Herbert Köfer is dead. The GDR acting legend died at the age of 100 in his hometown of Berlin and was in front of the camera until recently.
He stood on stage and in front of cameras for more than 80 years and was ultimately considered the oldest still active actor in the world. Now the legendary actor died on Saturday at the age of 100 in his home town of Berlin. This has now been confirmed by his widow Heike Köfer of the German Press Agency. In total, he played in more than 300 film and television productions and had numerous theater engagements at the same time.
Köfer was a real TV legend, especially in the former GDR, where he became a cult star in the role of grandpa Paul Schmidt in the series “Pensioners never have time”. Born in Berlin, he had been making a career on GDR television since the early 1950s and was one of the most famous faces there. He hosted the very first news program “Current Camera” there in 1952 and also played in numerous DEFA films such as “Naked Amongst Wolves” in 1963.
Success as an actor even after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Even after the fall of the Wall, Köfer was able to build on his success, in contrast to many of his GDR colleagues. He was seen, among other things, in several episodes of the ARD doctor series “In all friendship” or the “Polizeiruf 110” offshoot “Polizeihauptmeister Krause”. Köfer was also hired for numerous thrillers such as “Wolffs Revier”, “SOKO Wismar”, “SOKO Leipzig” or “A strong team”.
Köfer was active until shortly before his death. His last role was in the comedy “Krauses Zukunft”. The television film was first broadcast on Das Erste in February 2021 on his 100th birthday. Since September 2017, Köfer has been the “oldest active actor in the world” according to an entry in the German record institute.
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