Raimund Harmstorf

Raimund Harmstorf (7 October 1939 in Hamburg[1] – 3 May 1998 in Marktoberdorf) was a German actor. He became famous as the protagonist of a German TV mini series based on Jack London's the Sea-Wolf (which was sold into many countries) and starred later on successfully in another German TV series based on Jules Verne's Michael Strogoff.[2]

Raimund Harmstorf
Born(1939-10-07)7 October 1939
Hamburg, Germany
Died3 May 1998(1998-05-03) (aged 58)
Marktoberdorf, Germany
OccupationActor

Life

Harmstorf was the son of a doctor from Hamburg. He started a sports career and soon became a regional master of the decathlon. He then studied medicine, later music and performing arts. From the beginning of the 1960s he started performing in smaller TV productions. His breakthrough was in 1971 with the TV series The Sea-Wolf, based on Jack London's novel, where he played the evil-minded Captain Larsen. Later he played in several spaghetti westerns along with Bud Spencer, Franco Nero and Charlton Heston.

Death

Toward the end of his career he was affected by Parkinson's disease and weakened by a regimen of heavy medication. His illness and vulnerability was greatly exploited by the tabloids. He committed suicide by hanging himself.[3] His death caused a scandal.[4]

German tabloids were investigated; German police consequently stated that Harmstorf's suicide had been substantially promoted by certain articles.[5] In particular Bild was blamed because Bild [6] had already published Harmstorf's suicide on its main page before his actual death.[7] Harmstorf's girlfriend confirmed that the actor had obviously already been dismayed after he had read this article, even before the news had been partly quoted on Germany's popular TV channel RTL Television.[8]

Filmography

The following is a selection of Harmstorf's roles in film:

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References
  1. "Raimund Harmstorf wurde laut Grabinschrift am 07.10.1939 (alle anderen Quellen besagten bislang, er sei am 07.10.1940 geboren worden) in Hamburg geboren, wo er auch seine Kindheit verlebte". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  2. "Eine Paraderolle hatte Harmstorf 1976 im Fernsehen: Hier glänzte er mit der Titelrolle in dem ZDF-Vierteiler "Michael Strogoff" nach dem Roman "Der Kurier des Zaren" von Jules Verne". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  3. IMDb - Raimund Harmstorf Biography
  4. "Der Selbstmord von Raimund Harmstorf war auch ein Medienskandal". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  5. "Die Polizei machte die Boulevardpresse mit verantwortlich für den Suizid". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  6. "Der Selbstmord von Harmstorf ist für die Bild der Super-Gau", sagt ein leitender "Bild"-Redakteur im Rückblick". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  7. "RAIMUND HARMSTORF. ER ERHÄNGTE SICH AM 3. MAI 1998, EINEN TAG, NACHDEM BILD BERICHTET HATTE: "SEEWOLF RAIMUND HARMSTORF IN DER PSYCHIATRIE"". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  8. "Wie groß die Macht von "Bild" wirklich ist, zeigte sich wenig später, als das RTL-Magazin "Explosiv" den "Bild"-Artikel aufgriff und zweieinhalb Millionen Zuschauer wissen ließ, daß sich Harmstorf nach einem blutigen Selbstmordversuch in der Psychiatrie befindet". Retrieved 2011-04-27.
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