The death of actor Fritz Wepper (1941-2024) has triggered a wave of grief. At the age of 82, the Munich native closed his eyes forever in a hospice in Upper Bavaria on March 25, 2024. The first reactions, including from his Bavarian homeland, did not take long to arrive.
The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (57, CSU) wrote touching lines on X. Wepper’s death “deeply affected” him because he had been “an integral part of Bavarian living rooms” for decades. “Fritz Wepper, like his brother Elmar, was a Bavarian actor in the very best sense. He managed to authentically embody our homeland in film and television. His impressive presence on the screen and on television was unparalleled. Our thoughts are with his family. Bavaria will “Always keep an honorable memory for him,” said Söder.
Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter (65, SPD) condoled Wepper’s wife Susanne Kellermann (49), according to “Bayerischer Rundfunk” (BR): “The sad news of your husband’s death has shocked me greatly.” His audience will always “remember him fondly and the state capital of Munich will also honor his memory.”
For Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (68, Alliance 90/The Greens), Fritz Wepper was one of the “most successful German actors” who “enthralled audiences and critics alike,” she said on Monday in Berlin. His exceptional talent and charisma made him one of the most popular German actors. His role as Harry Klein in “Derrick” was “legendary,” with which he “made television history,” said Roth.
Director Ulrich König (74), with whom Wepper worked on the series “For Heaven’s Sake,” among other things, said in an interview with BR that the actor had a “lovable nature” and always had “great fun playing.” “For me he was one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with.”
Fritz Wepper was known as an actor since the 1950s. He celebrated great successes with the series “Derrick”, “For Heaven’s Sake” and the crime series “Murder in the Best Company”, among others. He died on March 25th after severe sepsis. He leaves behind his second wife Susanne Kellermann, their daughter Filippa (12) and his daughter Sophie Wepper (42), who comes from his first marriage to Angela von Morgen (1942-2019).
