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Hans Meyer (actor)

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Hans Meyer
Born(1925-07-21)July 21, 1925
Paulpietersburg, Natal, Union of South Africa
(present-day KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
DiedApril 3, 2020(2020-04-03) (aged 94)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France
OccupationsActor, model
Years active1961–2014
Websitewww.hansmeyer.info

Hans Meyer (21 July 1925 – 3 April 2020) was a South African-French actor and model.[1] He was well-known for his role as Hauptmann Franz Ulmann on the British television series Colditz.[2]

Early life and education

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Meyer was born to German parents[citation needed] in Paulpietersburg, Natal Province, South Africa[3] in July 1925.[2] Both of his parents were farmers, and Meyer initially followed in their footsteps, before deciding to move to Europe and pursue his own fortune.

He worked initially as a model[2] where he posed for book covers until a friend in Germany working for an advertising agency lined up his first work as an actor, a television advert for Puschkin Vodka.[2][3] The brand became Germany's best-selling vodka and Meyer became known as "Frank S. Thorn, the Puschkin Man". He also inspired the appearance of British comic strip hero Jeff Hawke.[4]

Career

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Meyer was hired by Anatole Litvak as an extra for his film The Night of the Generals (1967).[2] He went on the play supporting roles in French films alongside French cinema stars such as Lino Ventura, Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. In 1966, he was engaged for La grande vadrouille, where he embodied an angry SS representative. In 1968 he played in the action thriller The Devil's Garden by Yves Boisset.[2] In 1969, he took on the role of Sheriff Blade in the thriller Les Étrangers, shot in Spain.

In the 1970s, Meyer acted in the Western Cannon for Cordoba (1970), in the role of the Swedish major Svedborg, the leader of a private mercenary army. He played a continuous series role in the British television series Colditz (1972–1974). In 1975 he had a small role in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Barry Lyndon. In 1978, he appeared in the miniseries Holocaust: The History of the Weiss Family, in which played the SS official Ernst Kaltenbrunner.

In the 1980s, Meyer's roles included an assassin, whom Yves Rénier and title heroine Claude Jade ultimately put to the test in the television movie The Girlfriend from Childhood (L'amie d'enfance, 1981), from the Commissaire Moulin series. Meyer portrayed Red Sonja's father in Red Sonja (1985) opposite Brigitte Nielsen.[2]

In the 1990s, he appeared on The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes as Hebworth/Veitch in "The Master Blackmailer" (1992), and in a small part as a German Officer in Steven Spielberg's and George Lucas's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992).[2]

In the 2000s, Meyer's roles included Marquis d'Apcher in the French cult movie Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001),[5] Konrad Adenauer in the television movie How Much We Hated Each Other (2007), and Luis Aramchek in the Hitler in Hollywood (2010). His final screen appearance was in the thriller Cruel (2014).[2]

Death

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Meyer died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on 3 April 2020 at the age of 94.[6][2]

Filmography

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Film

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Television

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Hans Meyer television credits
YearTitleRoleNotes
1968KoenigsmarkLe grand DucTV movie
1969The TroubleshootersJoachim Schmitt-Klever1 episode
S.O.S. fréquence 17Joseph Kieffer1 episode
Department SLucky Le Beau1 episode
1970CodenameGeneral Hovaths1 episode
1971Paul TempleBrad1 episode
KateFrohl Svenson1 episode
Jason KingAngelo1 episode
1972–74ColditzHauptmann Franz Ulmann23 episodes
1973La folie AlmayerLe capitaine LinguardTV movie
1974ThrillerKarl Vorster'The Next Scream You Hear', episode
HeidiGrandfatherTV miniseries
1975QuillerMajor Hardtmann1 episode
1976Les Monte-en-l'airBrieferTV movie
The Howerd ConfessionsLieutenant Gruberepidode 2
1977Fachoda, la mission Marchand [fr]L'agent des trafiquantsTV miniseries
1978HolocaustErnst KaltenbrunnerTV miniseries
Les grandes conjurations: Le connétable de BourbonFrunsbergTV movie
1979Quest of EaglesSandor2 episodes
1979, 1985MinderKurt Wengler / Maurice Bonnet2 episodes
1980Opération Trafics [de; fr]Hans1 episode
1981BBC2 PlayhouseJanos Almasy1 episode
Commissaire MoulinL'assassin au grenadeEpisode: "L'Amie d'enfance"
Sans famille [fr]DriscollTV movie
1982Les Amours des années grises [fr]Von Postel1 episode
Inside the Third ReichErnst KaltenbrunnerTV movie
1983Les poneys sauvagesUnknownTV miniseries
1983, 1992Les Cinq Dernières MinutesHaltman / Hafner2 episodes
1987, 1989William TellTyroll / Tyrrol2 episodes
1988M'as-tu-vu ?Unknown1 episode
1990CounterstrikeKurtzEpisode: "The Lady of the Rhine"
CantaraUnknownTV miniseries
1991NavarroSauveur1 episode
Un privé au soleilUnknown1 episode
Renseignements générauxBaltar1 episode
1992The Case-Book of Sherlock HolmesHebworth (Alias Veitch)1 episode
The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesGerman Officer #21 episode
Sniper 2: L'affaire PetracciBababoumTV movie
Lycée alpinUnknownUnknown
The New StatesmanHerr Wessel1 episode
1993La grande collection: SensoLe général HautmannTV movie
Le JAP, juge d'application des peinesPol Van Hesse1 episode
1995MachinationsUnknownTV movie
La Rivière EspéranceCommandant du Duguay-TrouinTV miniseries
1997Inspecteur MorettiLe Vieux1 episode
2007How Much We Hated Each Other [fr]Konrad AdenauerTV movie
2008Collection Fred VargasFulgence2 episodes

References

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  1. ↑ Ingate, Kathryn (2020-04-10). "Hans Meyer dead: Actor who starred in Colditz dies aged 94". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Actor Hans Meyer who starred in Colditz & Red Sonja dies at 94". Daily Mirror. 10 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 Films and Filming: Volume 20. University of Michigan: Hansom Books. 1973. p. 64. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "Hans Meyer - Biography - Film - Television - Theatre". www.hansmeyer.info. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  5. ↑ Willis, John (2004). Screen World 2003. Hal Leonard. p. 237. ISBN 9781557835284. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Hans Meyer: Biography
  7. ↑ Wills, David, ed. (28 April 2000). Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot Le Fou. Cambridge University Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780521574891. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
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