{{Short description|German actor (1939–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Volker Spengler | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1939|2|16|df=yes}} | birth_place = Bremen, Germany | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|2|8|1939|2|16|df=yes}} | death_place = Berlin, Germany | othername = | yearsactive = 1966–2004 (film and TV) | spouse = | website = }}
'''Volker Spengler''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfɔlkɐ ˈʃpɛŋlɐ|}}; 16 February 1939 – 8 February 2020)<ref name="Schaper" /> was a German stage and film actor. Spengler was best known to international audiences as a member of director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's acting ensemble, including his role as the transsexual Erwin/Elvira of Fassbinder's ''In a Year of 13 Moons'' (1978).<ref name="Zeit" /> Spengler appeared in about 40 film and television productions between 1966 and 2004, also working with other directors such as Christoph Schlingensief and Volker Schlöndorff. On stage, he performed at Berlin's Volksbühne and with the Berliner Ensemble.
== Life == Born in Bremen, Spengler began a commercial apprenticeship at age 18. From 1959 to 1961, he attended the ''Schauspielschule'' in Salzburg and the Vienna Reinhardt-Seminar. He played boulevard theatre from 1965, alongside Heinz Erhardt in Stuttgart, with Ida Ehre in Hamburg, and with {{ill|Fritz Rémond|de|Fritz Rémond junior}} in Frankfurt.<ref name="Filmhaus" /> Spengler was discovered for the Schiller Theater by director Fritz Kortner in 1967.<ref name="Schaper" />
Spengler played in many films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. His most noted role with him was the transsexual Erwin/Elvira in ''In a Year of 13 Moons'' in 1978. Spengler played the lead role with Ingrid Caven, Eva Mattes and Elisabeth Trissenaar.<ref name="Zeit" /> He participated in productions of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater in Wuppertal.<ref name="Nachtkritik" />
Spengler appeared in about 40 film and television productions between 1966 and 2004, working also with directors such as Christoph Schlingensief and Volker Schlöndorff.<ref name="Prisma" /> In Schlöndorff's ''Der Unhold'', he played Hermann Göring, alongside Gottfried John and John Malkovich.<ref name="Zeit" />
With Schlingensief, he played on stage<!--''Amanullah Amanullah'' in April 2009--> at Berlin's Volksbühne, such as in ''Rosebud''.<ref name="Zeit" /> He was a long-standing veteran at the Volksbühne and also the Berliner Ensemble.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110717125131/http://www.fassbinderfoundation.de/node.php/en/news_detail/162 Article] at Webarchive (from the Fassbender Foundation)</ref> On stage, he worked with directors such as Frank Castorf, Peter Palitzsch and René Pollesch. In Heiner Müller's last production, Brecht's ''Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui'' with the Berliner Ensemble, he played Giri together with Martin Wuttke.<ref name="Schaper" /><ref name="Zeit" />
His trademark was his raspy voice.<ref name="Schaper" /> His longtime partner Bob died on 20 April 1994 of AIDS.<ref name="Tholl" /> Spengler died on 8 February 2020, eight days shy of his 81st birthday.<ref name="Schaper" />
== Filmography == Spenglers's films include:<ref name="Filmportal" /> * Fassbinder ** ''Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven'' (''Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel'', 1975)<ref name="Nachtkritik" /> ** ''Satan's Brew'' (''Satansbraten'', 1976)<ref name="Schaper" /> ** ''Chinese Roulette'' (''Chinesisches Roulette'', 1976)<ref name="Tholl" /> ** ''The Stationmaster's Wife'' (TV film, 1977)<ref name="Filmportal Bolwieser" /> ** ''Despair'' (1978)<ref name="Prisma" /> ** ''In a Year of 13 Moons'' (''In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden'', 1978)<ref name="Schaper" /> ** ''The Marriage of Maria Braun'' (''Die Ehe der Maria Braun'', 1979)<ref name="Prisma" /> ** ''The Third Generation'' (''Die dritte Generation'', 1979)<ref name="Schaper" /> ** ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (TV miniseries, 1980)<ref name="Schaper" /> ** ''Veronika Voss'' (''Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss'', 1982)<ref name="Schaper" /> *''Ticket of No Return'' (''Bildnis einer Trinkerin'', 1979)<ref name="ottinger" /> * ''{{ill|Bang! You're Dead! (1987 film)|de|3=Peng! Du bist tot!|lt=Bang! You're Dead!}}'' (1987)<ref name="Filmportal Peng" /> * Schlingensief ** ''100 Years of Adolf Hitler: The Last Hour in the Führerbunker'' (1989)<ref name="Schaper" /> ** ''The German Chainsaw Massacre'' (''Das deutsche Kettensägenmassaker'', 1991)<ref name="Prisma" /> ** ''{{Ill|The 120 Days of Bottrop|de|Die 120 Tage von Bottrop}}'' (1997)<ref name="Tholl" /> * Schlöndorff ** ''The Ogre'' (''Der Unhold'', 1996)<ref name="Tholl" /> * ''Off Beat'' (''Kammerflimmern'', 2004)<ref name="Filmportal Kammerflimmern" />
