Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Werner Dissel

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Werner Dissel was a German actor and director known for his prolific career in East German cinema, his membership in the Berliner Ensemble, and his early involvement in anti-Nazi resistance activities. Born on August 26, 1912, in Cologne, Dissel worked as a photojournalist before joining the anti-Nazi underground in the 1930s, contributing to resistance publications alongside figures such as Harro Schulze-Boysen and Walter Küchenmeister; he was arrested in 1937 and imprisoned until 1939, later serving on the front with the Wehrmacht. After World War II, he joined the Communist Party of Germany, worked in cabaret and theater in Wiesbaden, and relocated to East Germany in 1950, where he established himself as an actor and occasional director. From 1960 to 1979, he was a permanent member of the Berliner Ensemble, and he appeared in numerous DEFA films starting in the 1950s, often in supporting character roles as officials, professors, or elderly figures. Among his notable appearances are those in Ernst Thälmann “Sohn seiner Klasse” (1954), “Nackt unter Wölfen” (1963), “Coming Out” (1989), and “Die Architekten” (1990), the latter two made around the time of German reunification. He continued acting into the 2000s, including in television series and films such as “Anatomie” (2000), before his death on January 22, 2003, in Wildpark West near Potsdam.

Werner Dissle appeared in on Euro-western “Ulzana” as a Mexican doctor in 1973 and as Hausmeister in the 1987 European TV series “Präriejäger in Mexiko” (Prairie Scout in Mexico).

DISSEL, Werner (Werner Friedrich Dissel) [8/26/1912, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – 1/22/2003, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany] – director, film, TV actor.

Ulzana – 1973 (Mexican doctor)

Prairie Scout in Mexico (TV) – 1987 (Hausmeister)