The actor Rolf Hoppe is dead. On Wednesday he died peacefully „after a fulfilled life in the circle of his family (…),“ said the family on Thursday about the Hoftheater Dresden.
Rolf Hoppe has played a total of more than 400 film and stage roles since 1963. His acting career began Hoppe in a amateur theater group in his hometown Ellrich in Thuringia. Rolf Hoppe became known to a wide audience for his role in Václav Vorlíček’s beloved Defa fairytale film Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella (1973).
He gained international fame in 1981 with his role in the German-Hungarian film Mephisto, in which he played the National Socialist politician and former Commander in Chief of the German Air Force, Hermann Göring. The feature film by István Szabó was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1982.
His role as the father of pianist Clara Schumann in the Spring Symphony by Peter Schamoni also made Hoppe known to an international audience. He played the role of Mammon in Jedermann several times at the Salzburg Festival. In addition, Hoppe participated in several ARD crime scenes.
In 1995, the actor bought a farm on the outskirts of Dresden and founded the Hoftheater Dresden with friends. In 2017, Hoppe was the first prizewinner at the fairytale film festival fabulix in Annaberg-Buchholz in Saxony, where he was honored for his life’s work. He also received the Order of the Dresden Semperopernball. Rolf Hoppe was 87 years old.
