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Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German actor with a relatively long film career. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as an abusive father in the biographical drama "Shine" (1996).
In 1930, Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. The town developed around the castle of Schalauer Haus, which had been founded by the Teutonic Knights. Tilsit was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945, and renamed to Sovetsk. It is currently part of the Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia located in Central Europe. The town is located close to the Oblast's borders with Lithuania, and has long had an ethnic Lithuanian minority.
Mueller-Stahl's father was bank teller Alfred Müller (who later changed the family name to Mueller-Stahl) ,and his mother was university professor Editha Maaß. Editha was born to a Baltic German family from Estonia. During World War I, the Maaß lived in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg). They moved to Tilsit in 1918.
Mueller-Stahl was born in Germany's Weimar Republic period, and spend his childhood and early adolescence in Nazi Germany. In 1938, he moved with his family to the town of Prenzlau in Brandenburg. During World War II, Mueller-Stahl parted with his father. Alfred was drafted into military service, and later fought on the Eastern Front of World War II. In 1945, Alfred died in a military hospital in Schönberg , Mecklenburg.
In 1945, Editha briefly moved her family to Goorstorf, located near Rostock, the largest city of Mecklenburg. They returned to Prenzlau following the end of World War II. Armin continued his school education there. He graduated from school in 1948, at the age of 18.
Mueller-Stahl initially aspired to become a professional violinist. In 1948, he moved to Berlin. There he attended the city conservatory in West Berlin, where he studied violin playing and musicology. He graduated in 1949, and acquired qualifications to work as a music teacher. At this point, he decided to become an actor instead.
After a few years of studies, Mueller-Stahl made his professional debut at the "Theater am Schiffbauerdamm" of Berlin in 1952. In 1954, he started performing in the Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") , a prestigious theater in East Berlin. For the next 20 years, he was primarily a theatrical actor. During the 1960s, he started a side career as a character actor in East German films. By the 1970s, he repeatedly appeared in polls as East Germany's most popular actor.
From 1973 to 1976, Mueller-Stahl played the Stasi agent Werner Bredebusch in the spy thriller television series "The Invisible Visor" (1973-1979). Bredebusch was initially the series' main character, a Stasi agent who impersonates deceased fighter pilot Achim Detjen and infiltrates West Germany. The series achieved high ratings, and Mueller-Stahll received acclaim. He left the series in 1976, and its ratings soon declined.
In 1976, Mueller-Stahl signed an open letter, protesting against East Germany's decision to exile singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann (1936-). Consequenly, Mueller-Stahl found himself blacklisted in East Germany. After a few years of being unable to find roles in his country, Mueller-Stahl migrated to West Germany.
In 1981, Mueller-Stahl played Von Bohm, the male lead in the romantic drama "Lola" (1981). The film depicted Von Bohm as a building commissioner who struggles against widespread corruption in the town of Coburg, while falling in love with brothel-employed singer Lola (played by Barbara Sukowa). Following the film's relative success, Mueller-Stahl found steady work in West German cinema throughout the 1980s.
Although he barely spoke English at this point of his life, Mueller-Stahl was cast as General Petya Samanov in the American television miniseries Amerika. The dystopian series depicted a version of the United States which was under Soviet military occupation, and in which Soviet general Samanov is the de facto ruler of the occupied country. "Amerika" was the second-highest rated miniseries of the 1986-87 U.S. television season.
Mueller-Stahl decided to to seek more acting roles in the United States, and made his American film debut in the crime drama "Music Box" (1989). He was cast in the role of Mike Laszlo, a Hungarian-American family man, who is exposed as a wanted war criminal who killed numerous civilians during the Siege of Budapest (1944-1945). The film won the "Golden Bear" at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
Mueller-Stahl next received the primary role of Polish-Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky in the family drama "Avalon" (1990). The film concerned the gradual assimilation of Krichinsky's family into modern American culture. The film was critically praised, and its screenwriter won the "Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay".
