Horst Buchholz

Horst Werner Buchholz (December 4, 1933 – March 3, 2003) was a German actor, best known in English-speaking countries for his roles in The Magnificent Seven, in which he played Chico,Fanny, and the Billy Wilder comedy One, Two, Three. Worldwide, from 1951 to 2002, he appeared in more than sixty feature films. During his youth he was sometimes called "the German James Dean".

Life and work

Horst Buchholz was born in Berlin, the son of Maria Hasenkamp. He never knew his biological father, but took the surname of his stepfather Hugo Buchholz, a shoemaker, whom his mother married in 1938. His half-sister Heidi, born in 1941, gave him the nickname "Hotte", which he kept for the rest of his life. During World War II he was evacuated to Silesia and at the end of the war found himself in a foster home in Czechoslovakia. He returned to Berlin as soon as he could. He barely finished his schooling before seeking theater work, first appearing on stage in 1949. He soon left his childhood home in East Berlin to work in West Berlin. He established himself in the theater, notably the Schiller Theater, and also on radio.