At 60 years old
In the “crime scene” and at the theater – Uwe Bohm died
Uwe Bohm is dead. The actor died at the age of 60. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
As a boy, he was discovered for the film – although he did not have an easy childhood. Or maybe because of that. In any case, a role seemed tailor-made for him.
It was a face that is hard to forget: Uwe Bohm played the villain again and again, including in “Tatort”. According to his family, the actor died unexpectedly at the age of 60.
“It is with infinite sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, husband, son and great actor Uwe Bohm,” wrote his wife Ninon Bohm in an email to the German Press Agency.
Bohm’s adoptive mother, Natalia Bowakow-Bohm, confirmed when asked that she had also received the news of the death. The agency Louisa Held Management also said when asked: “Unfortunately, it is a reality. Uwe passed away.” Details were not initially known.
difficult family relationships
Uwe Bohm was born as Uwe Grossmann in January 1962 in Hamburg. As a child, he ended up in a home, as he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin” in 2016: “My father was a dock worker and, as it later turned out, had spied for the GDR. He started drinking, must have had quite a fear of persecution.”
The father was imprisoned for treason. «I came to the home because the youth welfare office decided that my home was no longer working. And I had behavioral problems.” His mother died a little later of cirrhosis of the liver.
The boy, then eleven years old, was discovered by the director Hark Bohm for the film “I can also build an ark” in 1973. Three years later the main role in Hark Bohm’s youth drama “Nordsee ist Mordsee” followed, which made both famous. The director finally adopted the boy and brought him to Munich. Uwe took Bohm’s name. He began an apprenticeship as a painter and varnisher, but broke off and tried his hand at acting – finally with success.
From 1984 onwards he was seen again and again in “Tatort” and other thrillers as a suspect, murderer or psychopath. But Bohm created a diverse repertoire. According to his biography, by 2014 he had worked in around 80 film and television productions. Under director Fatih Akin, he was also seen in the 2016 film “Tschick” based on the young adult novel by Wolfgang Herrndorf.
Also successful in the theater
At the same time, Uwe Bohm acted successfully in theater for decades. In the late 1980s he worked at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg with the director Peter Zadek. In 1990 he stood on the stage of the Vienna Burgtheater for the first time. He played at the Salzburg Festival, at the Ruhr Festival in Recklinghausen and at the Berliner Ensemble, also in comedies and light-hearted roles.
In recent years, the actor has become quieter. According to what he told SZ Magazin, he had five children by four women. Most recently, Bohm lived with his wife Ninon in Berlin. He once told the “Bild am Sonntag” that he was very happy to be able to play the roles of the bad guys in the crime genre, in ambiguous characters.
But he also said: “A role as a ‘crime scene’ commissioner would of course appeal to me. But to get such a job is very lucky, a great task and an honour.”