In 1991, Mueller-Stahl played the role of Inspector Grubach in the mystery thriller "Kafka". The film depicted a conspiracy in 1910s Prague, and was loosely inspired by the works of Franz Kafka (1883-1924). The film under-performed at the box office, but gained a cult following.
During the same year, Mueller-Stahl played New York City-based taxi driver Helmut Grokenberger in the anthology film "Night on Earth". In the film, Helmut is an East German immigrant in the United States. He is a former professional clown, whose ineptness as a driver and ignorance of New York geography make him ill-suited for his new profession. The film was critically well-received.
In 1992, Mueller-Stahl played Meissen porcelain collector Baron Kaspar Joachim von Utz in the eponymous film "Utz". The film was an adaptation of a 1988 novel by Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989), concerning a passionate collector and his unwillingness to part with his collection, even at the offer of a better life abroad. For this role, Mueller-Stahl won the "Silver Bear for Best Actor" at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1996, Mueller-Stahl played Peter, the abusive father of concert pianist David Helfgott (1947-). The film concerns the negative effects of long-term physical and mental abuse of David by his father. Mueller-Stahl's role was critically praised, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The award was instead won by rival actor Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968-).
In 1998, Mueller-Stahl played German scientist Conrad Strughold in the science fiction film "The X-Files", a spin-off of the then-popular television series "The X-Files" (1993-2002, 2016-2018). In the film, Strughold is a member of the Syndicate, a shadow government which collaborates with extraterrestrial would-be colonists. The film was a box-office hit, earning 189 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
In 2007, Mueller-Stahl played Semyon, a high-ranking member of the Russian mafia, in the gangster film "Eastern Promises". The film was critically praised, and appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.Mueller-Stahl won the "Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role".
In 2009, Mueller-Stah played former Stasi colonel Wilhelm Wexler in the action thriller "The International". In the film, Wexler works with a merchant bank that has secret ties to drug cartels, powerful corporations, corrupt governments, and terrorist organizations,. The film earned about 60 million dollars at the worldwide box office, and was considered notable for drawing inspiration from real-world banking scandals of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Also in 2009, Mueller-Stahl portrayed Cardinal Strauss, Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Papal Conclave, in the mystery thriller "Angels & Demons". The film was an adaptation of a 2000 novel by Dan Brown (1964-). It concerns the assassination of fictional Pope Pius XVI, and a conspiracy trying to influence the election of his successor. The film earned about 486 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the highest-grossing film in Mueller-Stah's career.
In 2011, Mueller-Stahl received the "Honorary Golden Bear" at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. His only film role in the 2010s was playing Fr. Zeitlinger in the experimental film "Knight of Cups ". The film uses images from tarot cards as a main theme, while elements of the plot were inspired by the "Hymn of the Pearl" (2nd century) and the "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678) by John Bunyan.
By 2021, Mueller-Stahl was 90-years-old. He lives in semi-retirement in California, where he enjoys its pleasant climate. He has written a number of novels and short stories, and has taken painting as a hobby.- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Producer
Costa Ronin's journey in the world of entertainment has been nothing short of remarkable. Born and raised on the West Coast of Russia, he embarked on his acting career at the tender age of five moved through theater and radio entertainment learning from Russian and international masters until his talent and passion for the craft led him to a global stage.
In 1996, Costa made a significant move to New Zealand, where he continued to hone his acting skills. Later, in 2001, he relocated to Australia, becoming an integral part of their vibrant acting scene.
Notably, Costa also graced the big screen in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," sharing the screen with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, making him the first and only Russian actor ever to have worked with the master.
He is set to captivate audiences once again in the upcoming Netflix series "Obliterated. Recent accomplishments include a lead role on the NBC series "Endgame," directed by the talented Justin Lin of the "Fast and Furious" fame amongst others.
