Biography

He became known for his performances in gangster or Western films in the 1960s where he typically portrayed a bandit or mercenary. His dark features, similar to those of his Italian co-stars meant that he could play Latin characters, such as Mexicans.

The son of a school principal, he studied at the University of World Trade in Vienna and subsequently trained for acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar.

Swarthy, often bearded Austrian character actor who first made a mark as a western villain in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964). Later attained TV stardom for his role as customs investigator Kressin in "Tatort". Retired from acting in the late 90's.

During the preparations of a retrospective on the occasion of his 85th birthday the organization found it that he was no longer alive. His death kept about 1 year unknown.

He retired from film and television acting in 1995 and from theatre 1999.