==References== <references>
<ref name="Schaper">{{cite news | last = Schaper | first = Rüdiger | url = https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/schauspieler-volker-spengler-gestorben-er-gehoerte-dorthin-wo-es-chaos-gab/25526048.html | title = Schauspieler Volker Spengler gestorben: Er gehörte dorthin, wo es Chaos gab | newspaper = Der Tagesspiegel | date = 8 February 2020 | language = de | access-date = 8 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Tholl">{{cite web | last = Tholl | first = Gregor | url = https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=35482 | title = Fassbinder- und Theater-Star Volker Spengler gestorben | website = queer.de | date = 8 February 2020 | language = de | access-date = 9 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Filmhaus">{{cite web | url = http://www.deutsches-filmhaus.de/bio_er/r-t_spieler/spengler_volker_bio.htm | title = Volker Spengler | website = Deutsches Filmhaus | language = de | access-date = 9 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Filmportal">{{cite web | url = https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/volker-spengler_f303a3a8e0acf2eee03053d50b375fcc | title = Volker Spengler | website = Filmportal | language = de | access-date = 10 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Filmportal Bolwieser">{{cite web | url = https://www.filmportal.de/film/bolwieser_899e259f65ab44d1b3baec6c03c80389 | title = Bolwieser | website = Filmportal | language = de | access-date = 10 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Filmportal Kammerflimmern">{{cite web | url = https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/kammerflimmern_ee07ac822cbabc4ae03053d50b3715a6 | title = Kammerflimmern | website = Filmportal | language = de | access-date = 10 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Filmportal Peng">{{cite web | url = https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/peng-du-bist-tot_ea43d4a6a7ba5006e03053d50b37753d | title = Peng! Du bist tot! | website = Filmportal | language = de | access-date = 10 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Nachtkritik">{{cite web | url = https://www.nachtkritik.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17652:schauspieler-volker-spengler-verstorben&catid=126:meldungen-k&Itemid=100089 | title = Schauspieler Volker Spengler verstorben / Alte Bundesrepublik, neue Bundesrepublik | website = nachtkritik.de | date = 9 October 2020 | language = de | access-date = 8 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Prisma">{{cite web | url = http://www.prisma-online.de/tv/person.html?pid=volker_spengler | title = Volker Spengler | website = prisma-online.de | language = de | access-date = 8 February 2020 | archive-date = 21 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721143255/http://www.prisma-online.de/tv/person.html?pid=volker_spengler | url-status = dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Zeit">{{cite news | url = https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2020-02/volker-spengler-tod-fassbinder | title = Fassbinder-Darsteller: Schauspieler Volker Spengler gestorben | newspaper = Die Zeit | date = 9 February 2020 | language = de | access-date = 9 February 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="ottinger">{{cite web |last1=Ottinger |first1=Ulrike |title=Ticket of No Return |url=https://www.ulrikeottinger.com/en/film-details/ticket-of-no-return |website=Ulrike OTTINGER |access-date=9 November 2025 }}</ref>
</references> ==External links== * {{DNB portal|1017884978}} * {{IMDb name|0818204}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spengler, Volker}} Category:1939 births Category:2020 deaths Category:20th-century German male actors Category:German male film actors Category:German male television actors Category:Male actors from Bremen (city) Category:German gay actors