His television credits also include starring roles in acclaimed shows like "The Americans" on FX Network and "Homeland" for Showtime. On the comedy side, he showcased his prowess opposite Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson in the ABC comedy "Splitting Up Together." Keep an eye out for Costa in the independent feature "ISS," where he stars alongside Chris Messina, debuting at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival.
In a significant crossover, Costa became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as 'Anton Vanko' in "Agent Carter." The following year, he ventured into the DC Comics Universe, portraying 'Luka Volk' in "Gotham," a remarkable feat of acting in both Marvel and DC worlds. Costa's diverse film credits encompass projects like "The Body Tree" and "Brighton Beach," produced by Molly Connors of "Birdman" fame. He also made appearances in series like "Scorpion," "Agent X" alongside Sharon Stone, and Guillermo del Toro's hit series "The Strain."- Kristina Asmus was born Kristina Igorevna Myasnikova on April 14, 1988, in Kaliningrad, Moscow region, RSFSR, USSR (now Korolev, Russia). As a child, she was involved in gymnastics, becoming a Candidate for Master of Sports.
In her mid-teens, while still in high school, she played the role of Zhenya Komelkova in a theatrical adaptation, directed by Elena Makhona, of Boris Vasilev's novel "A zori zdes tikhie..." ("The Dawns Here Are Quiet...") at the director's theater "Makhona ELena" ("MEL") in Moscow. After graduating from high school, she played the role of Fantine in Ivan Elagin's play "Portret madmuazel Tarzhi" ("The Portrait of Mademoiselle Tarsi") and the title role of the dog Silviya in the play "Silviya", a Russian adaptation of American playwright A.R. Gurney's play "Sylvia", both directed by Nataliya Ermakova of the "Korolevskiy Teatr Yunogo Eritelya" ("The Royal Theater for a Young Audience") at the "Teatr Dobroy Skazki" ("The Theater of the Kind Fairy Tale") in Moscow.
In her late teens, before deciding to become an actress, she worked in the modeling business.
In 2008, she entered the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theater School in a course taught by the famous Soviet-era actor Boris Klyuev, graduating in 2012.
The debut of the actress on the screen was in early 2010 in the role of Varvara Chernous in director Maksim Pezhemskiy's popular comedy series Interny (2010) ("Interns").
Following this, in late 2010, she was named the Sexiest Woman of the Year in the Russian edition of Maxim magazine, appearing on the cover that October, with a full pictorial and interview inside.
In 2011, the budding actress starred in the role of Sasha in the detective story 'Alibi' na dvoikh (2011) ("An 'Alibi' for Two"), directed by Nikolay Gusev.
She lives in Moscow with her husband, actor and comedian Garik Kharlamov, and their daughter Anistasiya. - She was born Maria Erika Knab in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in Eastern Prussia. As routes to Hollywood go, hers was both dramatic and circuitous. Erika's parents were killed near the end of World War II by Red Army soldiers. The ten-year old orphan may have been one of the tens of thousands of civilians who were lucky enough to be evacuated in 1945. Little is known about the next decade of her life, but, in 1955, Erika turned up in West Berlin. There, she acted (as Erika Knab) in a few motion pictures, even had a leading role in Das Sandmännchen (1955), a fairy tale for children loosely based on Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost. She also signed a contract with the short-lived Berolina production company and went on to dub the voice of Mickey Mouse for German viewers. Sometime during this period, she became Erika Peters after marrying an American citizen.
In 1957, Erika arrived in the U.S., initially making ends meet by importing used Volkswagens (without, apparently, an agency license). Reinvesting her earnings from this enterprise, she then ran a coin-operated laundromat in Los Angeles. In 1959, Erika made her screen debut on American television. She was featured in several movies, including Elvis Presley's G.I. Blues (1960), Heroes Die Young (1960) (headlining, as the daughter of a Romanian partisan) and a couple of low budget horror films (Mr. Sardonicus (1961) and House of the Damned (1963)). In addition, she guest starred in a handful of popular TV shows. In one particular instance, she was picked to appear in an episode of Jack Webb's G.E. True (1962), because an actress with a German accent was required who also "could fit into a normal-sized suitcase" (this, for an episode about an escape from communist East Berlin entitled "The Suitcase Man").
