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- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Statuesque 5'7" blonde beauty Sybil Danning reigns supreme as one of the sexiest, most dynamic, and commanding actresses to achieve cult B-movie queen status. Born in Austria as daughter of US Army major and Austrian mother she grew up on army bases in New Jersey, Maryland and Sacramento, CA.. Sybil started as a model then film debut as the beautiful tragic Lorelei, German legend who threw herself into the Rhine River in despair over a faithless lover then transformed into a siren who lured fishermen to destruction. As Nibelungen princess Kriemhild, she turns she-devil revenges death of her love Siegfried by her brutal Burgundian King brothers. Sybil studied 3 years with noted German drama coach Anne-Marie Hanschke, multiple mainstream European and American movies followed. When offered lead in prestigious Francis Durbridge play for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; she chose Hollywood instead. Sybil's (Raid on Entebbe) Oscar nominated Best Foreign Film OPERATION THUNDER BOLT, aka MIVTSA JONATAN with Klaus kinski was her calling card. It was her impressive performance as vivacious Valkyrie warrior "St Exmin" for which she won multiple awards, science-fiction cult movie BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS that introduced Sybil to young and old worldwide. A studio contracted Sybil to produce an action figure based on St Exmin with street date April 2021. Male & female fans love her rare beauty, sexiness, & toughness as tough prison inmate, formidable swanky swordfighter, wicked werewolf queen, cunning femme fatale English professor, Queen of the Moon, wicked warden, alien queen, loyal LAPD officer, brave bounty hunter, etc. Sybil has 2 comics, RUGER(TM) currently in discussion for an action TV series. Away for a while due to personal reasons, Tarantino and Rob Zombie brought her back in GRINDHOUSE as Nazi Villain and HALLOWEEN as nasty nurse! Sybil's back in action!- Born the fourth of six children to Austrian customs officer Alois Hitler--who had been married twice before--and the former Klara Polzl, Adolf Hitler grew up in a small Austrian town in the late 19th century. He was a slow learner and did poorly in school. He was frequently beaten by his authoritarian father. Things got worse when Adolf's older brother, Alois Jr., ran away from home. His mild-mannered mother occasionally tried to shield him, but was ineffectual. Adolf's attempt to run away at 11 was unsuccessful. At the age of 14 he was freed when his hated father died - an event that he did not mourn.
Hitler dropped out of high school at age 16 and went to Vienna, where he strove to become an artist, but was refused twice by the Vienna Art Academy. By this time Hitler had become an ardent German nationalist--although he was not German but Austrian--and when World War I broke out, he crossed into Germany and joined a Bavarian regiment in the German army. He was assigned as a message runner but also saw combat. Temporarily blinded after a gas attack in Flanders in 1918, he received the Iron Cross 2nd Class and was promoted from private to corporal. In 1918, when the war ended, Hitler stayed in the army and was posted to the Intelligence division. He was assigned to spy on several radical political parties that were considered a threat to the German government. One such organization was the German Workers' Party. Hitler was drawn by party founder Dietrich Eckart, a morphine addict who propagated doctrines of mysticism and anti-Semitism. Hitler soon joined the party with the help of his military intelligence ties. He became party spokesman in 1919, renamed it the National Socalist German Workers Party (NSDAP/NAZI) and declared himself its Führer (leader) one year later. In 1920 Hitler's intelligence handler, Munich-based colonel named Karl Haushofer, introduced the swastika insignia. In 1921 Haushofer founded the paramilitary Storm Troopers ("Sturmabteilung", or SA), composed of German veterans of WWI and undercover military intelligence officers. They helped Hitler to organize a coup attempt--the infamous "beer hall putsch"--against the Bavarian government in Munich in 1923, but it failed. The "rebels" marched on Munich's city hall, which was cordoned off by police. Hitler's men fired at the police and missed; the police fired back and didn't, resulting in several of Hitler's fellow Nazis being shot dead. Hitler himself was arrested, convicted of treason and sent to prison. During his prison time he was coached by his advisers and dictated his book "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle") to his deputy Rudolf Hess. He only served several months in prison before being released. By 1925 the Nazi party was in much better straits both organizationally and financially, as it had secured the backing of a large group of wealthy conservative German industrialists, who funneled huge amounts of money into the organization. Hitler was provided with a personal bodyguard unit named the "Schutzstaffel", better known as the SS. The Nazis began to gain considerable support in Germany through their network of army and WWI veterans, and Hitler ran for President in 1931. Defeated by the incumbent Paul von Hindenburg, Hitler next attempted to become Chancellor of Germany. Through under-the-table deals with powerful conservative businessmen and right-wing politicians, Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933. One month later, a mysterious fire--which the Nazis claimed had been started by "terrorists" but was later discovered to have been set by the Nazis themselves--destroyed the Reichstag (the building housing the German parliament). Then Hitler's machine began to issue a series of emergency decrees that gave the office of Chancellor more and more power.
