Anecdotes

He studied acting after he left school. His first professional appearance was as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" at the Düsseldorfer Freibühne. He was eventually mentored by noted cabaret comedian 'Werner Finck' and became co-founder with 'Hans Deppe' of the famous Berlin cabaret "Die Katakombe".

Left the bulk of his considerable estate to the charitable organisation SOS Kinderdörfer ("Children's Villages").

Diminutive, emaciated-looking German character comedian, the son of a merchant. A prolific stage actor and director, he specialised in good-hearted, eccentric or comical 'little man' roles. Platte entered films in 1929, often appearing opposite the actress Grethe Weiser. His immense popularity following World War II, resulted in frequent guest appearances in episodic television and TV folk plays.

In 1940 he succeeded Ralph Arthur Roberts as director of the Theater in der Behrenstraße in Berlin (right beside the present-day Komische Oper) until its final closure in 1944.

In the 1930s he became a popular support actor who impersonated the often insecure average man in countless movies.

From 1929 onwards, Platte performed in more than 200 film roles, embodying the shy and underestimated, likeable "Little Man".

Rudolf Platte was married to the actress Marina Ried and two times to the actress Georgia Lind. After the death of Georgia Lind he lost his will to live and died only some days after her. Both are buried in an Ehrengrab ('honorary' grave) in the Berlin Wilmersdorf cemetery.

From 1945 to 1947 he directed the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, which in 1954 became home of the Berliner Ensemble theatre company.

Was interested in drama and acting already during his school years, and participated in (often improvised) performances of plays with his fellow students.

During the wartime his activity in movies dropped off, he appeared among others in "Blutsbrüderschaft" (1940), "Die lustigen Vagabunden" (1940), "Alles aus Liebe" (1942) and "Der Meisterdetektiv" (1944), in which he played one of his few leading roles.

He made his last work for the cinema for the great director Rainer Werner Fassbinder for his movie "Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss" (1982).

The actor Rudolf Platte made first acting experiences with his attendance in a school performance. Later he took acting lessons and made his debut in the play "Der Kaufmann von Venedig" at the Freilichtbühne Düsseldorf. It followed several more engagements at different theaters till the end of the 20's where he also directed now and then.

His roles for the cinema dropped off in the 60's and he appeared more often at the theater and got more engagements for the television where he often impersonated more demanding roles than in his feature movies.

After the war he dedicated to the theater again but from the 50's he was engaged again in many movies, normally for funny parts.

Rudolf Platte was married with the actress Marina Ried and two times with the actress Georgia Lind. After the death of Georgia Lind he lost his life courage and died only some days after his wife's death.