In 1961, Erika obtained a divorce from her first husband. Three years later, she married the costume designer Sy Devore and permanently retired from acting. After Devore died less than two years later from a heart attack. Erika got married a third time in 1969 to Robert M. Brunson, president of Century Fast Foods in Los Angeles. She henceforth called herself Erika Devore Brunson. Perpetually resourceful, never letting grass grow under her feet, she subsequently reinvented herself as a successful interior designer and creator of antique reproduction furniture. She invested a great deal of her profits in animal welfare-related charities. Erika Brunson twice served as commissioner of the Department of Animal Services and as a long-standing board member of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
Erika Devore Brunson passed away in Los Angeles on May 17 2022 at the age of 86. - Marion Michael was born as Marion Ilonka Michaela Delonge in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1940. Her father was a doctor. The last months of the war she spent together with her mother and her four-year older brother on Hiddensee, a small island in the Baltic Sea. After the war, the family moved to Berlin where Marion attended a secondary school. As a ten-year-old, she made her stage debut in little theatre and was taught classical dance in the ballet school of Tatjana Gsovsky. When she was only 15, she was selected out of allegedly 12,000 entries for the lead in Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald/Liane, Jungle Goddess (Eduard von Borsody, 1956). This adventure film was largely shot on location in Africa.
The story is about a girl who is discovered in the African jungle by an expedition group which includes Hardy Krüger. A tribe adores her as a goddess. It turns out that she is Liane, the long lost granddaughter of a rich shipowner in Hamburg. Her dark hair was dyed blonde and she was promoted as the 'German Brigitte Bardot'. Michael appeared topless during the first half of the film and this was part of the success of the film. However, she was acceptable for family audiences as the nature child with no obvious erotic suggestiveness.
The film was a huge box office hit, and producer Gero Wecker offered her a seven-year-contract. The press loved her, she was constantly photographed, and at the age of 18 she already owned a sports car. Unfortunately this success of her debut film would not be matched by any of her later films.
Marion Michael played next in the comedy Der tolle Bomberg/The Mad Bomberg (Rolf Thiele, 1957) opposite Hans Albers, an adaptation of the 1923 novel of the same title by Josef Winckler based on a real historical Westphalian aristocrat of the nineteenth century.
Then followed the sequel Liane, die weiße Sklavin/Jungle Girl and the Slaver (Hermann Leitner, 1957), this time opposite Adrian Hoven. Set in North Africa, this story concerns Arab slave traders who abduct Liane and members of her tribe. Later, the two Liane films were edited together and re-marketed as Liane - die Tochter des Dschungels/Liane - The Daughter of the Jungle.
In order to break away from the Liane image, Marion took dance and acting lessons and then appeared opposite Christian Wolff in Es war die erste Liebe/First Love (Fritz Stapenhorst, 1958) in which a Catholic theology student falls in love with a country girl. Tragedy came about when, during the shooting of the crime film Bomben auf Monte Carlo/Bombs on Monte Carlo (Georg Jacoby, 1960) with Eddie Constantine, she had a car accident that left her face temporarily scarred. However, she recovered and returned to acting in Schlußakkord/Festival (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1960), the Schlagerfilm Davon träumen alle Mädchen/That's What All The Girls Dream About (Thomas Engel, 1961), and Jack und Jenny/Jack and Jenny (Victor Vicas, 1963) with Senta Berger and Ivan Desny.
The following decade, Marion Michael mainly worked for love theatre and television. For six years she worked at the Städtischen Bühnen Köln and In 1970 gave birth to a son, Benjamin, allegedly fathered by an American director, with whom she lived in a commune and with whom she also did some street theatre. Afterwards, she suffered severe depression after a short marriage to actor Marcel Werner ended, and retired from acting in 1976. For a while she then worked as a saleswoman. In 1979 she took the unusual step of moving from West to East Germany, where she worked as a synchronisation assistant for TV.
