Memorial Page for Fritz Wepper

Fritz Wepper (born 17 August 1941 in Munich; died 25 March 2024 in Upper Bavaria) was a German actor. A broad audience knew him as Harry Klein in Der Kommissar and Derrick, as Mayor Wolfgang Wöller in Um Himmels Willen, and from films such as The Bridge and Cabaret.

Early years on stage and screen

Wepper appeared on Bavarian radio and television as a child and stood on a Munich stage in Peter Pan in 1952. His early breakthrough came in Bernhard Wicki's 1959 anti-war film The Bridge. The film told of the pointless deployment of very young soldiers in the final days of the war; Wepper was part of an ensemble that played this story with notable restraint.

Cabaret

In 1972 Wepper appeared in Bob Fosse's film musical Cabaret alongside Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem and Marisa Berenson. His character Fritz Wendel moves through a society marked by denial and rising antisemitism. The film won several Academy Awards and gave Wepper international visibility, although the rest of his career took place mainly in German-language television.

Harry Klein

For German viewers, Wepper became closely connected with Harry Klein. He first played the character in Der Kommissar, then from 1974 to 1998 in Derrick opposite Horst Tappert. Harry Klein was not a loud detective, but a reliable counterpart: attentive, mobile and close to the people who appeared in the cases. This presence made Wepper a familiar face of ZDF crime drama.

Television years and later roles

Wepper remained attached to television for decades. With his brother Elmar Wepper he acted in Zwei Brüder, and later appeared with his daughter Sophie Wepper in Mord in bester Gesellschaft. From 2002 to 2021 he played Mayor Wolfgang Wöller in Um Himmels Willen. The role used his comic timing: Wöller was cunning, vain and human enough to keep recurring conflicts light.

Farewell

Fritz Wepper died on 25 March 2024 after a long illness. He was 82 years old. His work connects German postwar cinema, international musical film and decades of serial television. This mixture helps explain his closeness to audiences: Wepper was present in very different formats while remaining recognizably a Munich actor.