Horst Buchholz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Horst Buchholz
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|---|---|
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| Born |
Horst Werner Buchholz
4 December 1933 |
| Died | 3 March 2003 (aged 69) Berlin, Germany
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1951–2003 |
| Spouse(s) |
Myriam Bru
(m. 1958–2003) |
| Children | 2, including Christopher Buchholz |
Horst Werner Buchholz (born December 4, 1933 – died March 3, 2003) was a famous German actor. He appeared in over 60 movies from 1951 to 2002. When he was young, people sometimes called him "the German James Dean".
Horst Buchholz is well-known for his roles in several movies. These include playing Chico in The Magnificent Seven (1960). He also starred as a communist in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961). Later, he played Dr. Lessing in Life Is Beautiful (1997).
Contents
Early Life of Horst Buchholz
Horst Buchholz was born in Berlin. His mother was Maria Hasenkamp. He never knew his biological father. He took the last name of his stepfather, Hugo Buchholz. Hugo was a shoemaker whom his mother married in 1938. His half-sister Heidi, born in 1941, gave him the nickname Hotte. He used this nickname for the rest of his life.
During World War II, Horst was sent away to Silesia for safety. At the end of the war, he lived in a foster home in Czechoslovakia. He quickly returned to Berlin as soon as he could.
Buchholz barely finished school before he started looking for theater work. He first performed on stage in 1949. He soon left his childhood home in East Berlin to work in West Berlin. He became well-known in the theater, especially at the Schiller Theater. He also worked on radio shows.
Horst Buchholz's First Film Roles
Buchholz started working in films by doing voice dubbing for foreign movies. This means he provided the German voices for characters. For example, he was the voice of Lampwick in Pinocchio. He also voiced Ben Cooper in Johnny Guitar.
In 1951, he began getting small parts in movies. These roles were not always listed in the credits. Some of his early films include Warum? (1951) and Adventure in Berlin (1952).
He got a bigger role in Marianne of My Youth (1954). This movie was directed by Julien Duvivier. He also appeared in a TV movie called Die Schule der Väter. He was in Sky Without Stars (1955) and Regine (1956).
Becoming a Star
Horst Buchholz was very good-looking when he was young. This helped him get a role in Die Halbstarken (1956). This movie made him a favorite among teenagers in Germany. An English version was released in the US as Teenage Wolfpack. In this version, Buchholz was called Henry Bookholt. He was promoted as a new James Dean.
He then appeared in King in Shadow (1957). After that, he was in The Girl and the Legend (1957) with Romy Schneider. He became a full star after Confessions of Felix Krull (1957). In this movie, he played the main character, Felix Krull. The film was directed by Kurt Hoffmann. It was based on a novel by Thomas Mann. He made another movie with Romy Schneider called Monpti (1957), also known as Love from Paris.
That year, he also starred in Two Worlds (1958), Wet Asphalt (1958), and Auferstehung (1958), also known as Resurrection.
Horst Buchholz's English-Language Films
Buchholz started acting in English-language movies in 1959. He co-starred in the British movie Tiger Bay with Hayley Mills. This movie was very successful.
He went back to Germany for Ship of the Dead (1959). Then, he got an offer from Hollywood. He was asked to play a young gunslinger in The Magnificent Seven (1960). This movie was a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). In The Magnificent Seven, he played the role that Toshiro Mifune had played in the Japanese version. Before filming started, Buchholz spent some time in New York. He appeared on Broadway in a play called Cheri (1959).
After The Magnificent Seven, which became a classic film, Buchholz acted in the romantic movie Fanny (1961). He starred with Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier. He also appeared in the comedy One, Two, Three (1961). This movie was directed by Billy Wilder and starred James Cagney. Even though these movies were filmed in Mexico, France, and Germany, they were Hollywood productions. Buchholz started living in Los Angeles during this time.
