Günter Meisner

Born in Bremen, Meisner briefly worked at a steel foundry before training as a radio operator with the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). He also spent time in a Nazi death camp during the war. After the war, though Meisner was interested in a career in sculpture and painting, in 1948 he switched to drama and studied under Gustaf Gründgens at Düsseldorf's State Conservatory, where he also got his first job at the local Schauspielhaus.

Meisner often played stock character Nazi officers and other sinister characters. He portrayed Hitler in the 1982 Franco-German action comedy, L'as des as (Ace of Aces). He also appeared in the ABC television miniseries The Winds of War as well as the CBS miniseries Blood and Honor and Southern Television's Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.

Other films Meisner took part in were Is Paris Burning?, The Quiller Memorandum,{{Cite book |last=Willis |first=John |title=Screen World 1967 |publisher=Biblo-Moser |year=1967 |isbn=9780819603081 |page=209}} Funeral in Berlin,{{Cite book |last=Willis |first=John |title=Screen World 1967 |publisher=Biblo-Moser |year=1967 |isbn=9780819603081 |page=200}} and The Boys from Brazil. He was Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson in the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He also appeared in several television commercials.

Meisner founded the Gallery Diogenes in Berlin in 1959, and in 1961 he founded the International Association for Arts and Sciences. In 1962 Meisner established the Diogenes Studio Theater.

From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in Biafra, Nigeria. He also produced two films: Don't Look for Me in Places Where I Can't Be Found and Bega Dwa Bega (One for All), a Swahili-language film for the Tanzanian Film Unit.

File:Grabstätte Trakehner Allee 1 (Westend) Günter Meisner.jpg

Meisner died in Berlin on 5 December 1994 at the age of 68 of heart failure. He is buried in Berlin's Jüdischer Friedhof Heerstrasse.

