Harry Meyen

Harry Meyen (born Harald Haubenstock; 31 August 1924 – 15 April 1979) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films and television productions between 1948 and 1975. In the 1960s he also worked as a theatre director in West Germany.

Harry Meyen
Harry Meyen and Romy Schneider received by Rut Brandt, Bonn, 1971
Born
Harald Haubenstock

(1924-08-31)31 August 1924
Hamburg, Germany
Died15 April 1979(1979-04-15) (aged 54)
Hamburg, West Germany
Cause of deathsuicide by hanging
Resting placeOhlsdorf Cemetery, Hamburg
OccupationActor
Years active1948–1975
Spouse(s)
Anneliese Römer
​
​
(m. 1953; div. 1966)​

​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1975)​
Children1

Personal life

Meyen was born in Hamburg, the son of a Jewish merchant who was deported to a concentration camp during the Nazi regime. The 18-year-old Meyen himself was incarcerated[1] as a Mischling and survived the Neuengamme concentration camp.

After the war, he began his career with Willy Maertens at the Hamburg Thalia Theater. From 1952 he performed at the Theater Aachen and from 1955 moved to Berlin. Also starring in films directed by Helmut Käutner, Falk Harnack and Wolfgang Staudte, he played the role of a young Luftwaffe officer in the 1955 movie Des Teufels General side by side with Curd Jürgens. He also worked as a dubbing actor giving his voice to Dirk Bogarde, Robert Mitchum, Michel Piccoli, Peter Sellers, and Jean-Louis Trintignant.

From 1953 to 1966 he was married to actress Anneliese Römer. In July 1966 he married Romy Schneider in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Their son David Christopher was born 3 December 1966; the family lived in Berlin and later in Hamburg. Meyen dealt with the production of theatre plays and operas, however with moderate success. The couple finally divorced in 1975, and Schneider took their son with her to France.

Meyen was a depressive, his condition caused by the torture he had received from the Nazis for being half-Jewish.[2] In 1979, Meyen hanged himself at home in Hamburg. He is buried in the Ohlsdorf Cemetery. His son David Meyen died in an accident two years later.[3]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Die Königin der Schmerzen" by Matthias Matussek and Lars-Olav Beier, Der Spiegel (21 May 2007) (in German)
  2. Connolly, Kate (29 September 2008). "The rehabilitation of Romy Schneider". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. "The son of actress Romy Schneider was killed Sunday..." UPI. 6 July 1981. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.