In March of 1933 Hitler persuaded the German parliament to pass the Enabling Act, which made the Chancellor dictator of Germany and gave him more power than the President. Two months later Hitler began "cleaning house"; he abolished trade unions and ordered mass arrests of members of rival political groups. By the end of 1933 the Nazi Party was the only one allowed in Germany. In June of 1934 Hitler turned on his own and ordered the purge of the now radical SA--that he now saw as a potential threat to his power--which was led by one of his oldest friends, a thug and street brawler named Ernst Röhm. Röhm's ties to Hitler counted for nothing, as Hitler ordered him assassinated. Soon President Hindenburg died, and Hitler merged the office of President with the office of Chancellor. In 1935 the anti-Jewish Nuremburg laws were passed on Hitler's authorization. A year later, with Germany now under his total control, he sent troops into the Rhineland, which was a violation of the World War I Treaty of Versailles. In 1938 he forced the union of Austria with Germany and also took the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia near the German border with a large ethnic German population, on the pretext of "protecting" the German population from the Czechs. In March 1939 Hitler overran the rest of Czechoslovakia. On 23 August 1939 Hitler and Joseph Stalin made a non-aggression treaty. In September of 1939 Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland. France and the British Commonwealth and Empire declared war on Germany. In 1940 Germany occupied Denmark, Norway and the Low Countries, and launched a major offensive against France. Paris fell and France surrendered, after which Hitler considered invading the UK. However, after the German Air Force was defeated in the Battle of Britain, the invasion was canceled. The British had begun bombing German cities in May 1940, and four months later Hitler retaliated by ordering the Blitz. In 1941 German troops assisted Italy, which under dictator Benito Mussolini was a German ally, in its takeover of Yugoslavia and Greece. Meanwhile, in Germany and the occupied countries, a program of mass extermination of Jews had begun.
On June 22, 1941, German forces invaded the Soviet Union. In addition to more than 4,000,000 German troops, there were additional forces from German allies Romania, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Spain and Finland, among others. Hitler used multinational forces in order to save Germans for the future colonization of the Russian lands. Following the detailed Nazi plan, code-named "Barbarossa," Hitler was utilizing resources of entire Europe under Nazi control to feed the invasion of Russia. Three groups of Nazi armies invaded Russia: Army Group North besieged Leningrad for 900 days, Army Group Center reached Moscow and Army Group South occupied Ukraine, reached Caucasus and Stalingrad. After a series of initial successes, however, the German Armies were stopped at Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad. Leningrad was besieged by the Nazis for 900 days until the city of 4,000,000 virtually starved itself to death. Only in January of 1944 was Marshal Georgi Zhukov able to finally defeat the German forces and liberate the city, finally lifting the siege after a cost of some 2,000,000 lives. In 1943 several major battles occurred at Kursk (which became the largest tank battle in history), Kharkov and Stalingrad, all of which the Germans lost. The battle for Stalingrad was one of the largest in the history of mankind. At Stalingrad alone the Germans lost 360,000 troops, in addition to the losses suffered by Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, Croatian and other forces, but the Russians lost over one million men. By 1944--the same year the Western allies invaded occupied Europe--Germany was retreating on both fronts and its forces in Africa had been completely defeated, resulting in the deaths and/or surrender of several hundred thousand troops. Total human losses during the six years of war were estimated at 60,000,000, of which 27,000,000 were Russians, Ukrainians, Jews and other people in Soviet territory. Germany lost over 11,000,000 soldiers and civilians. Poland and Yugoslavia lost over 3,000,000 people each. Italy and France lost over 1,000,000 each. Most nations of Central and Eastern Europe suffered severe--and in some cases total--economic destruction.
Hitler's ability to act as a figurehead of the Nazi machine was long gone by late 1944. Many of his closest advisers and handlers had already fled to other countries, been imprisoned and/or executed by the SS for offenses both real--several assassination attempts on Hitler--and imagined, or had otherwise absented themselves from Hitler's inner circle. For many years Hitler was kept on drugs by his medical personnel. In 1944 a group of German army officers and civilians pulled off an almost successful assassination attempt on Hitler, but he survived. Hitler, by the beginning of 1945, was a frail, shaken man who had almost totally lost touch with reality. The Russians reached Berlin in April of that year and began a punishing assault on the city. As their forces approached the bunker where Hitler and the last vestiges of his government were holed up, Hitler killed himself. Just a day earlier he had married his longtime mistress Eva Braun. Hitler's corpse was taken to Moscow and later shown to Allied Army Commanders and diplomats. Joseph Stalin showed Hitler's personal items to Winston Churchill and Harry S. Truman at the Potsdam Conference after the victory. Hitler's personal gun was donated to the museum of the West Point Military Academy in New York. Some of his personal items are now part of the permanent collection at the National History Museum in Moscow, Russia. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Helmut Berger - Austrian born film actor, mostly known for starring in Luchino Visconti's films, which are now considered modern classics. Born Helmut Steinberger in Salzburg in 1944, he turned down a prospect of running a family hotel business and went to London where he worked as waiter to pay his way through drama school. Later he attended the University of Perugia in Italy and spent some time in France. His acting career began with French and Italian commercials and showed no signs of progress until he was picked up by Luchino Visconti out of pool of "extras" during the shooting of Sandra (1965) in 1964. Berger's relationships with Visconti, whose partner he remained for 12 years, brought him to the attention of press and allowed him to act in some Visconti's films such as The Damned (1969), Ludwig (1973) and Conversation Piece (1974). Visconti is said to view Berger as the very image of his idea of a "demonic, insane and sexually perverted" man. As a matter of fact Berger often portrayed anguished souls and sinister villains. His acting career continued throughout the 1970s but was temporarily broken up in the early 80s when he battled alcohol problem. He appeared in numerous French, Italian, German films and spent one season on American soap Dynasty (1981) but few directors used his gifts with the same skill as Visconti. His autobiography "Ich" (Me), in which he famously referred to his relationships with Visconti as "marriage" and claimed to be the director's widow, appeared in 1998. Berger is still very active appearing in TV series regularly. He also very modestly attributed his acting achievements to Visconti's directing.- Birgit Minichmayr was born on 3 April 1977 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Downfall (2004), The White Ribbon (2009) and Everyone Else (2009).
