- Born
- Died
- Height6′ 1½″ (1.87 m)
- Born on 26 May 1923 in Wuppertal, he served with the Nazi German Waffen-SS in World War II. After attending acting lessons at the theater in Stendal, where he also made his stage debut, he performed on several important stages in Germany, but became widely popular as cinema and television actor in the late 1950s and 1960s, probably best known as gentleman gangster in The Great British Train Robbery (1966). Nevertheless, the role of his role was the character of "Stephan Derrick", a Munich Chief Inspector, who became a cult figure all over the world. He played the role from 1974 to 1998 and received several awards such as the Golden Camera, Bambi and the Italian Telegatto.
- IMDb mini biography by: fippi2000
- SpousesUrsula Tappert(October 15, 1957 - December 13, 2008) (his death)Mechthild Bonner(1947 - 1954) (divorced, 2 children)Hildegard Muthmann(1942 - 1947) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenKarin BeckmannRalph TappertGary Tappert
- Only German actor, who has fan clubs in Europe as well as overseas. Even Pope John Paul II liked to watch him on Derrick (1974).
- Received Germany's Cross of Merit in 1988.
- In April 2013 information emerged that actor Horst Tappert served as a member of the notorious Waffen-SS during World War II and hid the fact for years. Re-runs of "Derrick" were suspended in Germany and some other countries as a result. He never personally disclosed his connection with the SS.
- In December 2001, one of Tappert's sons, Gary, died of organ failure after having gone into a coma. He was 52, and an architect.
- Lived in Gräfelfing near Munich with his third wife Ursula and is the father of three children from two prior marriages: Karin, Ralph and Gary (died 2001).
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
