Erik Schumann

Erik Schumann (1925-2007) was an intense, dark-haired leading actor of post-war German cinema, who often specialised in playing introspective or psychologically damaged characters. He appeared regularly on stage in Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich from 1943. He was at the peak of his popularity, both in films and on television, during the 1950s and 1960s. A prolific voice-over artist, Schumann also provided the German voice for stars like Peter O'Toole, Marcello Mastroianni, Christopher Lee and Roger Moore.


West German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 1705. Photo: Huster / NDF-Film / Allianz-Film. Erik Schumann in Griff nach den Sternen/Reaching for the Stars (Carl-Heinz Schroth, 1955).


West-German collectors card. Photo: Arthur Grimm / CCC / Constantin.


West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2228. Photo: CCC / Constantin Film / Arthur Grimm. Erik Schumann in Studentin Helene Wilfüer/Student Helene Wilfüer (Rudolf Jugert, 1956).

Young Germans at a Hitler Youth camp

Erich Heinz Schumann was born in 1925 in Grechwitz (now Grimma-Grechwitz), Germany.

In addition to his musical training in piano and trombone, he took acting lessons at the Dresden Conservatory. Afterwards, he got his first engagements at the Staatstheater Dresden, at the Berlin Schloßparktheater as well as in Frankfurt am Main, in Stuttgart and in Munich from 1943.

As a youth, he appeared in the Nazi Propaganda film Himmelhunde/Sky dogs (Roger von Norman, 1942) about young Germans at a Hitler Youth camp who engage in a program to learn how to build and fly gliders. His first film role as an adult was as a corps student in the DEFA film Semmelweis - Retter der Mütter/Dr. Semmelweis (Georg C. Klaren, 1950) starring Karl Paryla.

In 1954 he played his first role in a Federal Republic film, in Konsul Strotthoff/Melody Beyond Love (Erich Engel, 1954), opposite Willy Birgel and Inge Egger. His breakthrough came with the East-West love drama Himmel ohne Sterne/Sky Without Stars (Helmut Käutner, 1955).

From then on he appeared in various roles alongside Heinz Erhardt, Bernhard Wicki, Hansjörg Felmy, Ulla Jacobsson, Sonja Ziemann and Gunnar Möller among others. In 1960 he appeared in Fabrik der Offiziere/Operation Terror (Frank Wisbar, 1960) alongside Helmut Griem and Horst Frank.


West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Temp[elhof, no. FK 1920. Photo: NDR / Europa Film. Erik Schumann in Himmel ohne Sterne/Sky Without Stars (Helmut Käutner, 1955).


West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin. Photo: Brigitte Dittner.


West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 1384. Photo: NJF / Allianz / Brünjes. Erik Schumann in Griff nach den Sternen/Reaching for the Stars (Carl-Heinz Schroth, 1955).

The voice of Buck the dog

Erik Schumann began dubbing in 1949 and till 2004 he lent his voice to 600 films and TV productions. He dubbed actors such as Tony Curtis in Manche mögen's heiß/Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959), Cary Grant in Leopards Don't Kiss/Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938), and Jack Nicholson in Die Ehre der Prizzis/Prizzi's Honor (John Huston, 1985).

His distinctive voice was also in great demand for radio drama productions, and in 1968 he voiced Dr. Watson in six Sherlock Holmes stories for Bayerischer Rundfunk. Erik Schumann was also heard in roles in numerous television series, such as for Martin Landau in the first dubbing phase of Kobra, übernehmen Sie/Mission: Impossible (1967-1973), for Pernell Roberts in Hawkins (1973-1974), or for Jack Klugman in Du schon wieder/You again? (1986).

On the series Eine schrecklich nette Familie/Married... with Children (1987-1997), he dubbed and was heard as the voice of Buck the dog. In the Brazilian telenovela Sinhá Moça - Die Tochter des Sklavenhalters/Sinha Moça (1986-1987), he lent his voice to the Latin-American star Rubens de Falco as Colonel Ferreira. In 1987, he was the first Jedermann (Everyman) at the Berlin Jedermann Festival. In 2000, Schumann dubbed the role of the gold digger Stinky Pete, originally voiced by Kelsey Grammer, in the computer-animated film Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter, 1999) produced by Pixar.

He also appeared in numerous television productions and made guest appearances in the popular Krimi series Der Kommissar/The Commissioner (1969-1975) and Derrick (1983). His work as an investigator in the television series Tatort/Crime Scene was limited to one episode in 1981. In the 1980s he appeared in the cinema in two Fassbinder classics, Lili Marleen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981) with Hanna Schygulla and Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss/Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) with Rosel Zech.

He also appeared in the Italian film L'inchiesta/The Inquiry (Damiano Damiani, 1987) starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. His last role was in the crime film Mörderischer Plan/Murderous Plan (Raoul W. Heimrich, 2003). Erik Schumann was married twice (in his first marriage to the actress Erika Dannhoff) and had two children. He last lived in Straßlach near Munich, where he succumbed to cancer in 2007 at the age of 82 and was buried there.


West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 4491. Photo: Marszalek / Kurt Ulrich-Film Deutschen Film Hansa. Erik Schumann in So angelt man keinen Mann/That's No Way to Land a Man (Hans Deppe, 1959).


West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden/Westf, no. 645. Photo: Marszalek / Kurt Ulrich-Film / Deutschen Film Hansa. Erik Schumann in So angelt man keinen Mann/That's No Way to Land a Man (Hans Deppe, 1959).


WestGerman postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, no. FK 1918. Photo: Gabriele / NDF / Europa-Film.


West German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne-Eickel, no. 118. Photo: Arthur Grimm / CCC / Constantin.

Sources: Deutsche Synchron-kartei (German), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.