The actor and radio play speaker Hans Peter Hallwachs is dead. The German Press Agency found out from the family circle. Hallwachs was one of the busiest character actors on German television, but he was almost always seen in supporting roles. He acted alone in 16 “Tatort” thrillers on ARD, including the very first episode “Taxi nach Leipzig” from 1970. At that time he played the People’s Police Lieutenant Peter Klaus.
Hallwachs had 13 appearances in the ZDF series “Der Alte” and eight guest appearances in the rival thriller “Derrick”. After all, he was the ideal suspect: opaque and stylish at the same time. A 1.82 meter tall man who could appear huge with his slim figure and gaunt face. Always perfectly cast, be it as the shipowner in the Bremen “Tatort” thriller “Sink the Ship” (2009) or as a butler in the Simmel film adaptation “The stuff dreams are made of” (1972).
Hallwachs moved confidently in all genres: in Dieter Hallervorden’s slapstick film “Didi auf Volltouren” from 1986 he was part of an unscrupulous conspiracy about poison barrels.
Career start in the 1960s
Industry portal imdb.com lists over 200 roles for Hallwachs – spread across a variety of series and television plays. His career began in the 1960s. In the Erich Kästner film “Fabian” (1980), the Berliner played the title role. TV viewers also know his face from the ARD series “Mord mit Aussicht”, where he played the father of Sophie Haas (Caroline Peters). He also took part in “The Great Bellheim” (1993). In 2020 he could be seen in a new case in the ZDF series “Letzte Spur Berlin”.
Hallwachs’ rough, mature voice has enjoyed cult status among radio play fans for many years. Among other things, he can be heard in many Raymond Chandler settings of the 1980s. His leading role in Edward Boyd’s 1969 tragic thriller Five Fingers Make a Hand is also considered a classic of West German crime radio drama. He voiced Sartorius in a version of Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris” (2006). In a radio play adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1991) Aragorn. He also read in a number of audio books.
As it became known on Friday, Hallwachs died on December 16 in his hometown of Berlin, he was 84 years old. “He was extraordinary, humorous, loving, uncompromising, straight, enthusiastic and loved,” says a family obituary. “He lives on in our hearts and in his roles, in films, series and audio books. For us he always played leading roles, a long fulfilling life.”