- Sophie Rois was born on 1 June 1961 in Ottensheim, Austria and studied acting at the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna from 1982 to 1985. In the following years, she played at several theaters in Berlin, since 1992 she has been ensemble member at the city's Freie Volksbühne. Appearing also on successful TV productions such as Die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman (2001), she became one of the most respected actresses in the German speaking region.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Josef Hader was born on February 14, 1962 in Waldhausen, Austria. After attending grammar school in Melk (Lower Austria) he started studying Germany and History in 1981, but actually he focused on his talent as a comedian. In 1982 he wrote his first cabaret play called "Fort Geschritten". For his second play "Der Witzableiter und das Feuer" (1985) he won the Austrian "Salzburger Stier"-Award. After aborting his study and writing "Biagn und Brechen" (1988) and "Bunter Abend" (1990) he celebrated his breakthrough with the tragicomic play "Indien", which was filmed by Paul Harather in 1993 with Josef Hader himself in the leading role. With India (1993) and his following plays "Im Keller" (1993) and "Privat" (1994) he became one of the most successful and most respected comedians in Austria. In the Austrian thriller Come Sweet Death (2000) ("Come sweet death") Josef Hader came back to the cinemas in a leading role a second time after "Indien". He also wrote the screenplay for this movie.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Born in Wels in 1961, grew up in Vienna. Started writing and directing while still in school. His first film was aired on television in 1978. In 1980 he started studying screenwriting and directing at the Vienna Film Academy. Two films completed during his studies received international prizes and were screened at the Stadtkino, an arthouse cinema in Vienna. Spielmann graduated in 1987. Soon afterwards, he wrote and directed four cinema and made-for-TV films in succession.
In 1999, after several years of silence, his next feature film Die Fremde was Austria's nomination for the Foreign Language Oscar. This was followed by 'Spiel im Morgengrauen', a made-for-TV movie, and in 2004 the feature Antares.
Antares was shown internationally at more than 30 festivals, at arthouse theaters in many countries including France, the USA, and Germany. It was nominated by Austria to compete for the Foreign Language Oscar. Its explicit sex scenes spark heated debate among Academy members.
Since 2005 Spielmann has also written and directed for the stage.
In 2006 he was awarded the Upper Austrian State Prize for Culture in the category of film. The same year he founded the production company Spielmannfilm.- Hedwig Bleibtreu was born on 23 December 1868 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for The Third Man (1949), Der Spieler (1938) and Pygmalion (1935). She was married to Alexander Roempler and Peter Petersen. She died on 24 January 1958 in Vienna, Austria.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Paul Haslinger is an Austrian musician and composer. He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Paul began his career as a member of Electronic Music pioneers Tangerine Dream. He toured with the band extensively from 1985-90 and contributed to projects such as the album "Underwater Sunlight" (1986), as well as the films "Near Dark" (1987) and "Miracle Mile" (1988). In 1990, the band received a Grammy Nomination for their score to the Miramar Documentary 'Canyon Dreams'.
Paul moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to expand his creative scope. This led to a number of collaborations and began to shift his focus towards film scoring. It was his programming work for composer Graeme Revell that caught the attention of Hollywood executives which lead to his first solo credit, scoring HBO's Cheaters in 2000.
Paul's unique approach to scoring is based on his belief that, music in any genre, including film and television, should represent and be relevant to the time in which it was written. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on the Showtime Series 'Sleeper Cell' (2007)
Notable Projects Include: Fear The Walking Dead (2015 and 2016) Halt And Catch Fire (2014 - 2016) Rainbow Six Siege (2016) Underworld Awakening (2012) The Three Musketeers (2011) Rise Of The Lycans (2009) Takers (2009) Death Race (2008) Shoot Em Up (2007) Crank (2006) Sleeper Cell (2006) Underworld (2003) Blue Crush (2002) Minority Report (2002)
Notable Collaborations Include: Jon Hassell, Brian Williams (aka Lustmord), Christian Fennesz, Adam Jones, Snorri Bros, Nona Hendryx, Sussan Deihim, and Shenkar.
Upcoming Projects: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter- Matthias Hack was born on 22 November 1977 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Pagan Peak (2018), Spuren des Bösen (2010) and Eismayer (2022).
- Actor
- Composer
- Producer
Second only to the great Caruso, Austrian opera singer Richard Tauber is revered as one of the world's finest Mozartian tenors to come out of early to mid-20th century Europe.
