|
Communist authorities banned him from performing in East
Germany in 1977 after he expressed support for a dissident folk
singer and he asked to leave soon after.
In West Germany, his career picked up again, as he released
songs, published books and starred in television series.
Krug became the public face for Deutsche Telekom's gigantic
initial public offering in 1996 - only to burn his bridges with
his corporate sponsors later by publicly apologizing to
shareholders who lost money.
"His greatest accomplishment was that he was first a star in
East Germany and then became a star in all of Germany," said
Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller. "Krug was never afraid to stand up
for what he believed in."
Krug was born in Duisburg, West Germany in 1937 and moved to
Communist East Germany with his father, an engineer in the steel
industry, in 1949.
He started acting in 1957 and came up against the authorities
less than a decade later, appearing in the East German film
"Spur der Steine" (Trace of Stones) that was branded
anti-Socialist soon after its release and banned.
Another decade on, he signed a petition against the expulsion of
folk singer Wolf Biermann, then headed west.
He died on Oct. 21, but his family had wanted a private funeral
before going public, his managers K&V Events said.
"I'll remember Manfred Krug as one of the most authentic and
popular actors of our age," the country's president Joachim
Gauck, another East German, said on Thursday.
"Whether on television, in films or on the stage, he showed us
the strengths and weaknesses of human beings with his wonderful
style."
(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
