Reply #112: Ulrich Muehe, star of "The Lives of Others"

[CBHagman]

It grieves me to report the death of Ulrich Muehe, the East German-born actor featured in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen). Herr Muehe played a Stasi officer in the acclaimed movie, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

New York Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/arts/26muhe.html?ref=obituaries

His IMDB credits:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0618057/

And from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6915665.stm

According to Der Spiegel newspaper, his duties included serving as a guard along the Berlin Wall.

A veteran of German theatre, Muehe had roles in more than 30 films.

However, it was his role as conflicted East German secret police agent Gerd Wiesler in The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) for which he will be best remembered.

Muehe said his experience of living under Communist rule had helped him portray the character.

Despite his illness, he flew to Hollywood with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in April to see the drama win the Oscar for best foreign language film.

Minor goof in the BBC article: The date of the Oscar broadcast has been moved up considerably and now airs in March, if I recall correctly.