Walter Sedlmayr

Walter Sedlmayr
Walter Sedlmayr
Born	6 January 1926; Munich, Germany
Died	14 July 1990 (aged 64); Munich, West Germany
Other names	Walter Sedlmayer
Occupation	Actor

Walter Sedlmayr (6 January 1926 – 14 July 1990) was a popular German stage, television, and film actor from Bavaria. His murder in 1990 was widely publicized.

Career

After his 1945 wartime Abitur, Sedlmayr served as a Flakhelfer towards the end of World War II. His acting career began with minor roles with the Münchner Kammerspiele, for which he played more than 25 years, and in numerous Heimatfilme during the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1971, by now an associate of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Sedlmayr was briefly arrested because a stolen artwork, the Blutenburger Madonna, was found in his house. He was later acquitted of all charges, and the media attention given to his trial helped him gain major roles. His breakthrough came with the leading role in Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's film Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehem. Hofkoch wird (1972). Afterwards, Sedlmayr was cast in numerous popular German TV shows, including Münchner Geschichten [de], Der Herr Kottnik, Der Millionenbauer, and Polizeiinspektion 1; he also frequently appeared on stage and in other media.

Murder

On 14 July 1990, Sedlmayr was found dead in the bedroom of his Munich apartment. He had been tied up, stabbed in the stomach with a knife and beaten about the head with a hammer.^[1] On 21 May 1993, two half-brothers,^[2] Wolfgang Werlé and Manfred Lauber, former business associates of Sedlmayr, were found guilty of his murder and sentenced to life in prison.^[3]^[4]^[5] The killers were released from prison in 2007 and 2008.^[6]

Sedlmayr's life and murder were the subject of the 2001 biopic Wambo [de] by Jo Baier, where he was played by Jürgen Tarrach [de], and of an episode of the ARD TV series Die großen Kriminalfälle.

In 2009, the two men convicted of the killing took legal action demanding the removal of their names from the German and English language Wikipedia, arguing that it invaded their right to privacy. The names were removed from the German Wikipedia, while the English-speaking Wikipedia community declined to do so, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, which contested the validity of the ruling as it neither operates nor has assets in Germany.^[7] In December 2009, the Federal Court of Justice, the highest court of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, ruled that the convicted have no right of removal of their names from internet archives as this would interfere too strongly with the right of free speech.^[8]^[9]^[10] After this ruling, the names were again included in the German Wikipedia. In June 2018, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the decision of the Federal Court of Justice to reject the request to ban publication of the killers' names.^[6]

Filmography

Film

1949: Die drei Dorfheiligen [de] - Schwälble
1951: Heidelberger Romanze
1952: Two People - Martin
1952: The Crucifix Carver of Ammergau - Muckl
1953: The Mill in the Black Forest
1953: Marriage Strike
1954: The Little Town Will Go to Sleep
1954: Rose-Girl Resli - Theo
1955: I Know What I'm Living For
1955: The Royal Waltz - Konditor Franz
1955: Der Frontgockel - Beni Banzinger
1955: Three Girls from the Rhine
1956: Hilfe - sie liebt mich - Schnecki
1956: The Hunter of Fall - Loisl, Wirtssohn
1957: Marriages Forbidden - Lois Haflinger
1958: Der Pauker - Substitute Teacher
1959: The Shepherd from Trutzberg - Eberhard von Trutzberg
1959: Dorothea Angermann - Willi
1959: People in the Net
1959: The Buddenbrooks - Alois Permaneder
1960: Ein gewisses Röcheln (director)
1964: Bei Tag und Nacht (TV Movie) - Celio
1965: Radetzkymarsch [de] (TV Movie) - Rittmeister Taittinger
1965: Die fromme Helene [de] - Bauer Knoll
1969: Frei bis zum nächsten Mal (TV Movie) - Bürgermeister

1969: Der Rückfall (TV Movie)
1970: Baal (TV Movie) - Anwalt Pschierer
1970: Niklashauser Fart [de] (TV Movie) - Priest
1970: Das Glöcklein unterm Himmelbett - Judge
1971: Rio das Mortes (TV Movie) - Sekretär
1971: Mathias Kneissl - Polizist
1972: The Merchant of Four Seasons - Fruit cart salesman
1972: The Morals of Ruth Halbfass - The arms dealer
1972: Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehem. Hofkoch wird - Theodor Hierneis
1972: A Free Woman [it] - Personalchef
1973: The Experts (1973)
1974: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - Angermayer
1974: Die Ameisen kommen [de] - Kommissar
1974: Die Reform (TV Movie)
1974: Stolen Heaven - Franz Josef Reyer
1975: Das Andechser Gefühl - School director
1975: Fox and His Friends - Car dealer
1975: Lina Braake - Emil Schoener
1975: Cold Blood [de] - Franz Grendel
1976: Der verkaufte Großvater (TV Movie) - Haslinger
1977: Die Jugendstreiche des Knaben Karl [de] - Vater Fey
1979: Anton Sittinger (TV Movie) - Anton Sittinger
1981: Mein Freund, der Scheich (TV Movie) - Grindel
1984: Rambo Zambo (TV Movie) - Haslinger

TV appearances

1964-1970: Das Kriminalmuseum - Kriminalkommissar Brunnert / Drogist / Ludwig Schmiedl / Bahnwärter / Bahn Herr Renz / Alois Hirsch
1969: Der Staudamm - Hering
1972: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day - Witwer
1972-1973: Tatort - Pröpper / Dünnkitz
1973: Drei Partner - Herr Kottnick
1973: World on a Wire - Janitor
1973-1975: Der Kommissar - Alfons Tolke / U-Bahn-Kontrolleur / Bürgermeister / Polizist
1974: Der Herr Kottnik - Alfred Kottnik
1974-1975: Derrick - Koch / Herr Huber
1975: Münchner Geschichten [de] - Erster Polizist
1975-1976: Spannagl & Sohn - Gustav Spannagl
1976: Alle Jahre wieder – Die Familie Semmeling [de] - Wiesner / Reiseleiter Wiesner
1976-1980: Vater Seidl und sein Sohn - Vater Ludwig Seidl
1976-1982: Reisen mit Walter Sedlmayr
1977-1988: Polizeiinspektion 1 - Franz Josef Schöninger / Hans W. Hübner
1978-1980: Der Alte - Herbert Smolka / Ziesenhut
1979-1988: Der Millionenbauer - Josef Hartinger
1983: Monaco Franze - Dr. Felix Hallerstein
1983-1985: Unsere schönsten Jahre - Seidl
1986-1988: Der Schwammerlkönig - Dädy Schwaiger

Award

In 1973, Sedlmayr won the Outstanding Individual Achievement: Actor Deutscher Filmpreis award for his role in Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehemaliger Hofkoch wird.

In June 2000, the Walter-Sedlmayr-Platz was named after him.^[11]