Mathias Wieman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mathias Wieman
Born June 23, 1902
Osnabrück, Germany
Died December 3, 1969, age 67
Zurich, Switzerland

Mathias Wieman (Carl Heinrich Franz Mathias Wieman) (23 June 1902 - 3 December 1969) was a German stage-performer, silent-and-sound motion picture actor.

[edit] Early life and career

Wieman was born in Osnabrück, the only son of Carl Philipp Anton Wieman and his wife Louise. Raised in Osnabrück, Wiesbaden and Berlin, where he studied four terms of philosophy, history of art and languages, Wieman wanted to actually become an airplane technical designer and flier. He started his acting career on the stage in Berlin under the direction of Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater. In the early 1920s, he was a member of the Holtorf-Truppe, a stock theater group that included future director Veit Harlan. His fellow stage actors included his future wife, Erika Meingast, Marlene Dietrich, Dora Gerson and Max Schreck (the vampire in Nosferatu). Later he began working in silent and sound films; he landed supporting roles in Femme, Königin Luise and Das Land ohne Frauen. In 1930, along with Leni Riefenstahl, he appeared in Avalanche(Stürme über dem Mont Blanc), and in 1932 he played the lead in Riefenstahl's The Blue Light.

At the height of his film career, during the decade of the 1930s, Wieman acted in such productions as The Man Without a Name (Mensch ohne Namen), Queen of Atlantis (Die Herrin von Atlantis), The Countess of Monte Cristo (Die Gräfin von Monte Christo), Fräulein Hoffmanns Erzählungen, The Rider of the White Horse (Der Schimmelreiter), Viktoria, Patriots, and Togger. He also had an international success with his appearance in The Eternal Mask (Die ewige Maske). The movie was awarded with the American National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Film in the United States in 1937 (National Board of Review Awards 1937). The film was also nominated for an award at the Venice Film Festival. Also in 1937, Wieman was made Staatsschauspieler, an honorary title bestowed by the German government and the highest honour attainable by an actor in Germany.

During the time of Nazi Germany, Wieman was classed as "persona non grata" by Joseph Goebbels, this greatly reduced his activity. He only took part in few movies in the 1940s like Ich klage an, Das andere Ich, Paracelsus, Träumerei and Wie sagen wir es unseren Kindern.

After World War II he was able to work more intensively in the film business again, normally in support roles. To his fairly well-known work belongs The Alfred Nobel Story (Herz der Welt), As Long as You're Near Me (Solange du da bist), The Last Summer (Der letzte Sommer), Ripening Youth (Reifende Jugend), The Girl and the Legend (Robinson soll nicht sterben), and opposite Ingrid Bergman in Roberto Rossellini's Fear(La Paura). Two of the films Mathias starred in were in competition at the Cannes Film Festival: In 1952, Herz Der Welt; and in 1954, Solange Du Da Bist.

Mathias also made many records(LPs) of classic stories where he would narrate the story accompanied by orchestral music. One example is Peter und der Wolf with Mathias and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Another example is Für Kenner & Kinder, a CD issued by Deutsche Grammophon in honour of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mathias in 2002.

On stage, Wieman appeared in a number of productions including, Goethe's Faust, Pygmalion (play) by George Bernard Shaw, the most famous play of Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and in Bertolt Brecht's In The Jungle of Cities (Im Dickicht der Städte).

His many friends included such diverse people as Hanna Reitsch, Lida Baarova and Hans Fallada.

In 1958, his hometown of Osnabrück awarded him the prestigious Justus-Möser-Medaille for his achievements in acting on stage and screen.

Condolence Telegram from German President Gustav Heinemann on death of Mathias in 1969.
Condolence Telegram from German President Gustav Heinemann on death of Mathias in 1969.
Wieman family plot in Johannesfriedhof cemetery in Osnabrück, Germany.
Wieman family plot in Johannesfriedhof cemetery in Osnabrück, Germany.



[edit] Later life

After World War II, Wieman moved to Switzerland with his wife, stage actress Erika Meingast, there in 1969 he died of cancer. Mathias and his wife Erika (died in 1972) were cremated and the ashes buried in the Wieman family plot in the Johannesfriedhof cemetery in Osnabrück.

[edit] External links

Languages