He was born on May 16, 1891 of modest means in Linz, Austria, the illegitimate son of soubrette Elisabeth Seiffert, who sang locally as well as toured. His father, Richard Anton Tauber, a legit actor, was not married to his mother and, in fact, was unaware of his parental status for quite some time after his son's birth. Richard traveled with his mother at a young age where he developed an ardent passion for the musical arts, but it proved a grueling and impossible undertaking for the actress who was continually on the road. The boy was finally sent to live with his father at age 6 who then took over his upbringing.
Trained in voice, Tauber initially seemed to lack fire and dimension, drawing unimpressive responses from his music masters. Unequipped to sing the heavy scores of the Romanticist composer Richard Wagner, who was his idol, Tauber subsequently studied piano and composition before coming under the tutelage of famed voice teacher Professor Carl Beines. It was Beines who redirected his pupil back to voice with the prospects of interpreting the classical works of Mozart.
Finally realizing and acknowledging his operatic niche, Tauber progressed quickly and made his public concert bow in 1912. A year later came his stage debut as Tamino in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" with the help of his father, who had become the Intendant of both the Municipal and Stadt-Theater in Chemnitz. A few days later he played Max in "Der Freischütz" and, as a result, was offered a five-year contract with the Dresden Opera. The Vienna and Berlin companies were to follow where he worked up a rich repertoire of roles in such operas as "Don Giovanni," "Tosca," "Mignon," "Faust" and "Carmen." During this time he also recorded extensively.
Richard extended his lyrical tenor in a then-unheard move to include lighter-styled operettas. His first performance of a Franz Lehár work was in Berlin in 1920 with "Zigeunerliebe". In 1922 he was offered the part of Armand in Lehár's "Frasquita" at the Theater an der Wien, which proved to be a resounding success. He not only singlehandedly revived Lehár's flagging career but greatly expanded his own audience of admirers. Lehár went on to compose several new works specifically designed for Tauber's voice. These included "Der Zarewitsch" (1926), "Friederike" (1928), "The Land of Smiles" (1929), "Beautiful Is the World" (1930), and "Giuditta."
Tauber's vast talents also included conducting at the Vienna Theater, where he met and married soprano Carlotta Vanconti. With their busy schedules they managed to occasionally tour in operettas together. After about a year of marriage, however, the bloom was off the rose and they separated in 1928, divorcing two years later. Tauber also tested the virtually new waters of talking pictures with such breakthrough musical films as Das Land des Lächelns (1930) [The Land of Smiles], Never Trust a Woman (1930) [Never Trust a Woman], The Alluring Goal (1930) [The Golden Goal], The Big Attraction (1931) [The Big Attraction], and Right to Happiness (1932) his more prominent vehicles.
Part Jewish on his father's side, the rise of Nazism in his native Austria had Richard making frequent out-of-country appearances in London. He also starred in several popular musical films in England. Following skirmishes with Nazi purists, he eventually emigrated to London. He appeared again in filmed musicals and earned fine notices for his portrayal of composer Franz Schubert in April Blossoms (1934), as well as for his work in Heart's Desire (1935), the Leoncavallo tragedy A Clown Must Laugh (1936), and Forbidden Music (1936). He met and married frequent British co-star Diana Napier in 1936.
Making his London operatic debut with "The Magic Flute" in 1938, the U.S. was willing to embrace Tauber with open arms but the artist remained true to England throughout the war years. As there was no opera staged in wartime Britain, he made ends meet with concerts, conducting and composing operettas, radio broadcasts and recordings. One of his operettas, "Old Chelsea," produced his signature song, "My Heart and I." In 1947, Tauber sought help for an aggravated cough which was subsequently diagnosed as lung cancer.
Despite extreme difficulties in breathing and the collapse of one lung, Tauber gave a bravura performance in one of his favorite roles, Don Ottavio in "Don Giovannia" at Covent Garden on September 27, 1947 and fulfilled this engagement the following day at the Camden Theatre, having begun and ended his formidable career performing Mozart. Three days later, on October 1st, he entered Guy's Hospital for the removal of a cancerous lung; the surgery took place the next day--only five days after his final performance.
Tauber died of complications on January 8, 1948. His devoted second wife Diana published her first biography of her husband a year after his death; her second "My Heart and I" was published in 1959.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Franz Marischka was born on 2 July 1918 in Unterach am Attersee, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for The Miner' Wife ... Takes Her Pick (1972) and Laß jucken Kumpel 2. Teil: Das Bullenkloster (1973). He was married to Alexandra Paszkowska and Inge Marischka. He died on 18 February 2009 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Susanna Kubelka was born in September 1942 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She was an actress, known for Tatort (1970), Vienna Crime Squad (2005) and The Paris Poetry Circle (2014). She died on 5 May 2024 in Vienna, Austria.
- Director
- Editor
- Producer
Daniel Prochaska was born in 1983 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria. He is a director and editor, known for The Allegation (2021), The Scary House (2020) and Waidmannsdank (2020).- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Harald Reinl was born on 9 July 1908 in Bad Ischl, Austria-Hungary [now Upper Austria, Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for Face of the Frog (1959), Chariots of the Gods (1970) and Night on Mont-Blanc (1951). He was married to Daniela Delis, Karin Dor and Corinna Frank. He died on 9 October 1986 in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.- Katrin Lux was born on 25 March 1980 in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Tatort (1970), Familiensache (2021) and Schnee (2023). She has been married to Guido Lux since August 2013. She was previously married to Sascha Ritt.
- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Since her start as a radio presenter in 1998, Pia Niederwimmer has worked as a voice-over artist and built a professional career in the industry internationally. Fluent in Austrian German, Pia speaks perfect German German, American English, with basic French and Dari. At the age of 21, Pia has been writer and producer of commercials and corporate films in Vienna, Austria. In addition, she was also in charge of the promotional videos for the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government and the Federal Chancellor of Austria.
Her first acting job came unexpected while Pia was holding interviews with the primary cast for the Making-Of of Joshua Sinclair's film Jump!, starring Patrick Swayze, Ben Silverstone, Martine McCutcheon, Heinz Hoenig and Stefanie Powers. On set she was approached by the producers and director to be featured in several scenes with Ben Silverstone and Stefanie Powers. Since then Pia has been featured in many film, commercial and voice over projects worldwide.
The oldest of three children, with two younger brothers, Pia's father was one of the foremost pioneers in computer programming from the technologies inception of punch cards and her mother a home-maker. Raised in a Christian home, Pia's personal relationship with God is a primary driving motor in her life.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Inge Maux was born on 2 October 1944 in Mettmach, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Murer: Anatomy of a Trial (2018), Alles ist jetzt (2021) and The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch (2018). She is married to Manfred Schmid.- Gerlinde Döberl was born on 1 October 1951 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She was an actress, known for Onkel Silas (1977), Der Jäger von Fall (1974) and Schloß Hubertus (1973). She died on 14 June 1989 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Thomas Hauff was born in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria. He is known for Left Behind: The Movie (2000), Molly's Game (2017) and Summer's Children (1979).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Thea Ehre was born on 19 December 1999 in Wels, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Till the End of the Night (2023), The Island (2020) and Luden (2023).- TIMM was born in Bad Ischl, Austria. When he was 5 his family emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he lives today. In high school he was a track athlete, competing in the sprints for his school and specializing in the 400 meters for the Toronto Track Club. In 1968, he graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A. in Political Science , in 1973, from York University with an M.E.S. In Communications and Culture and in 2010, he completed his coursework for a PhD. in Communications and Culture from York University. After his Masters degree, TIMM taught at the Ontario College of Art and worked on the research staff of the LaMarsh Commission on Media Violence. In the late 70s he began a 10 year career in advertising. During that time, he performed as part of a comedy duo on the Yuk Yuks circuit and at independent clubs in Canada and the U.S.. He also took acting classes with Sears and Switzer and at the Maggie Basset Studio of the Tarragon Theatre. On his 40th birthday, TIMM quit his day job to become a full-time actor. Since then he has appeared in many film and television productions and has written and performed in hundreds of interactive Murder Mysteries and Corporate events. His first role was on DeGrassi Junior High and, amazingly, 32 years later, he is still stopped on the street by people asking him if he was Wheels' Dad.
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Sylvia Haider was born on 12 February 1959 in Katzdorf, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress and writer, known for The Edukators (2004), Doppelter Einsatz (1994) and Der junge Freud (1976).- Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Alexander Hammid was born on 17 December 1907 in Linz, Austria-Hungary [now Upper Austria, Austria]. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Power Among Men (1959), Crisis (1939) and The Forgotten Village (1941). He was married to Hella Heyman and Maya Deren. He died on 26 July 2004 in New York City, New York, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Franz Xaver Gruber was an Austrian primary school teacher, church organist and composer in the village of Arnsdorf, who is best known for composing the music to "Stille Nacht" ("Silent Night"). Gruber was born on 25 November 1787 in the village of Hochburg-Ach, Upper Austria, the son of linen weavers, Josef and Maria Gruber. His given name was recorded in the baptismal record as "Conrad Xavier," but this was later changed to "Franz Xaver". The Hochburger schoolteacher Andreas Peterlechner gave him music lessons.- Michael Rastl was born in 1948 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Spiele Leben (2005), Kommissar Rex (1994) and In 3 Tagen bist du tot (2006).
- Anton Pointecker was born on 16 April 1938 in Wildenau, Aspach, Upper Austria, Austria. He was an actor, known for Schloßhotel Orth (1996), Dahoam is Dahoam (2007) and Die Leute von St. Benedikt (1992). He died on 7 July 2008 in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Ernst Kaltenbrunner was born in 1903 in the Austrian city of Ried. In the 1920s he went to law school and became a lawyer, starting his own practice in Linz in 1929. During this time he also became a professional fencer. In 1932 he joined the Austrian Nazi Party and the Austrian branch of the SS. He was commissioned an SS-Sturmhauptführer (Captain) on the staff of the SS Austrian Group "Donau", but the Austrian SS was considered an underground and illegal organization by the Austrian government, and Kaltenbrunner was arrested and jailed for high treason in 1934. He was released from prison the next year, however, and was appointed by his German leaders to become the commander of the entire Austrian division of the SS. In 1937 he was promoted to SS-Oberführer (Brigadier General) and began working with Arthur Seyß-Inquart to put in motion the Austrian "Anschluss" (union) with Germany and merge Austria into the Third Reich.
