Günther Schramm

The son of a physician, Günther Schramm spent his early childhood in Stettin, Pomerania, but was schooled in Hamburg when his family moved there after the war. He had a brother who was also in the medical profession and sisters who married doctors. His matriculation completed, Schramm found a job as a forest ranger's assistant, but soon decided on giving the acting profession a go. Between 1950 and 1951, he studied for a year at the State College of Music and Performing Arts in Hamburg, and, the following year, joined the literary cabaret troupe Die Buchfinken, which he also co-founded. Though successful, the organisation disbanded in 1957, but, by that time, Schramm had already been engaged by the renowned Thalia Theater as an ensemble member.

Schramm made his cinematic debut in 1955 as a ship's cadet in a German TV version of the sinking of the Titanic. Only occasionally employed in mainstream movies as a supporting actor, he was focused from the start on a career in television. His road to success came via guest roles, notably in the spy series Die fünfte Kolonne (1963) and in the three-part miniseries Verräter (1967). He starred in the drama series Algebra um acht (1972) as an academic counselor for adult students and then hit the big time as the resourceful Detective Walter Grabert in the long-running crime series Der Kommissar (1969). Alongside co-stars Erik Ode and Reinhard Glemnitz, Schramm collected five Bambi Awards (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975) and became one of Germany's most popular TV actors of the era. Portraying amiable, erudite, sympathetic, often pipe-smoking gents (he was Germany's 'Pipe Smoker of the Year' in 1974) contributed greatly to that popularity.

Beginning in the early 70s, Schramm tried his hand first as a panellist (in Dalli Dalli (1971)) and, subsequently, as moderator/host of musical TV quiz shows like Erkennen Sie die Melodie? (1969) and Quiz As - Musik zum Raten (1985). He also did voice-over work, dubbing for, among others, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (in 77 Sunset Strip (1958)), Lloyd Bochner, Dick Van Dyke and Alec McCowen. By the mid-90s, he was back acting on screen, starring opposite Nadja Tiller in the comedy Holstein Lovers (1999), as an elderly aristocrat in the romantic melodrama Sehnsucht nach Sandin (2002) and in a host of other TV productions. In 2007, Schramm replaced Christian Wolff as one of the principals in the popular family saga Une famille en Bavière (1989), racking up 97 episodic credits until 2013.

Schramm has been married since 1958 to the actress Gudrun Thielemann. Their union produced a son (he also has a daughter from his previous marriage). The family made their home on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from 1982 to 2001, with Schramm regularly commuting to and from Canada for screen assignments. Since then, the family has returned to Germany, residing in the well-to-do township of Grünwald, south of Munich.