She still occasionally acted in TV-films such as In Hassliebe Lola/In Hate Love Lola (Lothar Lambert, 1995) and Blond bis aufs Blut/Blonde Till Blood (Lothar Lambert, 1997), and in 1996 her life became the topic of a TV musical, Liane (Horst Königstein, 1996). She also played a small role in the production. The film was nominated for the Adolf Grimme award and the Prix Europa 1997.
In her later years, she still remained a well known German film icon and with her second husband, Freimut Patzner, lived in an old house in Oderbruch. In 2007 Marion Michael died of heart failure in a hospital in Gartz an der Oder. It was four days before her 67th birthday. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Königsberg in 1935, Renate Ewert and her family had to leave their home and relocate to Hamburg during WWII. As she was determined to become an actress, she applied for the "Hamburger Kammerspiele" but was rejected. By doing synchronising jobs for foreign movies she finally got her first role in the third part of 08/15 - In der Heimat (1955). After that one, she appeared in a number of movies as the seductive, mysterious girl but never got the dramatic parts she was eager to play.
She had affairs with some famous actors of the time but these didn't help her career. At the middle of the 60s she didn't get many offers anymore and turned to tablets and alcohol. At the 10th of December of 1966, she was found dead by a friend, actress Susanne Cramer, who wanted to visit her in her apartment: she had died three weeks previously, probably by starvation.
Her parents couldn't deal with Renate Ewert's untimely death: They poisoned themselves not long after their daughter died.- Tatyana Arntgolts was born on 18 March 1982 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningradskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Monakh (2017), Brak po zaveshchaniyu (2010) and The Photographer (2014). She has been married to Mark Bogatyryov since 2020. She was previously married to Ivan Zhidkov.
- Artyom Tkachenko was born on 30 April 1982 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningradskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He is an actor, known for Mechenosets (2006), Indigo (2008) and Paren s Marsa (2011). He was previously married to Ravshana Kurkova.
- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Volker Lechtenbrink was born on 18 August 1944 in Cranz, East Prussia, Germany [now Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for M.E.T.R.O. - Ein Team auf Leben und Tod (2006), Der Hausgeist (1991) and The Bridge (1959). He was married to Gül Ural-Aytekin, Jeannette Arndt, Anja Topf and Yvonne van Meerveld. He died on 22 November 2021 in Hamburg, Germany.- Alexandra Yakovleva was born on 2 July 1957 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningradskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Ekipazh (1980), A Man from Boulevard des Capucines (1987) and Prikazano vzyat zhivym (1984). She was married to Kalyu Aasmyae, Valeriy Kukhareshin and Aleksandr Nevzorov. She died on 1 April 2022 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Actress
- Casting Department
Anastasiya Stezhko was born on 5 September 1989 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningradskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Loveless (2017), Probuzhdenie (2021) and Angel ili demon (2013). She was previously married to Dmitriy Starostin.- Olesya Fattakhova was born on 13 February 1989 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningradskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Night Swallows (2013), Vesma neprost (2024) and Suvenir iz Odessy (2018). She is married to Roman Stepenskiy. They have one child.