When the two countries united in 1938, Kaltenbrunner was promoted to Lieutenant General (Gruppenführer) and appointed as the Higher SS and Police Leader of Austria. He at once introduced the security forces of the Gestapo and SS Security Service (SD) into the new "Ostmark" of the German Reich and, in addition, proceeded to open the death camp at Mauthausen. Meanwhile, his SS troopers were strictly enforcing the newly enacted anti-Jewish measures in the streets and towns of Austria.
In 1942 Kaltenbrunner became an SS-General (Obergruppenführer) and was assigned to succeed Reinhard Heydrich as the commander of the Reich Central Security Office (RSO) of the SS. This put him in direct command of what the Nazis termed the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question", in which wholesale genocide was carried out against the Jewish population of Europe, resulting in the deaths of over six million Jews.
Kaltenbrunner's reputation for ruthlessness and brutality came to the forefront in 1944 when he was put in charge of tracking down, arresting and interrogating those who had been involved in the famous July 1944 assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler. While he excelled at that task, in his other duties he was considered somewhat incompetent and was rumored to be an alcoholic. Historians have theorized that Heinrich Himmler appointed Kaltenbrunner to succeed Heydrich, because the clever, capable and devious Heydrich had become far too powerful in the SS and Himmler wanted a less competent man to take his place who would, in turn, not pose a threat to Himmler's own authority.
In 1945 Kaltenbrunner moved his headquarters from Berlin to Austria and attempted to negotiate an Austrian surrender to the Allies. While this was partially successful, he must have been somewhat surprised to find himself under arrest at the end of the war and charged as a major war criminal. He was among the Nazi hierarchy put on trial at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials in 1946, although he missed the first half of the proceedings against him due to illness. Found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Ernst Kaltenbrunner was sentenced to be hanged, and was sent to the gallows at Nuremberg on October 1, 1946. - Herb Andress was born in upper Austria, and always intended to become an actor. In 1957 he moved to France, appeared there in Chaque jour a son secret (1958) and in 1961 moved to New York, then later to San Francisco. He worked with Elena Williams in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in an act that became well known as "The Magical Dolls". He spent two years at a workshop at Columbia Pictures under teachers like Ida Lupino, Ralph Nelson and Charlton Heston. His first credits were under the name Herbert Andreas, and he often played Germans in the classic war series Combat! (1962), and soon began to get better parts. He moved to to Rome in 1968, and began a second career under the name Herb Andress in international movies. He lives now in Germany.
- Actress
- Director
Doris Golpashin was born on 17 August 1980 in Grieskirchen, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress and director, known for Free Rainer (2007), Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch! (2008) and Kommissar Rex (1994). She has been married to Klaas Heufer-Umlauf since 6 August 2022. They have two children.- Geli Raubal born Angela Maria Raubal, June 4, 1908 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary, was rumoured to be Adolf Hitler's mistress. Geli and her young sister Elfriede accompanied their mother, Angela Raubal, half sister of Adolf Hitler, when she became Hitler's housekeeper in 1925. Raubal was 17 at the time and spent the next six years in close contact with her half-uncle, who was 19 years her senior. Her mother was given a position as housekeeper at the Berghof villa near Berchtesgaden in 1928. Geli Raubal moved into Hitler's Munich, Prinzregentenplatz apartment in 1929, when she enrolled in medicine at Ludwig Maximillian University. She did not complete her medical studies. On the morning of Sept 19,1931, members of Hitler's staff found Geli Raubal dead from a gunshot wound to the lung in her room in Hitler's Munich apartment, Prinzregentenplatz 16 second floor. Hermann Göring would later tell attorneys at the Nuremberg trials that Geli Raubal's death (1931) had devastated Hitler to such an extent that it changed his views and relationships with all other people.
- Paul Wilk was born in 1993 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. He is known for Retribution (2023), Die Bergretter (2009) and Hounds of War.
- Erol Nowak was born on 6 March 1975 in Grieskirchen, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Braunschlag (2012), Tatort (1970) and Pagan Peak (2018).
- Additional Crew
Werner Gruber was born on 15 March 1970 in Ostermiething, Upper Austria, Austria. He is known for Moonfall (2022), Science Busters (2011) and Wahre Geschichten aus Österreich (2016).- Karin Kienzer was born on 22 February 1964 in Steyr, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Regina auf den Stufen (1990), Tatort (1970) and Paradise Ges.m.b.H. (1986).
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Peter Faerber was born on 1 July 1953 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for FC Rückpass (2010), Midsummer Madness (2007) and Tom Turbo (1993).- Marlen Haushofer was born on 11 April 1920 in Frauenstein, Municipality Molln, Upper Austria, Austria. She was a writer, known for The Wall (2012) and Killing Stella (2017). She was married to Manfred Haushofer. She died on 21 March 1970 in Vienna, Austria.
- Director
- Composer
- Actor
Markus Binder was born on 9 April 1963 in Enns, Upper Austria, Austria. He is a director and composer, known for Club Zero (2023), Flim (1985) and Rondeau (1988).- Hannes Schmid holds a US Working Permit/Green Card.
