# Walter Sedlmayr

Walter Sedlmayr (6 January 1926 – 14 July 1990) was a popular German stage, television, and film actor from Bavaria. His murder in 1990 was widely publicized.

## Career

After his 1945 wartime Abitur, Sedlmayr served as a Flakhelfer towards the end of World War II. His acting career began with minor roles with the Münchner Kammerspiele, for which he played more than 25 years, and in numerous Heimatfilme during the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1971, by now an associate of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Sedlmayr was briefly arrested because a stolen artwork, the Blutenburger Madonna, was found in his house. He was later acquitted of all charges, and the media attention given to his trial helped him gain major roles. His breakthrough came with the leading role in Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's film Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehem. Hofkoch wird (1972). Afterwards, Sedlmayr was cast in numerous popular German TV shows, including Münchner Geschichten [de], Der Herr Kottnik, Der Millionenbauer, and Polizeiinspektion 1; he also frequently appeared on stage and in other media.

## Murder

On 14 July 1990, Sedlmayr was found dead in the bedroom of his Munich apartment. He had been tied up, stabbed in the stomach with a knife and beaten about the head with a hammer. On 21 May 1993, two half-brothers, Wolfgang Werlé and Manfred Lauber, former business associates of Sedlmayr, were found guilty of his murder and sentenced to life in prison. The killers were released from prison in 2007 and 2008.
Sedlmayr's life and murder were the subject of the 2001 biopic Wambo [de] by Jo Baier, where he was played by Jürgen Tarrach [de], and of an episode of the ARD TV series Die großen Kriminalfälle.
In 2009, the two men convicted of the killing took legal action demanding the removal of their names from the German and English language Wikipedia, arguing that it invaded their right to privacy. The names were removed from the German Wikipedia, while the English-speaking Wikipedia community declined to do so, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, which contested the validity of the ruling as it neither operates nor has assets in Germany. In December 2009, the Federal Court of Justice, the highest court of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, ruled that the convicted have no right of removal of their names from internet archives as this would interfere too strongly with the right of free speech. After this ruling, the names were again included in the German Wikipedia. In June 2018, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the decision of the Federal Court of Justice to reject the request to ban publication of the killers' names.

## Filmography
### Film

| 1949: Die drei Dorfheiligen [de] - Schwälble 1951: Heidelberger Romanze 1952: Two People - Martin 1952: The Crucifix Carver of Ammergau - Muckl 1953: The Mill in the Black Forest 1953: Marriage Strike 1954: The Little Town Will Go to Sleep 1954: Rose-Girl Resli - Theo 1955: I Know What I'm Living For 1955: The Royal Waltz - Konditor Franz 1955: Der Frontgockel - Beni Banzinger 1955: Three Girls from the Rhine 1956: Hilfe - sie liebt mich - Schnecki 1956: The Hunter of Fall - Loisl, Wirtssohn 1957: Marriages Forbidden - Lois Haflinger 1958: Der Pauker - Substitute Teacher 1959: The Shepherd from Trutzberg - Eberhard von Trutzberg 1959: Dorothea Angermann - Willi 1959: People in the Net 1959: The Buddenbrooks - Alois Permaneder 1960: Ein gewisses Röcheln (director) 1964: Bei Tag und Nacht (TV Movie) - Celio 1965: Radetzkymarsch [de] (TV Movie) - Rittmeister Taittinger 1965: Die fromme Helene [de] - Bauer Knoll 1969: Frei bis zum nächsten Mal (TV Movie) - Bürgermeister | 1969: Der Rückfall (TV Movie) 1970: Baal (TV Movie) - Anwalt Pschierer 1970: Niklashauser Fart [de] (TV Movie) - Priest 1970: Das Glöcklein unterm Himmelbett - Judge 1971: Rio das Mortes (TV Movie) - Sekretär 1971: Mathias Kneissl - Polizist 1972: The Merchant of Four Seasons - Fruit cart salesman 1972: The Morals of Ruth Halbfass - The arms dealer 1972: Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehem. Hofkoch wird - Theodor Hierneis 1972: A Free Woman [it] - Personalchef 1973: The Experts (1973) 1974: Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - Angermayer 1974: Die Ameisen kommen [de] - Kommissar 1974: Die Reform (TV Movie) 1974: Stolen Heaven - Franz Josef Reyer 1975: Das Andechser Gefühl - School director 1975: Fox and His Friends - Car dealer 1975: Lina Braake - Emil Schoener 1975: Cold Blood [de] - Franz Grendel 1976: Der verkaufte Großvater (TV Movie) - Haslinger 1977: Die Jugendstreiche des Knaben Karl [de] - Vater Fey 1979: Anton Sittinger (TV Movie) - Anton Sittinger 1981: Mein Freund, der Scheich (TV Movie) - Grindel 1984: Rambo Zambo (TV Movie) - Haslinger |

### TV appearances

* 1964-1970: Das Kriminalmuseum - Kriminalkommissar Brunnert / Drogist / Ludwig Schmiedl / Bahnwärter / Bahn Herr Renz / Alois Hirsch
* 1969: Der Staudamm - Hering
* 1972: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day - Witwer
* 1972-1973: Tatort - Pröpper / Dünnkitz
* 1973: Drei Partner - Herr Kottnick
* 1973: World on a Wire - Janitor
* 1973-1975: Der Kommissar - Alfons Tolke / U-Bahn-Kontrolleur / Bürgermeister / Polizist
* 1974: Der Herr Kottnik - Alfred Kottnik
* 1974-1975: Derrick - Koch / Herr Huber
* 1975: Münchner Geschichten [de] - Erster Polizist
* 1975-1976: Spannagl & Sohn - Gustav Spannagl
* 1976: Alle Jahre wieder – Die Familie Semmeling [de] - Wiesner / Reiseleiter Wiesner
* 1976-1980: Vater Seidl und sein Sohn - Vater Ludwig Seidl
* 1976-1982: Reisen mit Walter Sedlmayr
* 1977-1988: Polizeiinspektion 1 - Franz Josef Schöninger / Hans W. Hübner
* 1978-1980: Der Alte - Herbert Smolka / Ziesenhut
* 1979-1988: Der Millionenbauer - Josef Hartinger
* 1983: Monaco Franze - Dr. Felix Hallerstein
* 1983-1985: Unsere schönsten Jahre - Seidl
* 1986-1988: Der Schwammerlkönig - Dädy Schwaiger

## Award

In 1973, Sedlmayr won the Outstanding Individual Achievement: Actor Deutscher Filmpreis award for his role in Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehemaliger Hofkoch wird.
In June 2000, the Walter-Sedlmayr-Platz was named after him.