theater and television
Actor Christian Quadflieg died at the age of 78
Actor Christian Quadflieg as Dr. medical Karsten Mattiesen, taken while filming the TV series “The Country Doctor” in 1986. Photo
© Horst Ossinger/dpa
As “The Country Doctor” he became the darling of the audience, with the “Tatort” episode “Reifezeugnis” he wrote television history. Now the actor Christian Quadflieg has died.
To this day, a large audience remembers him primarily as “The Country Doctor”. Between 1986 and 1992 he played the title hero Dr. Karsten Mattiesen in the fictional Schleswig-Holstein village of Deekelsen. Quadflieg also wrote TV history in 1977: with Wolfgang Petersen’s then spectacular “Tatort: Reifezeugnis”, in which he, as a teacher, seduced one of his students, played by Nastassja Kinski.
famous father
Quadflieg was born on April 11, 1945 in Växjö (Sweden) as one of five children of the actor Will Quadflieg (1914-2003, “Faust”). After school in Hamburg, he applied to the Bochum drama school – and initially failed. Engagements in Oberhausen, Wuppertal and Basel followed. From 1974 Quadflieg worked as a freelance actor at renowned houses in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich and Vienna as well as at the Salzburg Festival in major classic roles.
On television he appeared in series and films such as “Der Alte”, “Derrick” and “Das Traumschiff”. He played a conductor in the ARD family series “Vater reluctantly” (1995-2002). Recently things had become quieter around him. Quadflieg, who had been married to his colleague Renate Reger since 1974, concentrated on his more than 30 literary programmes, with which he gave guest performances and read in audio books. This included poetry by Erich Kästner, Heinrich Heine and Eduard Mörike, as well as Bible stories. “The family mourns the loss of a loved one and great artist,” the statement said.