Engel, Erich

DIRECTOR (GERMANY)
BORN 14 Feb 1891, Hamburg - DIED 10 May 1966, Berlin
BIRTH NAME Engel, Erich Otto Gustav
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Chausseestrasse (CH-1-16)

Erich Engel was educated at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hamburg. After he worked as a journalist for a while he took acting lessons at the Thalia-Theater in Hamburg, where he worked as a dramatist in 1917-1918. After a short engagement in Munich he went to Berlin in 1924. There he successfully staged plays by Bertolt Brecht like "Dreigroschenoper" (1928) and "Mutter Courage".

In 1930 he started directing movies. In 1935 he made "Nur ein Komödiant" with Rudolf Forster in Vienna and "Pygmalion" with Jenny Jugo and Gustaf Gründgens. During the nazi era he made many films for UFA in Berlin. After the war he moved to the DDR, where he directed "Affäre Blum" (1948). His son Thomas also became a director and they made two movies together.

He was buried not far from Bertolt Brecht at the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof in Berlin.

Related persons
• cooperated with Jugo, Jenny

Events
31/8/1928Premiere of the "Dreigroschenoper" by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in Berlin. The performance took place at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. Harold Paulsen was Macheath, Lotte Lenya was Jenny and Erich Ponto was Bettler Peachum. Erich Engel was the director. [Brecht, Bertolt][Lenya, Lotte][Ponto, Erich]
16/9/1928Premiere of Hermann Ungar's "Der Rote General" at the Theater in der Königgrätzer Strasse in Berlin. It was directed by Erich Engel. The scenery was created by Caspar Neher. The cast included Gustav von Wangenheim, Emil Lind, Fritz Kortner, Eleonora von Mendelssohn, Egon Friedell and Rudolf Platte. [Kortner, Fritz][Platte, Rudolf][Wangenheim, Gustav von]

Images

The grave of Erich Engel at the Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (26 Mar 2007)

 

Sources
• Blubacher, Thomas, Gibt es etwas Schöneres als Sehnsucht?, Die Geschwister Eleonora und Francesco von Mendelssohn, Henschel Verlag, Leipzig, 2008
Erich Engel - Wikipedia (DE)


Engel, Kathinka

Published: 10 Jun 2007
Last update: 11 Feb 2023