# Kurt Raab

Kurt Raab (20 July 1941 – 28 June 1988) was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.

## Biography

Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, which is now Kašperské Hory, Czech Republic. He completed the abitur at Musische Gymnasium Straubing, and studied in Munich.
He made his cinema debut in Fassbinder's Liebe ist kälter als der Tod (Love Is Colder than Death) in 1969. Over the next few years, he made numerous films with Fassbinder, including Warum läuft Herr R. Amok? (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) and Der Amerikanische Soldat (The American Soldier) in 1970, Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte (Beware of a Holy Whore) in 1971, and Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten (The Merchant of Four Seasons) in 1972.
He also worked as a production designer, assistant director, producer, and a screenwriter.
Raab was friends with Freddie Mercury of Queen, and appears as a ballerina in the band's music video for "It's a Hard Life". He is also seen in Mercury's "Living on My Own" video, dressed in drag as Mary, Queen of Scots.
On 28 June 1988, at age 46, Raab died of AIDS-related complications. Before Raab died, he worked to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in West Germany. In 1987, he discussed his illness in Herbert Achternbusch's Wohin?, a film about AIDS hysteria. In 1988, he made Mitten im Leben, a documentary about AIDS, for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. However, the illness remained poorly understood and Raab was placed in quarantine-like conditions in the Hamburg Tropical Institute. While confined to a hospital bed, Raab and his friend Hans Hirschmüller compiled the documentary Sehnsucht Nach Sodom, in which they explored "subjects as taboo as AIDS, death and the Catholicism of a gay person." Sehnsucht was released posthumously in 1989.
Prejudice about AIDS was also evident when Raab's body was refused burial in Steinbeißen, the Lower Bavarian town in which his family had settled in 1945. He is buried in Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | American title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Liebe ist kälter als der Tod | Love Is Colder Than Death | Aufsichtsperson im Kaufhaus | |
| 1970 | Götter der Pest | Gods of the Plague | Gast in der Kneipe | Uncredited |
| 1970 | Das Kaffeehaus [fr] | The Coffee Shop [fr] | Don Marzio | TV movie |
| 1970 | Warum läuft Herr R. Amok? | Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? | Herr R | |
| 1970 | Der Amerikanische Soldat | The American Soldier | Ricky's brother | |
| 1970 | Niklashauser Fart [de] | The Niklashausen Journey [de] | Bishop | TV movie |
| 1970 | Weg vom Fenster | n/a | Erster Erzieher | TV movie |
| 1971 | Rio das Mortes | Rio das Mortes | Tankwart | TV movie |
| 1971 | Mathias Kneissl | Mathias Kneissl | Fritz Rechthaler, Jungbauer | |
| 1971 | Whity | Whity | The Pianist | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte | Beware of a Holy Whore | Fred | |
| 1971 | Die Ahnfrau - Oratorium nach Franz Grillparzer | n/a | Pfarrer | TV movie |
| 1972 | Händler der vier Jahreszeiten | The Merchant of Four Seasons | Kurt | |
| 1972 | Wildwechsel [de] | Jail Bait [de] | Factory Boss | TV movie |
| 1972 | Bremer Freiheit [de] | Bremen Freedom [de] | Carpenter | TV movie |
| 1972–1973 | Acht Stunden sind kein Tag | Eight Hours Don't Make a Day | Harald | 4 episodes |
| 1973 | Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe | The Tenderness of Wolves | Fritz Haarmann | |
| 1973 | Welt am Draht | World on a Wire | Mark Holm | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Angst essen Seele auf | Ali: Fear Eats the Soul | Car Mechanic | Uncredited |
| 1974 | Die Verrohung des Franz Blum [de] | The Brutalisation of Franz Blum [de] | Wupke, prison guard | |
| 1974 | Martha | Martha | Secretary | TV movie |
| 1974 | Der Verfolger | n/a | n/a | TV movie |
| 1974 | Effi Briest | Effi Briest | Apotheker Gieshübler | Voice |
| 1975 | Münchner Geschichten [de] | n/a | Peter Pickl | TV movie |
| 1975 | Wie ein Vogel auf dem Draht | Like a Bird on a Wire | Barbesucher | TV movie, Uncredited |
| 1975 | Faustrecht der Freiheit | Fox and His Friends | Wodka-Peter | |
| 1975 | Mutter Küsters Fahrt zum Himmel | Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven | Barbesitzer Gustav | |
| 1975 | Angst vor der Angst [de] | Fear of Fear [de] | Herr Bauer | TV movie |
| 1976 | Die Atlantikschwimmer | The Atlantic Swimmers | Polizist | |
