Biography

Wolfgang Neuss was born on December 3, 1923 in Breslau, Silesia, Germany [now Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland]. He was an actor and writer, known for Das Wirtshaus im Spessart (1958), Sky Without Stars (1955) and The Captain from Köpenick (1956). He was married to Margareta Henriksson. He died on May 5, 1989 in West Berlin, West Germany.

He caused a scandal in 1962 when he unmasked the name of the murderer in the mini-series Das Halstuch (1962) before the last episode was broadcasted.

The son of an air force officer, Neuss was initially apprenticed as a butcher, but at the age of fifteen decided to travel to Berlin to work as a circus clown. Instead, he found himself drafted into the Reich Labour Service, put to work on building roads. From 1940, he served in the German Army on the Russian Front and was wounded in action several times, recipient of the Iron Cross. Towards the end of the war, he fled the Soviet advance aboard a ship bound for Copenhagen. He was subsequently interned in a camp in Flensburg, where he set up a cabaret for fellow internees. From 1950, he established a solid reputation as a comic actor in radio, cabaret and in films.