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• 1957: A Time to Love and a Time to Die (uncredited)
• 1957: Kopf oder Zahl, as Kid
• 1958: Viel Lärm um nichts
• 1958: Here I Am, Here I Stay (Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich)
• 1959: Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes
• 1959: Babette Goes to War (Babette s'en va-t-en guerre)
• 1959: The Death Ship (Das Totenschiff), as Paul, Trimmer auf der Yorikke
• 1959: The Black Chapel, as 1. Killer
• 1961: Question 7, as Schmidt
• 1961: The Miracle of Father Malachia (Das Wunder des Malachias), as Crazy Preacher
• 1961: {{Interlanguage link|It Can't Always Be Caviar|de|Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein (Film)}}, as Redner Meetingsaal
• 1961: {{Interlanguage link|This Time It Must Be Caviar|de|Diesmal muß es Kaviar sein}}, as Redner (uncredited)
• 1962: The Counterfeit Traitor, as Priest (uncredited)
• 1962: Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, as Kurzschluß-Henry (uncredited)
• 1963: The Black Cobra (Die schwarze Kobra), as Wunderlich ('Mr. Green')
• 1963: Hafenpolizei - Der blaue Brief (TV series), as Johnny Massels
• 1964: Murderer in the Fog, as Kriminalassistent Behrend
• 1965: Code Name: Jaguar, as Russian Officer
• 1966: {{Interlanguage link|Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse|de}} (1966, TV miniseries), as Smiler Jackson
• 1966: Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?), as Commandant SS à Pantin
• 1966: The Quiller Memorandum, as Hassler
• 1966: Funeral in Berlin, as Kreutzman
• 1967: The Monk with the Whip, as Greaves
• 1969: The Bridge at Remagen, as SS Gen. Gerlach
• 1970: Hauser's Memory, as Korowiew
• 1970: Poker - Poker (Short)
• 1971: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, as Arthur Slugworth
• 1971: Ludwig L (Short film), as Der Betrunkene
• 1973: The Battle of Sutjeska, as Rudolf Lüters
• 1973: Werwölfe
• 1974: Die Verrohung des Franz Blum, as Borsig
• 1974: The Odessa File, as General Greifer
• 1974: Borsalino & Co., as Le médecin
• 1974: Between Wars, as Karl Schneider
• 1975: La Chair de l'orchidée, as L'avocat-conseil
• 1975: A Happy Family Life, as Hektiker
• 1975: Inside Out, as Schmidt
• 1976: Voyage of the Damned, as Robert Hoffman
• 1977: {{ill|The Brothers (1977 film)|de|3=Die Brüder (1976)|lt=The Brothers}}, as Pfarrer
• 1977: {{ill|Heinrich (1977 film)|de|3=Heinrich (1977)|lt=Heinrich}}
• 1977: The Serpent's Egg, as Convict
• 1978: The Boys from Brazil, as Farnbach
• 1978: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (TV film), as Berg
• 1979: Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo, as Betrunkener Arbeiter (uncredited)
• 1979: Breakthrough, as SS-Offizier
• 1979: Avalanche Express, as Rudi Muehler
• 1979: Ticket of No Return (Bildnis einer Trinkerin), as Direktor Willi
• 1979: {{Interlanguage link|Ein Kapitel für sich|de|3=Ein Kapitel für sich (Film)}} (TV miniseries)
• 1980: The American Success Company, as Maitre d'
• 1980: {{Ill|Gibbi Westgermany|de}}, as Patient
• 1980: {{Interlanguage link|The Dream House|de|Das Traumhaus}}, as Grimme
• 1980: Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (TV Series), as Adolf Hitler
• 1981: Silas (TV miniseries), as Fabian Fedder
• 1982: Night Crossing, as Major Koerner
• 1982: Blood and Honor: Youth Under Hitler (TV Series), as Schneider
• 1982: Rom ist in der kleinsten Hütte (TV Series)
• 1982: {{Interlanguage link|The Man on the Wall|de|Der Mann auf der Mauer}}, as Dr. Steiner
• 1982: L'As des as, as Adolf Hitler / Angela Hitler
• 1982: Zwei Tote im Sender und Don Carlos im Pogl (TV Movie), as Maskenbildner
• 1983: The Winds of War, as Adolf Hitler
• 1983: Plem, Plem - Die Schule brennt
• 1983: Chamäleon (TV Series)
• 1984: Under the Volcano, as Herr Krausberg - the German Attaché (uncredited)
• 1984: Der Mord mit der Schere (Short)
• 1985: {{ill|Drei gegen Drei|de}}, as Prof. Holl
• 1986: Close Up (Short film), as KGB-Chef
• 1986: Tras el cristal, as Klaus
• 1986: Das Geheimnis von Lismore Castle (TV Movie), as Sir Ralph Whitecombe
• 1986: Gestatten, Bestatter, as Herr Abendroth
• 1987: Die Saat des Hasses (Visperas) (TV Series)
• 1987: Indras Rache (Tout est dans la fin), as Hamerstein
• 1987: Der elegante Hund (TV Series)
• 1988: {{ill|The Case of Mr. Spalt|de|Zum Beispiel Otto Spalt}}, as Bobby Steinbeck
• 1989: Magdalene, as Prior
• 1989: Bride of the Orient (La Fiancée thaïlandaise / Gekauftes Glück), as Pfarrer Barmettler
• 1989: Roselyne et les lions, as Klint
• 1989: The Saint: The Big Bang (TV Series), as Kuhler
• 1989: Moon Child (El niño de la luna), as Abuelo militar
• 1990: Estación Central, as Alex' friend
• 1990: The Man Inside, as Judge
• 1990: Il piccolo popolo (TV Movie), as Schneider
• 1990: Te Rua, as Prof. Biederstedt
• 1991: Leporella
• 1992: Ruby Cairo, as Herr Bruchner, EDK Executive
• 1993: Faraway, So Close! (In weiter Ferne, so nah!), as Fälscher
• 1993: Posthuman, as Doctor
• 1993: Harry & Sunny (TV Series), as Kneipenwirt
• 1994: The Violin Player (Le joueur de violon)
• 1994: Air Albatros (TV Series), as Lauffendingk Sr.
• 1994: Eine Mutter kämpft um ihren Sohn, as Wegener

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{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|0577070}}
• [http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=33538 Gunter Meisner profile]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisner, Gunter}}

Category:1926 births

Category:1994 deaths

Category:20th-century German male actors

Category:Fallschirmjäger of World War II

Category:German male film actors

Category:German male television actors

Category:German prisoners of war in World War II

Category:Male actors from Bremen (city)