Helmut Straßburger

Helmut Straßburger (born January 11, 1930 in Dessau, † June 19, 2010 in Berlin) was a German director, actor and theater director. Still working as a stage designer and stage technician in Dessau in 1948, he became an actor at the Anhalt Theater in Dessau the following year and was a member of the drama ensemble until 1957. In the same year he was called to the Dresden State Theater as an actor and finally to the Volksbühne Berlin in 1963 under the direction of Benno Besson, where he also worked as senior director and director for many years from 1973. In his productions, he mostly worked with the co-director and dramaturge Ernstgeorg Hering. With Rosenow's "tomcat lamp", Helmut Straßburger had made his famous directorial debut at the Volksbühne Berlin, his staging of Diderot's "Rameau's nephew", with its 296 performances, was even one of the most successful Volksbühne productions of all time, with national and international guest performances. The stage set was designed by the painter and graphic artist Günter Horn.

Quite a few of the pieces, such as 1984 Koritke, were also taken over by the GDR television. In addition, he also played frequently in cinema and television films. Most of the time he played comedic roles, which he often created very subtly, such as the Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1981). He was also made known by leading character roles such as that of Friedrich Engels in Mohr and the Ravens of London (1969). In 1979 Strassburger was awarded the Goethe Prize by the City of Berlin. At the 2nd National Feature Film Festival in the GDR, he and Rolf Ludwig won the award for best supporting actor for his role in Our Short Life. He taught for more than 20 years as a lecturer at the “Ernst Busch” Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. His students included Corinna Harfouch. In 1992 he returned to Dessau with "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick", where after the guest staging he was director of drama at the "Anhalt Theater" from 1992 to 2004. Most recently, the acting director was on stage with Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" in his last role as "Pozzo". 

He died on June 19, 2010 after a long serious illness.