Hannes Schmid is a German-Austrian actor with New Zealand and Nordic roots. He grew up in Austria and first stepped onto the theater stage at the age of 4. After his parents' divorce and the early death of his mother, he was raised by his uncle and aunt. After attending a sports and natural science high school/grammar school, he pursued acting studies for theater and film in Berlin and Vienna.
Signed by an agency while he was still studying, he worked as an actor in various major productions. These include the role of a receptionist in Til Schweiger's comedy "Klassentreffen 1.0", in the ARD television film "Gloria" as the presenter of a cow award ceremony, or as an annoyed subway driver in the Netflix series "Dogs of Berlin" directed by Christian Alvart.
He also gained experience as an actor before and during his studies through his own productions of short films, experimental films, advertising and image films as well as music videos.
In 2017 he starred as a lead role in the deaf short film "Barrier-free Date", in which he has a blind date with a deaf and mute woman. Not only does he fall head over heels in love with her, but he can only communicate with her with the help of an interpreter, which leads to many funny situations and complications. The film was nominated and awarded as best short film at various national and international festivals.
In the same year, he also played the lead role in the short film "Alles Relativ," portraying a charismatic student in the lecture hall with a certain "attraction" to his presenting professor.
In the feature film and Lake Constance crime drama "Schatten über dem Bodensee" and its resulting series "Schatten im Paradies," he played the lead role in 2018 as the empathetic private detective Max Marek. With the assistance of two criminal investigators, Max Marek must unravel a series of thefts and break-ins around Lake Constance, ultimately putting an end to a criminal's activities.
Furthermore, in 2018, he took on the lead role in the international comedy "Cheers to Life," filmed in Serbia. Playing a charismatic and extroverted womanizer, he and his three best friends win a trip to Serbia, leading to absurd adventures. In addition to the comedic situations, he must confront his personal past as he falls genuinely in love for the first time, forcing him to reevaluate his worldview.
In 2018, he made another appearance as an English-speaking journalist in the Arte, BR, ORF, SRF production "Das Wunder von Wörgl" alongside Karl Markovics and Verena Altenberger, directed by Urs Egger.
In early 2019, he plays the successful and tough cosmetics entrepreneur "Christian Bergmann" in the TV pilot "Pristine." Initially reluctant to assist a young startup founder with a brilliant idea, he eventually decides to help, leading to both business and personal complications.
Also in 2019, he filmed in Tyrol, playing the lead role of "Peter Schweiger" in the family drama "Summit of Solitude" In this film, set in the 1950s, he portrays an adventurous and rebellious mountain farmer's son who illegally smuggles goods over mountain passes between Austria and Italy. After the death of his mother, he is compelled to confront his conflict with his father. The film was showcased at numerous national and international festivals, receiving acclaim and awards.
At the end of 2019 he filmed his first Hollywood production "The Contractor" with Chris Pine and doubled Ben Foster, one of the film's two main actors.
In 2021, he appeared in a leading role in 20 episodes of the RTL series "Alles was zählt" as Kai Löwenau, a cocaine-addicted and dealing celebrity chef. The character repeatedly gets himself and his business partner into significant troubles. Additionally in 2021, he portrayed a failed and traumatized paramedic in the short film drama "In those days" attempting to comprehend his experiences.
His self-produced short film in 2021, titled "Limbus" where he served as both director and lead actor, was showcased and awarded at several national and international film festivals. The film revolves around a desperate search for an escape in a limbo between life and death.
In 2022, he played a supportive priest in the short film "Still" attempting to encourage a young man who had just lost his mother. For the highly successful ZDF & ORF series "Der Bergdoktor" he portrayed the lead role of the initially desperate and later sincere tattoo artist "Fabian Marx" in the season finale 2024. In the storyline, Fabian Marx falls in love with the wife of his best friend and harbors a significant secret.
Furthermore in 2024, he had a role in the international production "Human Within" as a security guard of the future.
From 2017 to 2019 he was a member of the "Dinnerleichen" ensemble and toured Vienna and Lower Austria with the leading role of Gerald Beck in the play "Kreativ Morden".
In 2023, he went on a theater tour across Germany and Austria with the Theatergastspiele Fürth, starring in the comedy "Geliebte Hexe" as an inquisitive and drunken investigative author.
He played other theater roles between 2011 and 2023 as Anatol in the play of the same name by Arthur Schnitzler, Beckmann in "Outside the Door", by Wolfgang Borchert, Leonce in Georg Büchner's play "Leonce and Lena", Spiegelberg in "The Robbers" by Friedrich Schiller , Pyramus in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare, or that of "Man" in Felix Mittlerer's "Deadly Sins".
Hannes Schmid also works as a producer and director. Since 2012, he has produced several short films, image and advertising films, experimental films and music videos with his two former film production companies and has directed various productions.
One of his strengths lies in his versatility and love for sports, including extreme sports. In his childhood, he was a ski jumper for 4 years and played club football for 14 years. After retiring from active football, he served as a youth football coach for a period. Growing up with a family involved in diving, he became a professionally certified scuba and free-diving instructor with three world associations in the age of 20 with records of holding his breath for 4:52 minutes and reaching a depth of 69 meters. He has nearly 700 logged dives and taught various diving courses in Austria, Croatia, and Egypt before his acting career.
