He became known, among other things, through several Karl May films, where he celebrated his greatest successes in the 1960s as the cranky trapper Sam Hawkens alongside “Winnetou” star Pierre Brice and Hadschi Halef Omar. He was also a popular guest star in many television crime dramas.
The actor was born on November 26, 1926 in Berlin. His father was a circus artist, his mother a musician, so his son was probably born with an interest in art. After attending drama school, Wolter began as a cabaret artist. Theater stations were stages in Berlin and Potsdam, later Munich.
“… if I am not wrong”
First cinema engagements followed, around 1961 together with Horst Buchholz in Billy Wilder’s post-war comedy “One, Two, Three”. Karl May’s career began in 1962 with “Der Schatz im Silbersee”. Wolter became a star as Sam Hawkens, the faithful companion of Winnetou and Old Shatterhand – with the famous phrase “… if I’m not mistaken”. Wolter also delighted his audience as Hajji Halef Omar Ben Hajji Abul Abbas Ibn Hajji Dawuhd al Gossarah, who pronounces his own name with legendary accuracy. For a long time, the actor was considered the ideal cast for lovable clumsies.
Wolter’s appearances alongside Pierre Brice and Lex Barker are – despite many other roles in television productions such as “Tatort”, “Der Alte”, “Ein Schloss am Wörthersee” or “Küstenwache” – the ones that are probably the strongest for the audience to this day have been remembered.
“It’s Really Enough”
“Each definition is annoying and everyone can imagine that reducing an actor’s life to a single role is not what an actor’s soul dreams of,” Wolter once told the dpa. “But I loved Sam Hawkens, otherwise he wouldn’t have turned out like this.” And the role also had another effect: “Strangely enough, this positive role fell back on me as Ralf Wolter. People said: He’s a good guy.”
He has not given interviews for a long time. He had his last appearance in a film in 2012 in “Bis zum Horizont, dann links” with colleagues such as Otto Sander, Herbert Feuerstein, Tilo Prückner and Anna Maria trouble. Since then he has retired. He told the “Bild” newspaper in 2013: “At some point you reach a point where you say: It’s really enough, I don’t want any more.”
Source: Nachrichten
