Hellmut Lange
Encyclopedia
Hellmut Lange was an actor and journalist who became famous as action hero on TV and eventually succeeded as presenter of his popular TV show "Kennen Sie Kino?" ("Are you a cinema connoisseur?")
= Radio Free Berlin). After finishing his school formation he studied acting for two years in Hanover
and then he worked as a stage actor in Munich
. In the early fifties he played Old Shatterhand
on an open air stage.
adaption for cinema. The next year he had one of the main roles in a TV mini series based on a story of Francis Durbridge
. He also acted as the protagonist of the TV series John Kling
. Since he had already played Old Shatterhand, a hero which has evidently been inspired by James Fenimore Cooper
's Natty Bumppo
, it didn't come as a surprise that he was considered an appropriate choice for acting as Natty Bumppo himself. That he did with tremendous success in a German TV mini series called after the "leatherstocking ("Lederstrumpf") tales". This TV series which starred a Frenchman (Pierre Massimi) as Chingachgook was in many ways the predecessor of the also very successful Karl May films
in which Lex Barker (or sometimes Stewart Granger) would team up with the French actor Pierre Brice
as Winnetou
. Lange himself didn't play Winnetou's friend Old Shatterhand again. Instead he appeared in a Hollywood picture about General Patton
and was also the German voice of Richard Harris, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman and other American stars for the German dubbed versions of some of their feature films.
First engagements
Hellmut Lange started his acting career on radio drama shows for the West-German Radio Station SFB (Sender Freies BerlinSender Freies Berlin
Sender Freies Berlin was the ARD public radio and television service for West Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 1990 and for Berlin as a whole from German reunification until 30 April 2003...
= Radio Free Berlin). After finishing his school formation he studied acting for two years in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and then he worked as a stage actor in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In the early fifties he played Old Shatterhand
Old Shatterhand
Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in western novels by German writer Karl May . He is the German friend and blood brother of Winnetou, the fictional chief of the Mescalero tribe of the Apache...
on an open air stage.
On the screen
In 1961 he was the principal actor in a German Edgar WallaceEdgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
adaption for cinema. The next year he had one of the main roles in a TV mini series based on a story of Francis Durbridge
Francis Durbridge
Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author. He was educated at Bradford Grammar School in Yorkshire where he was encouraged to write by his English teacher. He continued to do so whilst studying English at Birmingham University...
. He also acted as the protagonist of the TV series John Kling
John Kling (TV series)
John Kling was the protagonist of a German TV series featuring a secret agent who took on international missions all over the world. Like Lemmy Caution and Matt Helm his a fictious American secret agent.- Pulp Fiction :...
. Since he had already played Old Shatterhand, a hero which has evidently been inspired by James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
's Natty Bumppo
Natty Bumppo
Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales.- Fictional biography :...
, it didn't come as a surprise that he was considered an appropriate choice for acting as Natty Bumppo himself. That he did with tremendous success in a German TV mini series called after the "leatherstocking ("Lederstrumpf") tales". This TV series which starred a Frenchman (Pierre Massimi) as Chingachgook was in many ways the predecessor of the also very successful Karl May films
Karl May movies
Karl May films are films based on stories and characters by German author Karl May . The characters Old Shatterhand, Winnetou, and Kara Ben Nemsi are very famous in Central Europe....
in which Lex Barker (or sometimes Stewart Granger) would team up with the French actor Pierre Brice
Pierre Brice
Pierre Brice is a French actor, mainly known for his role as fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German Karl May films.- Life and films :...
as Winnetou
Winnetou
Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero of several novels written by Karl May in German, including the sequels Winnetou I through Winnetou IV....
. Lange himself didn't play Winnetou's friend Old Shatterhand again. Instead he appeared in a Hollywood picture about General Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
and was also the German voice of Richard Harris, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman and other American stars for the German dubbed versions of some of their feature films.