nadja Uhl for ARD (Not All Were Murderers [de ] ).[ 8] [ 25]
Awards
Selected filmography
Source:[ 29]
Source:[ 30]
Writings
References
^ Riebsamen, Hans (18 May 2012). "Vom Verfolgten zum Publikumsliebling" [From persecution to stardom]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2015 .
^ a b c d e Deutsches Filmhaus: Degen
^ a b c d e f g h Büchsenmann, Jens (12 April 2022). "Schauspieler Michael Degen gestorben" . NDR.de (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Stolpersteine in Chemnitz Jacob Degen" . Stadt Chemnitz (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ Nutt, Harry (30 January 2022). "Michael Degen: Wenn es um ihn selbst ging, war er eher still" . Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b "Michael Degen" . Biografie WHO'S WHO (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b "Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben" . tagesschau.de (in German). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b Cordes, Von Ulrike (31 January 2022). "Hamburg: Michael Degen: Vielseitiger Künstler und politischer Kopf" . donaukurier.de (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b Kegel, Sandra (12 April 2022). "Zum Tod von Michael Degen: Der traurige Prinz" . FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ "Theatertreffen Archiv" . Berliner Festspiele . 22 October 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ "Hamlet Made an Extrovert Individualist". The Times . London. 21 January 1965. p. 17.
^ Sommer, Maria (13 December 2019). "Als Auschwitz erstmals auf die Berliner Theaterbühne kam" . Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ Sobol, Joshua (31 January 2022). "Aus den Tiefen seiner Seele" . Jüdische Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ "Theatertreffen Archiv" . Berliner Festspiele . 22 October 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ a b c "Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben" . stern.de (in German). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Salzburger Festspiele: Molière, Dom Juan" . Salzburger Festspiele Pfingsten – 7. bis 10. Juni 2019 . 27 July 1983. Retrieved 14 April 2022 .
^ "Zum Tod von Michael Degen – Ein Leben voller Härte und Glück" . Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b Dössel, Christine (31 January 2022). "Schauspieler Michael Degen wird 90" . Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Michael Degen feiert seinen 85. Geburtstag" . Sozialverband VdK Deutschland e.V. (in German). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Gut gemacht und gut gemeint" . Cicero Online (in German). 23 July 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ a b "Schauspieler Michael Degen mit 90 Jahren gestorben" . BR24 (in German). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Michael Degen spielte Martin Sanders" . Drombuschs.de (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ " "Donna Leon"-Verfilmungen: Michael Degen ist tot" . Der Spiegel (in German). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ Albrecht, Fabian (12 April 2022). "Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben" . Die Zeit (in German). dpa. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Auf der Flucht vor den Nazis" . stern.de (in German). 1 November 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Hersfeld-Preis und Großer Hersfeld-Preis" . Freunde der Stiftsruine (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Wienbibliothek / Retrodigitalisierung / (1989) März [203]" . wienbibliothek (in German). 1989. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Ziegler, Ferch und Degen bekommen B.Z.-Kulturpreis" . Blickpunkt (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Michael Degen" . filmportal.de . 31 January 1932. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Filmografie Michael Degen" . fernsehserien.de (in German). 22 February 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Nicht alle waren Mörder" . Berlin von A–Z, Lexikon zur Stadt-Entwicklung, Chronik und Gegenwart— www.berlingeschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Blondis Wiedergeburt" . Die Welt (in German). 16 November 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ Fischer-Zernin, Verena (31 October 2009). "Michael Degen: Der Steuerhinterzieher" . Hamburger Abendblatt . Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Aus dem Nachkriegsdeutschland ins junge Israel" . vorwärts (in German). 21 March 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Die Geschichte eines um Vaterliebe buhlenden ungeliebten Sohnes" . CZ – Cellesche Zeitung (in German). 14 October 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
^ "Gipfeltreffen von Gauklern" . Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 6 July 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2022 .
Further reading
External links
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