For more than half a century, Horst Sachtleben has influenced numerous television and theater productions with his acting.
Born in Berlin, he was at home in all genres - family series, drama, romance or crime.
The best-known character is probably Bishop Rossbauer, who Sachtleben played for eighteen years in the ARD series "Um Himmels Willen".
Horst Sachtleben has now died at the age of 91.
In Berlin, Sachtleben studied theater and took acting classes.
He began his career in the 1950s at the Hebbel Theater in Berlin.
He later moved to the Zurich Schauspielhaus.
For more than 30 years he was a member of the Bavarian State Theater in Munich, where he also worked as a director.
In 1967 he received the Bavarian State Prize for his services to the stage.
Sachtleben was regularly seen in TV series (“Derrick”, “Tatort”, “Forsthaus Falkenau”).
In 1996 he acted in Caroline Link's feature film "Beyond the Silence" and in 2013 in "Buddy".
For the Bavarian Radio he worked for a long time as a radio play director.
Sachtleben was also in demand as a voice actor.
He was the German voice of Peter Falk as "Columbo" and that of Harvey Keitel, Peter Fonda and Woody Allen.
Sachtleben played until old age.
He only retired from professional life in old age, and with a heavy heart, as he told the German Press Agency shortly before his 90th birthday in September 2020.
The corona pandemic provided the impetus for this.
In 2015 he was seen in the film "Beyond the day" as a terminally ill doctor who takes a taxi tour to important stations in his life to say goodbye.
Sachtleben had been married to the Swiss actress and director Pia Hänggi for 47 years.