- Aleksey Shevchenkov was born on 2 November 1974 in Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, RSFSR, USSR. He is an actor, known for Iuda (2013), The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment (1999) and Vyzhivshie (2021). He is married to Olga Shevchenkova. They have two children.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
E.T.A. Hoffmann was born on the 24th of January 1776 in Königsberg (now Russia) as the son of a lawyer. After his father's death he has a very bad childhood ending when he went to university to study law between 1792-95. He managed to get into the bureaucratic services of the state Prussia, but was not considered too well. Stations in Bamberg, Poland and elsewhere followed until he succeeded in getting good jobs in Berlin, lastly as a judge after 1814. Hoffmann died on the 25the of June 1822. Hoffmanns interests were widespread. He wrote music, painted pictures and, of course, wrote excellent examples of German literature. His scurrile style of writing, together with a critical tone in many of his works, earned him not too much renommee during lifetime. Today his music and paintings are nearly forgotten, but his writings stand as fantastic examples of German late "Romantik", for example the "Kater Murr" or the "Sandmann". Often connected to the dark side of the soul or the human being, Hoffmann wrote "normal" literature too, but his fame is basicly grounded on the "dark" literature.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Werner Richard Heymann was active as a classical composer in Berlin from 1912. By the end of the decade, he also wrote songs for cabaret and served as musical director for Max Reinhardt from 1918 to 1919. In films with Ufa from 1923, he initially worked as assistant to the head of the music department Erno Rapee, before replacing the latter in 1926. Heymann remained under contract until 1933 as musical director and composer, scoring several classic films for F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. He also established himself as among the foremost writers of songs for film operetta, creating hits for popular fare like Three from the Filling Station (1930) and Bombs Over Monte Carlo (1931).
Forced to flee from Nazi persecution because of his Jewish background, Heymann made his way to Hollywood via Paris and London. There, he was noted particularly for scoring two of Ernst Lubitsch's best films: Ninotchka (1939) and To Be or Not to Be (1942). Heymann returned to Germany in 1951 where he resumed writing film scores and songs for the theatre until his death in 1961.- Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya is the former wife of Vladimir Putin, who is the current president and former prime minister of Russia. Lyudmila was born in Kaliningrad, Soviet Union, the daughter of Alexander (his patronymic is reported variously as either Abramovich or Avramovich) Shkrebnev and Yekaterina Tikhonovna Shkrebneva. Her father worked at Kaliningrad Mechanical Plant.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Ingeborg Lapsien was born on 16 October 1926 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Die unfreiwilligen Reisen des Moritz August Benjowski (1975), Schwarz greift ein (1994) and Amouren (1972). She died on 5 June 2014 in Germany.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Frank Wisbar was born on 9 December 1899 in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany [now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and producer, known for Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? (1959), Hermine und die sieben Aufrechten (1935) and Strangler of the Swamp (1945). He died on 17 March 1967 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Actress
- Director
Yulia Timonina-Houghtaling was born on 6 January 1984 in Kaliningrad, Moskovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Korolev, Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for Gloss (2007) and Zolotoy grammofon 2008 (2008). She has been married to John W. Houghtaling since 25 February 2012.- Margie Schmitz was born in 1941 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. She was married to Curd Jürgens and Klaus Hermann Schmitz. She died on 1 August 2003 in Zürich, Switzerland.
- Harry Liedtke was born on 12 October 1882 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Die Liebe einer Königin (1923), Die Konkurrenz platzt (1929) and Der Mann ohne Namen - 1. Der Millionendieb (1921). He was married to Käthe Dorsch, Ernestine Emaline Johanne Proft, Christa Tordy and Hanne Schutt. He died on 28 April 1945 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Actor
- Director
Andrey Merzlikin was born on 24 March 1973 in Kaliningrad, Moskovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Korolev, Russia]. He is an actor and director, known for Fortress of War (2010), Zelyonaya kareta (2015) and Gq (2012). He has been married to Anna Merzlikina since March 2006. They have four children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
One of Germany's most popular actresses, Witta Pohl started to act on stage before she had major success in film and television. From 1983 to 1994, she starred in the leading role as the mother in the quite popular tv-series "Diese Drombuschs", her most memorable role. In the early Nienties she left her career as an actress behind her and stared to help children and established "Kinder Luftbrücke e.V.", an organisation which arranged transports to children mostly to East Europe. For her humanitarian work, Witta Pohl was awarded with the Golden Camera in 1994 (an award she had already won two times before, for her acting work) and with the Federal cross of Merit. She died from leukemia on April 4, 2011 in Hamburg.- Sandow was already a great admirer of Greek and Roman statues of gladiators and mythical heroes when his father took him to Italy as a boy. By the time he was 19, he was already performing strongman stunts in side shows. The legendary Florenz Ziegfeld saw the young strongman and hired him for his carnival show. He soon found that the audience was far more fascinated by Sandows' bulging muscles than by the amount of weight he was lifting, so Ziegfeld had Sandow perform poses which he dubbed "muscle display performances." The legendary strongman added these displays in addition to performing his feats of strength with barbells. He also added chain-around-the-chest breaking and other colorful displays to Sandows routine. Sandow quickly became a sensation and Ziegfeld's first star.