In 2014, he completed a skydiving course. He is an avid skier, snowboarder, and wakeboarder. Other sporting hobbies include weightlifting, surfing, mountaineering, poker, bungee jumping, climbing, sailing(basic sailing license), boxing, and martial arts. Hannes practices daily yoga and meditation.
Furthermore, Hannes Schmid serves as a freelance wedding orator, as speaker for baby welcome ceremonies, as speaker for funerals, as photo-, video- and advertising model, as professional trained event and show host, and entrepreneur.
He was an active member of the Red Cross for 14 years, serving as a trained paramedic and ambulance driver. Additionally, he was a Red Cross youth group leader and taught first aid, and is a trained rescue diver as well as rescue swimmer.
Since the age of 15 he has been a specialist in Holocaust and tolerance education. He was educated and certified by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Between the age of 15-20 he took various dance courses, including 1 year of choreography dance and completed the Austrian dance course badge in bronze for standard and Latin American dances.
In addition to his completed acting studies, he holds a high school diploma/A-levels and is a trained retail merchant and office administrator (completed apprenticeship). During his time at vocational school he was three times class representative and two times head boy of the school. He also has in-depth knowledge of mechatronics engineering, bartending and event and VIP support.
Hannes has extensive knowledge in natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy), politics, and history.
In 2012, he became the state champion in political education in the "Europa-Quiz" competition and the skiing state champion for vocational schools in Upper Austria.
In 2014, he won the competition for "The Friendliest Smile" organized by the Economic Chamber of Upper Austria/Trade Division. - Actor
- Writer
- Director
After school, he attended the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, which he successfully completed. In 1924, Fritz Eckhardt had his first engagement at the Wilhelma Theater in Stuttgart, where his father was director. Just two years later he made his screen debut in the silent film "Rosenkavalier". A few roles at smaller theaters followed until he came to "Lieber Augustin" in 1936. In addition to his work as an actor, Eckhardt began writing and directing plays.
During the war years of the Second World War from 1939 onward, Fritz Eckhardt anonymously wrote pieces for the "Wiener Werkel", the only cabaret in Vienna during the time of the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler. Banned from working because of his half-Jewish descent, he fled to America for a while, where he mainly wrote radio plays. After the end of the war in June 1945, Eckhardt, together with Carl Merz and Kurt Nachtmann, managed to reopen the "Lieber Augustin". Carl Merz took over management in the following years. From 1946 to 1948, Fritz Eckhardt directed the Vienna "Kunsttheater".
He also took part in the "Kleine Brettl" in 1947 and wrote some pieces for cabarets in German-speaking countries. Fritz Eckhardt became a sought-after actor and author in post-war cinema. He became a popular series actor and therefore known to a wider audience through his role in "Hello... Hotel Sacher, Portier!". Eckhardt also wrote scripts, including for "The Leitner Family", for some of his "Tatort" episodes and for "Swabian Stories". One of his most successful films was "When the Father with the Son..." with Heinz Rühmann from 1955.
This was later followed by the role of Inspector Marek in "Tatort", where he was very popular with his audience. During his life he wrote over 30 plays and more than 200 film and television scripts. In 1989, Eckhardt published his autobiography under the title "I like to remember". The book "An actor must be able to do everything" followed in 1992. In 1993 his wife died, whose death he was unable to overcome. This was followed by health problems, because of which he had to undergo several operations.
Fritz Eckhardt died on December 31, 1995 in Klosterneuenburg near Vienna.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Inge Egger was born on 27 August 1923 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She was an actress, known for Suchkind 312 (1955), Die Rose von Stambul (1953) and Wir tanzen auf dem Regenbogen (1952). She died on 5 September 1976 in West Berlin, West Germany.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lars-Gunnar Lotz was born on 15 January 1982 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria. Lars-Gunnar is a director and writer, known for Shifting the Blame (2012), Lisanne (2005) and Stralsund (2009).- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Valie Export was born on 17 May 1940 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She is a director and writer, known for The Practice of Love (1985), Body Tape (1970) and Die süße Nummer: Ein friedliches Konsumerlebnis (1969).- Actress
- Composer
Christina Scherrer was born on 24 May 1987 in Pfarrkirchen im Mühlkreis, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress and composer, known for Je Suis Auto, Tatort (1970) and Qvid Tvm (2012).- Norman Hacker was born on 18 August 1962 in Enns, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Tatort (1970), The 11th Hour (2014) and Blame Game (2019).
- Paula Wolf was born on 21 January 1896 in Hafeld, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She died on 1 June 1960 in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany.
- Günter Franzmeier was born in 1966 in Wels, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Die Steintaler ...von wegen Homo sapiens (2014), Paul Kemp - Alles kein Problem (2013) and Vitasek? (2010).
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Eric Marcus Weglehner was born on 17 May 1992 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. Eric Marcus is a director and writer, known for Among the Dead (2017), Shower (2020) and Zingerle (2019).- Martina Mara was born in 1981 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria.
- Franz Froschauer was born on 16 December 1958 in Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria, Austria. He is an actor, known for Tatort (1970), Im Tal des Schweigens (2004) and Vortex (2001).