He was popular with American audiences. However, he missed out on some big opportunities. He could not accept the roles of Tony in West Side Story (1961) and Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). These roles went to other actors because of his filming schedule.
Instead, he played the main role in Nine Hours to Rama (1963) for Twentieth Century Fox. He also starred in The Empty Canvas (1963), which was filmed in Italy with Bette Davis. He returned to Broadway to appear in a play called Andorra (1963).
Becoming an International Star
His agent advised him to turn down the main role in A Fistful of Dollars (1964). He was in Marco the Magnificent (1965) with Anthony Quinn. He also starred in That Man in Istanbul (1965), which was a spy movie. Other films include Johnny Banco (1967), a comedy, and Young Rebel (1967). Young Rebel was a biopic (a movie about a real person's life) about Miguel de Cervantes. He acted with Gina Lollobrigida in that film. He also appeared as a guest star on The Danny Thomas Hour (1968).
Buchholz starred in Astragal (1969), How, When and with Whom (1969), The Dove Must Not Fly (1970), and The Saviour (1971). He briefly returned to Hollywood for lead roles. He played Johann Strauss in The Great Waltz (1971).
Buchholz starred in ...But Johnny! (1973) and The Catamount Killing (1974). He also appeared on German television shows like Die Klempner kommen (1976).
Supporting Roles
Buchholz started taking on supporting roles in films. These include The Savage Bees (1976) and Raid on Entebbe (1976). He was also in Dead of Night (1977) and The Amazing Captain Nemo (1978). He guest starred on TV shows like Logan's Run, Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels, and How the West Was Won. He had the main role in Women in Hospital (1977) and a part in The French Atlantic Affair (1979).
Buchholz was in From Hell to Victory (1979) and Avalanche Express (1979). He had a co-lead role in Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981). He was also the top-billed actor in Aphrodite (1981). He guest starred on Derrick and had a supporting part in Sahara (1983).
Later Career
Buchholz focused on working in Germany during his later career. His films include Funkeln im Auge (1984) and Fear of Falling (1984). He went to Hollywood for roles in Code Name: Emerald (1985) and Crossings (1986).
Buchholz's other movies include Affari di famiglia (1986) and Die Fräulein von damals (1986). He also appeared in Der Schatz im Niemandsland (1987). He had the main role in And the Violins Stopped Playing (1989). He played a supporting role in Escape from Paradise (1990).
Buchholz appeared in Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992) and Touch and Die (1992). He was also in Faraway, So Close! (1993) and The Cave of the Golden Rose 4 (1995). Other films include Tödliches Erbe (1995), Der Clan der Anna Voss (1995), Maître Da Costa, and The Firebird (1997). He played Dr. Lessing in Roberto Benigni's famous movie Life Is Beautiful (1997).
He was in Geisterstunde – Fahrstuhl ins Jenseits (1997) and Der kleine Unterschied (1997). He also appeared in Dunckel (1998) and Der kleine Unterschied (1998). He provided the voice of Fa Zhou in the German version of Mulan. He returned to America for Voyage of Terror (1998).
Buchholz's last performances include Kinderraub in Rio – Eine Mutter schlägt zurück (1998). He also acted in Heller als der Mond (2000) and The Enemy (2001). Other late films are Der Club der grünen Witwen (2001), Traumfrau mit Verspätung (2001), and Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh (2001). His final roles were in Abschnitt 40 (2001), Atlantic Affairs (2002), and In der Mitte eines Lebens (2003).
Personal Life and Death
In 1958, Horst Buchholz married French actress Myriam Bru. They had two children together. Their son, Christopher Buchholz, is also an actor. They also had a daughter named Beatrice.
In an interview in 2000, Buchholz explained that he and Myriam had a stable family life. She lived in Paris, and he lived in Berlin. He loved Berlin very much.
Horst Buchholz passed away unexpectedly on March 3, 2003. He was 69 years old. He died at Charité hospital from pneumonia. This developed after he had surgery for a hip fracture. He was buried in Berlin, the city he was always loyal to, at the Friedhof Heerstraße.