Sandow's resemblance to the physiques found on classic Greek and Roman sculpture was no accident. He actually measured the marble artworks in museums and helped to develope "The Grecian Ideal" as a formula for the perfect physique. He built his physique to those exact proportions. Because of this, he is considered to be the father of modern bodybuilding, having been one of the first athletes to intentionally develope his musculature to pre-determined dimensions.
Sandow performed all over Europe and came to America to perform at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He could be seen in a black velvet-lined box with his body covered in white powder to appear even more like a marble statue come to life. His popularity grew since he was cultured, highly intelligent, and well-mannered. He also dressed very well and had a charming European accent, coupled with deep blue eyes and hearty laugh. He wrote several books on bodybuilding, nutrition and encouraged a healthy lifestyle as being as important as having a sound mind.
He was married to Blanche Brooks Sandow, had 2 daughters, but was probably unfaithful to her, since he was constantly in the company of women who paid money to feel his flexed muscles back stage after his stage performances. He also had a close relationship to a male musician he hired to accompany him during his shows. The man was Martinus Sieveking, a handsome pupil of Sandow. The degree of their relationship has never been determined, but they lived together in New York for a time.
Sandow knew many famous people in his lifetime... among his friends were Arthur Conan Doyle; Thomas Edison, who made early motion pictures of Sandow; the King of England; Isabella Gardner of Boston and many other celebrities of the day. Sandow invented many bodybuilding exercises, some still used today, and equipment such as a lightweight dumbbell-shaped hand exerciser that was spring-loaded. He was quite generous with his time and money -- out of his own pocket, he paid the housing costs of foreign athletes at the Olympic Games held in London. Sandow was the promoter and judge at the first bodybuilding contest ever held, in New York on September 14, 1901. Sandow also made a world tour in 1903. He died prematurely in 1925 at age 58 of a stroke shortly after pushing his car out of the mud.
Sandow was a charming, intelligent and industrious man who worked very hard for what he earned. He also inspired countless men to look at their bodies as something at least as important as their minds, since for several decades in the 19th century, more men were working in offices as clerks, bankers and other jobs which turned many bodies pale and weak. He changed countless attitudes about health and fitness, and we continue to feel its effects today. - Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
The pioneering German collective Tangerine Dream has been delivering their distinctive style of ambient music for nearly three decades, laying down a foundation of sound textures and sonic imagery that has influenced many of today's electronic musicians. Founded in 1967 by fine art aficionado Edgar Froese the group released their first album, "Electronic Meditation" in 1970, and, through many different line-ups in proceeding years, delivered a unique brand of space-rock, making use of electronic instruments like synths and Mellotron, along traditional instruments like rock guitar and blues harmonica. Their work on William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977) was the beginning of many film projects that the group would undertake throughout the 1980s, including Thief (1981) and The Keep (1983), both directed by Michael Mann, Legend (1985) by Ridley Scott, Near Dark (1987) by Kathryn Bigelow and the box-office hit Risky Business (1983) with Tom Cruise. Throughout the 1990s, the group has been as active as ever, releasing as many as five albums a year, including remastered versions of early material.