Karl Michael Vogler

German actor

Maria Vogler

(m. 1953)

Children3

Karl Michael Vogler (28 August 1928 – 9 June 2009) was a German actor, probably best known for his appearances in several big-budget English language films. In The Blue Max (1966), he co-starred with George Peppard and Ursula Andress as the squadron commander, and in Patton (1970), he portrayed General Erwin Rommel. In between, he was in Robert Redford's Downhill Racer (1969) as a ski company owner.

Vogler primarily worked in German film and television, often typecast as authority figures. He was also an acclaimed stage actor, perhaps best remembered for playing Horatio to Maximilian Schell's Hamlet in 1960's Munich August Festival and a subsequent television adaptation.

Born in Remscheid, Germany and raised in Bregenz, Austria, Vogler was the son of a blacksmith. After graduation, he started his career as a theatre actor and made his debut in Innsbruck in 1950. Between the 1970s and 2005 he made appearances on German TV and European films.

Vogler died at age 80 in Seehausen am Staffelsee, Germany.

Selected filmography

The Man Who Walked Through the Wall (1959) - Junger eleganter Herr
Hamlet (1961, TV film) - Horatio
Bekenntnisse eines möblierten Herrn [de] (1963) - Lukas
Zwei Whisky und ein Sofa [de] (1963) - Klaus Hartmann
A Man in His Prime (1964) - Richard Mertens
Karl Sand (1964, TV film) - Follen
Don't Tell Me Any Stories (1964) - Dr. Nikolaus Feyl
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) - Captain Rumpelstoss
Der Fall Rouger (1966, TV film) - Authier
The Blue Max (1966) - Heidemann
The Lark (1966, TV film) - Earl of Warwick
Die Geschichte des Rittmeisters Schach von Wuthenow (1966, TV film) - Schach von Wuthenow
Graf Kozsibrovszky macht ein Geschäft (1966, TV film) - Graf Kozsibrovszky
Die Zimmerwirtin (1967, TV film) - Monsieur Tienne
Spiel mit dem Tode (1967, TV film) - Glybowitsch
Ein Toter braucht kein Alibi (1967, TV film) - Steve Craig
In Lemgo 89 (1967, TV film) - Dietrich Kleinsorge
How I Won the War (1967) - Odlebog
The Dance of Death (1967) - Kurt
Verräter (1967, TV miniseries) - Larry Edwards
Fliegender Sand (1967, TV film) - Hans Joachim Gräf
Feldwebel Schmid (1968, TV film) - Anton Schmid
Zeit der halben Herzen (1968, TV film) - Wilhelm Forster
Der Mann, der keinen Mord beging [de] (1968, TV miniseries) - Paul Wunderland
Der Fall Wera Sassulitsch (1968, TV film) - Alexandrow
Othello (1968, TV film) - Cassio
Heimlichkeiten [de] (1968) - Walter Riemeck
Affaire Dreyfus (1968, TV miniseries) - Captain Alfred Dreyfus
House of Pleasure (1969) - Prince Borghese
Charley's Uncle (1969) - Boy Deisen
Christoph Kolumbus oder Die Entdeckung Amerikas [de] (1969, TV film) - Christoph Kolumbus
Sir Basil Zaharoff – Makler des Todes (1969, TV film) - Jerome
Downhill Racer (1969) - Machet
Die Reise nach Tilsit (1969, TV film) - Ansas Balczus
Der irische Freiheitskampf (1969, TV film) - Éamon de Valera
Patton (1970) - Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Seventeen and Anxious [de] (1970) - Father
Deep End (1970) - Swimming instructor
Mourning Becomes Electra (1970, TV film) - Adam Brant
Die Heirat (1970, TV film) - Kochkaryov
Fröhliche Weihnachten (1970, TV film) - Peter Eckert
Der Kommissar: Ende eines Tanzvergnügens (1971, TV series episode) - Barbosse
Die Eroberung (1971, TV film) - Dupetit
Maestro der Revolution? (1971, TV film) - Verdi
Alpha Alpha (1972, TV series) - Alpha
Sonderdezernat K1: Vier Schüsse auf den Mörder (1972, TV series episode) - Dieter Delfs
Monsieur Chasse – Wie man Hasen jagt (1972, TV film) - Moricet
Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi (1973-1975, TV series) - Kara Ben Nemsi
Tatort: Kneipenbekanntschaft (1974, TV series episode) - Höfer
Le vieux fusil (1976) - Docteur Müller
Shout at the Devil (1976) - Von Kleine
Bait [de] (1976) - Polizeioffizier
Derrick: Kalkutta (1976, TV series episode) - Keppler
Generale – Anatomie der Marneschlacht [de] (1977, TV film) - Colonel Alexandre
The Doctor's Dilemma (1977, TV film) - Sir Colenso Ridgeon
Ein Mann will nach oben [de] (1978, TV series, 13 episodes) - Bodo von Senden
Wallenstein [de] (1978, TV miniseries) - Pater Magni
Mihail, câine de circ (Freundschaft wider Willen; 1979) - Dag Daughtry
Quartett bei Claudia [de] (1981, TV film) - John
Years Passed [de] (1981, TV film) - Grandfather
Die Rosen von Dublin (1981, TV miniseries) - Fritz Hutzinger
In the Land of Cockaigne (1981, TV film) - Georg Ratibohr
The Ring (1984) - Crainicul arenei de box
5 Rooms, Kitchen, Bathroom [de] (1992, TV film) - Dr. Castellotti
Das Schwein – Eine deutsche Karriere [de] (1995, TV miniseries) - VanLück