Selected Filmography
- All Clues Lead to Berlin (1952), as Young Man at the Radio Tower (uncredited)
- Marianne of My Youth (1955), as Vincent Loringer (German version only)
- Sky Without Stars (1955), as Mischa Bjelkin
- Regine (1956), as Karl Winter
- Teenage Wolfpack (1956), as Freddy Borchert
- King in Shadow (1957), as King Christian
- The Girl and the Legend (1957), as Tom
- Confessions of Felix Krull (1957), as Felix Krull
- Love From Paris (1957), as Monpti (as a young man)
- A Piece of Heaven (1957), as Cabriolet-Driver (uncredited)
- Endstation Liebe (1958), as Mecky Berger
- Nasser Asphalt (1958), as Greg Bachmann
- Resurrection (1958), as Nechljudoff
- Tiger Bay (1959), as Korchinsky
- The Death Ship (1959), as Philip Gale
- The Magnificent Seven (1960), as Chico
- Fanny (1961), as Marius
- One, Two, Three (1961), as Otto Ludwig Piffl
- Nine Hours to Rama (1963), as Nathuram Godse
- The Empty Canvas (1963), as Dino
- Marco the Magnificent (1965), as Marco Polo
- That Man in Istanbul (1965), as Tony Mecenas
- Johnny Banco (1967), as Johnny Banco
- Cervantes (1967, in the title role), as Miguel De Cervantes
- L'Astragale (1968), as Julien
- Come, quando, perché (1969), as Alberto
- The Dove Must Not Fly (1970), as Pablo Vallajo
- Le Sauveur (1971), as Claude
- The Great Waltz (1972), as Johann Strauss Jr.
- ...aber Jonny! (1973), as Jonny
- Welcome Stranger (1973)
- The Catamount Killing (1974), as Mark Kalvin
- Derrick
- Season 3, Episode 11: "Das Superding" (1976), as Gerke
- Season 5, Episode 8: "Solo für Margarete" (1978), as Alexis
- Season 7, Episode 8: "Auf einem Gutshof" (1980), as Richard Schulte
- Season 10, Episode 2: "Die Tote in der Isar" (1983), as Arthur Dissmann
- Raid on Entebbe (1976, TV Movie), as Wilfried Böse
- Dead of Night (1977, TV Movie), as Michael
- Women in Hospital (1977), as Dr. Schumann
- Logan's Run Season 1, Episode 3: "Capture" (1977), as James Borden
- The Return of Captain Nemo (1978), as King Tibor
- Charlie's Angels Season 3, Episode 3: Angel Come Home (1978), as Paul Ferrino
- The French Atlantic Affair (1979), as Dr. Chabot
- From Hell to Victory (1979), as Jürgen Dietrich
- Avalanche Express (1979), as Julian Scholten
- Berlin Tunnel 21 (1981), as Emerich Weber
- Aphrodite (1982), as Harry Laird
- Sahara (1983), as Von Glessing
- Fear of Falling (1984), as Robert Feldmann
- Code Name: Emerald (1985), as Walter Hoffman
- And the Violins Stopped Playing (1988), as Dymitr Mirga
- Réquiem por Granada (1990), as Muley Hacén
- Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992), as Ernst Leichmann
- Faraway, So Close! (1993), as Tony Baker
- Fantaghirò 4 (1994), as Darken
- Ptak ohnivak (1997), as King Jorgen
- Life Is Beautiful (1997), as Dottor Lessing
- Mulan (1998) (German Dub)
- Heller als der Mond (2000), as First Guest
- The Enemy (2001), as Dr. George Ashton
- Detective Lovelorn and the Revenge of the Pharaoh (2002), as Professor Svedenborg
Dubbing Roles
- Lampwick – Pinocchio (1940 film) (1951 dub)
See also
In Spanish: Horst Buchholz para niños
