Til Kiwe

Jan Heinrich Tilman Kiwe (born Eduard Heinrich Kiefer), also known as Til Kiver or Till Kiwe, (b. 7 June 1910 in Aachen; d. 30 November 1995 in Munich) was a German actor, voice actor and screenwriter who also was an ethnologist and highly decorated army officer and POW. Thus, he often played soldiers, like a German guard in The Great Escape in 1963.

Early life Jan Heinrich Tilman Kiwe was born in Aachen on 7 June 1910. He trained as an actor as well as receiving singing instruction at the Conservatory in Aachen. In 1934, he passed his Abitur, a German Matriculation examination. From 1934 to 1937 he studied ethnology in Cologne and Baltimore, USA, as well as acting, under Swiss actor Adolf Manz and at the "Studio of Dramatic Art".

Before the Second World War broke out, he made several overseas trips, among them was an expedition to the Tibesti Mountains in French Chad in 1938.

Military service During the Second World War, Kiefer served in the Luftwaffe'''s Fallschirmjäger (paratroops). Between 1941 and 1942, he was in the elite 1st Parachute Division, which was part of Army Group South, during the invasion of the Soviet Union. In late 1942, Kiefer was transferred to the Afrika Korps fighting in North Africa. There he served as a Hauptmann in the 4th Panzerjäger Company, part of the Hermann Göring Division's Reconnaissance Battalion.

He became a prisoner of war on 12 May 1943 after all Axis forces in North Africa surrendered following defeat in the Tunisian campaign. Six days after becoming a POW, Kiefer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was sent to Camp Trinidad, a POW camp eight miles from Trinidad, Colorado, USA. From here he made several escape attempts. On one occasion, Kiefer made it as far as St. Louis by train before he was caught. After escaping from another prison camp in Oklahoma, Kiefer made it to the Mexican border before being recaptured again. In Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen, he played an SS officer. In the second part of Fritz Umgelter's classic television series Am grünen Strand der Spree, entitled "Der General", he is seen alongside Wolfgang Büttner, Hans Pössenbacher and Anneli Granget as Major Illing, stationed as part of a divisional staff in northern Norway.

Even though Kiwe was quite busy as an actor, he still found time to work as an ethnologist. He went travelling and in 1953–1954, he found himself in the Atacama Desert, on Easter Island and on the Mato Grosso Plateau. Further trips took him to Sudan and once again to the Tibesti range. He recorded his impressions for UNESCO as producer and director for 17 documentary films, among others Wüste, Kupfer und die heilige Carmen; Menschen, Technik und moderne Waffen; Wege aus dem Dunkel; The Call of the Condor; Assuan und seine Folgen and Pearlstring of the Gods.

Beginning in 1972, Kiwe worked as a theatre director and staged, among other plays, The Broken Jug, Pygmalion, Volpone and Finden Sie, dass Konstanze sich richtig verhält? ("Do You Find that Constance is Behaving Herself?"), based on W. Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife. From 1956 onwards, he was to be seen on television and played, among other roles, Superintendent Peters, alongside Josef Dahmen, in the crime series Hafenpolizei in 1963 for 39 episodes. He also wrote a few teleplays and screenplays, among them Auf den Wegen nach Rom (1959), Stahlschrank SG 3 (1966) and Flut über Polesine (1967). As a voice actor he lent Errol Flynn, David Niven, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Jean Marais his voice for German-language overdubs, and at the same time wrote dubbing scripts and worked as a dubbing director.

Personal life Til Kiwe was married and was father to a son and a daughter.

Death Kiwe died at 85 in Munich. His grave is to be found at the city's Neuer Südfriedhof ("New South Cemetery").

Filmography

1949: Das goldene Edelweiß – Thomas 1950: Who Drove the Grey Ford? – Polizeirat Proske 1951: Eva und der Frauenarzt – Fred 1951: Decision Before Dawn – Adjutant (uncredited) 1954: Prisoners of Love – Heinz 1955: Children, Mother, and the General – Werner 1955: The Blacksmith of St. Bartholomae – Ruppert 1955: Jackboot Mutiny – Oberleutnant v. Haeften 1955: Parole Heimat – Major Winston 1956: The Vulture Wally – Vinzenz 1956: Where the Ancient Forests Rustle – Eibl, Ingenieur 1957: Saranno uomini1957: Der Stern von Afrika – Mansfeld 1958: The Doctor of Stalingrad – Sauerbrunn 1958: Resurrection – Taras 1958: Der Schinderhannes – Gendarm Adam 1959: Rommel Calls Cairo – Amis 1959: Die Brücke – Knight of the Iron Cross 1959: Der Schatz vom Toplitzsee – Harold Pfeifer, Löhdes Assistant 1959: The Cow and I – SS-Offizier No. 2 (uncredited) 1960: Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen – SS-Offizier Lothar 1960: Am grünen Strand der Spree (TV Mini-Series, part 2) – Major Illing, Ib 1961: Schiffer im Strom (TV Mini-Series, three parts) – Erwin Zell 1961: Treibjagd (TV Movie) – 1. Detektiv 1961: One, Two, Three – Reporter 1961: Seit 5.45 Uhr wird zurückgeschossen – Narrator 1962: The Longest Day – Capt. Helmuth Lang (uncredited) 1963: The Great Escape – Frick 1963–1966: Hafenpolizei (TV Series) – Kommissar Peters 1964: Kommissar Freytag (TV Series, episode: "Der Schatten") – Kommissar Grosser 1964: Die fünfte Kolonne (TV Series, episode: "Eine Puppe für Klein-Helga") – Tirolerhut 1964: Massacre at Marble City – Fielding (voice, uncredited) 1964: Columbus – Bericht und Bildnis (TV Movie) – Zweiter Soldat 1965: Der Nachtkurier meldet… (TV Series, episode: "Bauherr Norske will keine Babys") – Herr Holger (uncredited) 1965: Black Eagle of Santa Fe (1965) – Blacky James (nvoice, uncredited) 1965: Gewagtes Spiel (TV Series, episode: "Das zweite Gesicht") – Lürsen 1966: Die rote Rosa (TV Movie) – Leutnant Liepmann 1966: Die seltsamen Methoden des Franz Josef Wanninger (TV Series) – Die Stute Flora 1967: Der Röhm-Putsch (TV Movie) – SA-Mann 1967: How I Won the War (1967) – Franz (uncredited) 1968: King Richard II (TV Movie) – Graf von Salisbury 1968: Graf Yoster (TV Series, part 11: "Wie macht man einen Krimi?") – Corsini 1968: Hannibal Brooks – Von Haller's Sergeant 1969: Ehepaar sucht gleichgesinntes – Arzt 1969: Stewardessen (TV Series) 1970–1971: Der Kurier der Kaiserin (two parts of this TV series) – Englischer Sergeant / Preußischer Offizier 1971: Welt Sex Report – Narrator 1973: Laß jucken Kumpel 2. Teil: Das Bullenkloster – Erwin Kutter (voice, uncredited) 1974: Liebesgrüße aus der Lederhose II. Teil: Zwei Kumpel auf der Alm – Erwin Kutter (voice) 1974: The Odessa File – Medal Shop Proprietor 1975: Champagner aus dem Knobelbecher – Major von Horwitz 1976: The Eagle Has Landed – (uncredited) 1978: Die Anstalt – Notary 1979: Son of Hitler – Dr. Puttkamer