Biography
Jürgen Holtz was a German actor. Born in Berlin, he studied acting at the Deutsches Theaterinstitut in Weimar and the Theaterhochschule Leipzig. He began his career in East German theatres, including engagements in Erfurt and Brandenburg an der Havel, before performing at the Volksbühne, Deutsches Theater and Berliner Ensemble in East Berlin. From 1983 he worked in the West, appearing in both classical and contemporary productions.
On stage he played leading roles including the title part in the premiere of Moritz Tassow by Peter Hacks and, at the age of 86, Galileo in Brecht’s Leben des Galilei at the Berliner Ensemble. His film and television credits include Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) as Mr Ganske, Rosa Luxemburg (1986) as Karl Kautsky, Stereo (2014), Made in Israel (2001) and the series Motzki (1993). He also worked as an artist and author, publishing an autobiography in 2015.
Holtz received several awards, among them the Theaterpreis Berlin and the Konrad Wolf Prize. He died in Berlin in 2020.
