He has already played many roles, but Claus Theo Gärtner (79) will probably always be remembered by crime fans in particular. For more than three decades, between 1981 and 2013, the actor was seen as a private detective Josef Matula in the ZDF series “Ein Fall für Zwei”. It was over after 300 episodes, but Gärtner’s detective still enjoys cult status today.
“It was very lucky that I was allowed to play the series,” explains the actor, who will be celebrating his 80th birthday in a few days, now also in the “Bild am Sonntag”. Gärtner has hardly any contact with former colleagues today, as he says – only with his series partner Paul Frielinghaus (63), who is “a good friend” for the former Matula actor.
Gärtner celebrates his anniversary on April 19th. “I have absolutely no problem with the number 80,” he says. Although he considered 60-year-olds “old as old” when he was only 40 years old, today at 80 he “doesn’t feel a bit old”. The love for his partner apparently keeps him young.
He has been married to his wife Sarah, who is around 36 years his junior, since 2008. “Having a young wife automatically means that you stay young in mind, spirit and body,” says Gärtner. Accordingly, the two travel a lot together, they have just had a six-week vacation in New Zealand and the South Seas.
Death is apparently not an issue for the couple, even if he deals with it from time to time, for example when old friends and colleagues die. “I live in the here and now, thinking about the present and the future,” says the actor, who inherited good genes from his mother, who lived to be 96.
For his birthday, he treats himself to another trip with his partner. In September it should go to Canada, the planning is already underway.
