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Thomas Fritsch
Thomas Fritsch (16 January 1944 – 21 April 2021) was a German film, television and dubbing actor and schlager singer. He was regarded as the "Sonnyboy"[a] in the German cinema of the 1960s,[2] and became one of the best-known actors by his presence in television series.[2] Later, he was the German voice of Russell Crowe, of Scar in The Lion King, and of Diego, a Smilodon, in Ice Age. LifeFritsch was born in Dresden, the son of famous actor Willy Fritsch and dancer Dinah Grace.[2] The family moved to Hamburg after World War II.[3] Director and actor Gustaf Gründgens encouraged the 16-year-old Thomas to become an actor.[2] He trained at an acting school in Hamburg-Pöseldorf for three years.[4] He played his first film role in the 1962 Austrian Julia, Du bist zauberhaft at age 17,[2] alongside Lilli Palmer. He starred opposite Daliah Lavi in Das schwarz-weiß-rote Himmelbett, and became a favourite of teenagers.[2] He was frequently featured as the cover image of the Bravo youth magazine.[4] He played in And So to Bed in 1963, alongside Hildegard Knef.[3] In 1964, he appeared in his only film together with his father, Das hab ich von Papa gelernt.[4] He played two more times with his father, in ZDF television shows, Das gibts doch zweimal in 1965, and Andere Zeiten, andere Sitten. Die Thomas-Fritsch-Show in 1967.[3] He had film roles in Drei Männer in Santa Cruz, Onkel Toms Hütte, and played one of the three men in the title of Drei Männer im Schnee, among many others.[5] In the 1970s, Fritsch appeared in the television series Der Kommissar and Derrick several times. From 1977, Fritsch appeared in a leading role in the popular series Drei sind einer zuviel (Three are one too many) by Barbara Noack, portraying a man in a love triangle story. It made him one of Germany's most popular actors.[3] He also starred in the television series Rivalen der Rennbahn (1989).[2] In 2004, he made a return to cinema when he appeared as the villainous Earl of Cockwood in Der Wixxer, a comedy which spoofed the German Edgar Wallace films of the 1960s.[6] Fritsch became known as a voice actor. He was the German voice of Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Proof of Life.[4] He starred voicing Scar in the German version of The Lion King in 1994,[7] and voiced many other animated lions as well, and Diego, a Smilodon, in Ice Age and sequels, beginning in 2002.[2][5] In the 2000s, he replaced the late Joachim Kemmer as Lumiere for the "Human Again" DVD feature of Beauty and the Beast.[2] His last role was the narrator in the 2018 children's film Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer, an adaption of Michael Ende's Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver.[5] Private life and deathFritsch divided his time between his home in Munich and his home on the Greek island of Mykonos. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1990.[8] In 2006, Fritsch revealed he was bisexual.[9] In 2019, it was announced that Fritsch was diagnosed with dementia and was living in an assisted living facility.[10] Fritsch died on 21 April 2021 in Berlin, aged 77.[2][5][11] He was given a burial at sea near the island of Sylt.[12] FilmsActorFritsch played in films and television (TV) series, including:[13][14][15]
VoiceFritsch voiced the following productions, among others:[16]
Awards
NotesReferences
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