For several decades he was one of the most popular artists in Germany and had a successful life in both parts of the country. Manfred Krug died exactly five years ago, on October 21, 2016. Born in Duisburg, he moved with his father to the newly founded GDR when he was twelve. Until his departure in 1977 he was popular there as a singer and actor. Largely unknown in the West, he quickly built a new career after moving to the FRG: As an actor, he was successful in the ARD early evening series “Aufachse” and in the lawyer series “Liebling Kreuzberg”. From 1984 to 2001 he and Charles Brauer formed one of the most popular “crime scene” duos of all time: Stoever and Brockmöller. Krug was married to Ottilie Krug for more than half a century, from 1963 until his death, and the couple have three children together.
After his apprenticeship as a steel smelter, Krug studied at the State Drama School in Berlin and played in television and cinema films from 1957. In particular, the work with director Frank Beyer (“Fünf Patronenhülsen”, 1960) made him known. The joint collaboration “Spur der Steine” caused a scandal in 1966. After only a few days, the film about the rebellious brigade leader Hannes Balla, played by Krug, fell victim to censorship and was taken out of the cinemas. Until the end of the GDR it was no longer allowed to be performed.
Manfred Krug moved to the FRG in 1977
Parallel to acting, Krug built a successful career as a singer from the mid-1960s. With his mixture of hit songs, chanson and jazz, he gained a large audience; his albums published in the 1970s were great successes in the GDR.
In April 1977 Manfred Krug had submitted an application to leave the GDR, which was also approved. So he moved to the West on June 20 of the same year. Hardly anyone there knew him, but that changed quickly with his role as the adventurous truck driver Franz Meersdonk in the ARD early evening series “Aufachse”, in which Krug was seen from 1977 to 1993.
But above all, there is one role with which he is remembered: as the singing commissioner Paul Stoever. “Tatort: Stoevers Fall”, broadcast in July 1992, is still the most-watched episode of the crime series with 15.86 million viewers.