Rolf Hoppe

Rolf Hoppe (6 December 1930 – 14 November 2018) was a prolific German stage, cinema, and television actor, who played in more than 400 films in a career which spanned over six decades.

To international audiences Hoppe is perhaps best known for his roles as the General in the Oscar-winning Mephisto (1981) and as the King in the East-German–Czechoslovakian Holiday classic Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973).

Early life

Hoppe was born the son of a master baker in Ellrich, Thuringia, Germany. After his apprenticeship as a baker, he worked from 1945 to 1948 as a coach driver.

Career

Hoppe moved to Erfurt where he began formal training as an actor at the Staatliches Konservatorium from 1949 to 1951, during which time he supported himself by working as an animal handler at the Zirkus Aeros. He later performed at Thalia Theater in Halle (Saale) and at the Theater der jungen Welt (children's and youth theatre) in Leipzig. His stage performances included such notable venues as the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, and the Salzburg Festival. Internationally, he worked in Switzerland, Italy, Poland and China.

In the East German DEFA movies, Hoppe frequently played villains in different Osterns ("Red Westerns") of the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1973 fairytale film Three Wishes for Cinderella, a Czechoslovak–East German co-production, he appeared as the King. One of Hoppe's most notable roles is that of "the General" (based on Hermann Göring) in István Szabó's drama Mephisto, which was awarded the 1981 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Peter Schamoni's historical drama Spring Symphony, he played Friedrich Wieck, the strict piano teacher of Robert Schumann and father of Clara Wieck.

In addition to numerous appearances in feature films and television productions, Hoppe also worked as a voice-artist in children's radio plays and audio-books.

Private life and death

Hoppe died 14 November 2018 in Dresden, where he lived in the suburb of Weißig. He was interred in the Waldfriedhof Weisser Hirsch (cemetery), Dresden. He was survived by his wife Friederike with whom he had two daughters: Josephine and Christine, the latter is also an actress. His grandson Oscar Hoppe is an actor as well.

Selected filmography

Discography

2010: Hoppe spricht Schöne Frühlingslieder

Awards

1971: National Prize of East Germany 1. class for art and literature
1981: Critics Award of the Hungarian Journalist. Association for his role in Mephisto
1995: Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony
1998: Grimme-Preis for his role in the TV miniseries Sardsch
2005: Goldene Henne for his lifetime achievement
2007: Art Award, City of Dresden
2010: Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany