Helmut Griem(1932-2004)

The son of a naval radio operator, Griem studied literature and philosophy. He began on stage in Luebeck, then performed in Cologne, Salzburg, at the Vienna Burgtheater and with the Munich Kammerspiele. His training was primarily classical. On screen, both in Germany and internationally, he tended to portray the stereotypical blond, blue-eyed Nazi, notably as SS officer Aschenbach in The Damned (1969) and as ruthless U-boat captain Willi Schlueter in the POW drama The McKenzie Break (1970).