| 1976 | Satansbraten | Satan's Brew | Walter Kranz | |
| 1977 | Eierdiebe | Petty Thieves | n/a | |
| 1977 | Adolf und Marlene | Adolf and Marlene | Führer | |
| 1977 | Gruppenbild mit Dame | Group Portrait with a Lady | Parteifunktionär | |
| 1977 | Bolwieser | The Stationmaster's Wife | Xaver Ferdinand Maria Bolwieser - Station Master | TV movie |
| 1977 | Belcanto oder Darf eine Nutte schluchzen? | n/a | Arthur | |
| 1978 | Leidenschaftliche Blümchen | Preppy School Girls | Fletcher | |
| 1979 | Victor | n/a | Ein Zirkusansager | TV movie |
| 1979 | Der Durchdreher | It Can Only Get Worse | Mann von Glorias Freundin | |
| 1979 | Die Buddenbrooks | The Buddenbrooks | n/a | TV series |
| 1979 | Bildnis einer Trinkerin | Ticket of No Return | Chef | |
| 1979 | Der Sturz [de] | The Fall [de] | Theopont Dirlewanger | |
| 1979–1980 | Der ganz normale Wahnsinn | n/a | Franz | 5 episodes |
| 1980 | Warum die UFOs unseren Salat klauen [de] | Why the UFOs Steal Our Lettuce [de] | Film-Hitler | |
| 1980 | Unter Verschluß | Under Lock and Key | n/a | TV movie |
| 1980 | Endstation Freiheit [de] | Slow Attack [de] | Maria Franz Beekenbrandt | |
| 1981 | Total vereist | Totally Frozen | Herr Münch | |
| 1981 | Engel aus Eisen | Angels of Iron | Chauffeur | |
| 1981 | Exil | n/a | Heilbrunn | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Wie die Weltmeister | n/a | Oberamtmann | |
| 1981 | Heute spielen wir den Boß | n/a | Reichenstein | |
| 1981 | Frankfurt Kaiserstraße [de] | Frankfurt: The Face of a City [de] | Onkel Ossi | |
| 1981 | Sechsunddreißig Stunden | n/a | n/a | TV movie |
| 1981 | Feuer und Schwert - Die Legende von Tristan und Isolde | Fire and Sword | Ganelon | |
| 1981 | Die Fahrt nach Schlangenbad | n/a | Alfred Wittkowsky | TV movie |
| 1981 | Der glücklose Mann | n/a | n/a | TV movie |
| 1982 | Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull | The Confessions of Felix Krull | Sally Meerschaum | 5 episodes |
| 1982 | Liebeskonzil | Council of Love | Gerichtspräsident | |
| 1982 | Der Zauberberg | The Magic Mountain | Dr. Krokowski | |
| 1982 | Ich werde warten | I'll Be Waiting | Herr Dankert | TV movie |
| 1982 | Die Komplizen | n/a | Marcel Lambert | Episode: "Mein kleiner Betrüger/Das Haus des Colonels/Tschüs, Charlie!/Schmerzlose Behandlung/Schabernack mit einer alten Frau" |
| 1982 | Das Gespenst | The Ghost | Poli | |
| 1982 | Dr. Margarete Johnsohn | n/a | Herr Körber | TV movie |
| 1983 | Die Insel der blutigen Plantage [de] | Escape from Blood Plantation [de] | Pevney | |
| 1983 | Der Zappler | The Twitcher | Nachbar | |
| 1983 | Derrick | n/a | Butler | Episode: "Via Genua" |
| 1983 | Bella Donna | n/a | n/a | |
| 1983 | Die Olympiasiegerin | n/a | n/a | |
| 1983 | Hauptsache konsequent | n/a | n/a | TV movie |
| 1983 | Traumlage | n/a | Fellner | TV movie |
| 1983 | Krimistunde | n/a | n/a | TV series |
| 1983 | Bolero | n/a | Rado | |
| 1984 | Tricheurs | Cheaters | Jorg | |
| 1984 | Humus | n/a | Horst | Short |
| 1984 | Rambo Zambo | n/a | n/a | TV movie |
| 1984 | Abwärts | Out of Order | Elevator mechanic | |
| 1984 | Der Rekord | The Record | P.K. Wütrich | |
| 1984 | Im Himmel ist die Hölle los [de] | n/a | Intendant | |
| 1984 | Die Schwarzen Brüder | n/a | Man with scar | TV mini-series |
| 1985 | Kleine Stadt, ich liebe dich | n/a | n/a | TV mini-series |
| 1985 | Bittere Ernte | Angry Harvest | Maslanka | |
| 1985 | Parker | Bones | Haag | |
| 1985 | Franz Xaver Brunnmayr | n/a | n/a | Episode: "Das Palais" |
| 1985 | Der Formel Eins Film [de] | Feel the Motion [de] | Mephisto | |
| 1985 | Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce | Mussolini and I | Hitler | 3 episodes |
| 1986 | Transitträume | n/a | Kaderleiter | |
| 1986 | Miko – Aus der Gosse zu den Sternen | Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars | Walter Hahn | |
| 1986 | Motten im Licht | n/a | Brenner | |
| 1986 | Rette mich, wer kann [de] | n/a | 1. Geige | Episode: "Kulturpause" |
| 1986 | Kir Royal | n/a | Michel, butler | Episode: "Das Volk sieht nichts" |
| 1986 | Schloßherren | n/a | n/a | TV series |
| 1986 | Das Totenreich | n/a | John Hagen | TV movie |
| 1987 | Escape from Sobibor | Escape from Sobibor | Commandant Frenzel | TV movie |
| 1987 | Das Rätsel der Sandbank | The Riddle of the Sands | Underwood | TV movie, Uncredited |
| 1987 | Der elegante Hund | n/a | n/a | TV series |
| 1988 | Wohin? | n/a | Gast | |
| 1989 | Reporter | n/a | n/a | TV series, (final appearance) |