Biography:

Gert Krause-Melzer was born in Buckow (Märkische Schweiz) on June 22, 1950, but he was raised in Berlin. Krause-Melzer was discovered by director Heiner Carow’s assistant, when he was scouting to cast his feature film Die Russen kommen. The assistant visited his former school and discovered Krause-Melzer, who played in a band and also performed solo. Krause-Melzer, who had no acting experience, was cast for the challenging role of Günter Walcher, a 16-year-old boy who is part of the Nazis’ last-ditch effort, mere days before the end of WWII, and who is suspected of killing a Soviet prisoner. Krause-Melzer also performed the opening song, his only professional recording.

Although Krause-Melzer wanted to become a television cameraman, Die Russen kommen ended up being the only large film project he was involved in. Unfortunately, the film was banned by East German officials and not released until 1987. It was digitally restored in 2016.

Krause-Melzer became interested in acting and studied at the Schauspielschule Rostock from 1972 to 1975. He signed his first contract as an actor with a theater in Madgeburg. Engagements in Schwedt and Altenburg followed.

Since 1985, Krause-Melzer has performed at various cabaret theaters, including the Kabarett am Obelisk in Potsdam (until 1987) and Fettnäpfchen (1988-89) in Gera. From 1991 to 2007, he was a member of the Halle cabaret Kiebitzensteiner. During his more than 16-year engagement with the Halle cabaret, he was also a guest performer at the Kugelblitze theater in Madgeburg (1996-1997) and the SinnFlut theater in Weimar (2002-2003).

From 2008 to 2011, Krause-Melzer performed at the Berlin cabaret Kneifzange. He joined the Kriminaltheater in Berlin in 2010, where he has played in fifteen crime story performances, including his role as detective Campbell in Inspector Campbells letzter Fall (Detective Campbell’s Last Case), and as vicar Clement in Agatha Christie’s Mord im Pfarrhaus (The Murder at the Vicarage) and as Josua Harras in Edgar Wallace’s Der Zinker (The Squeaker).

Since September 2007, Krause-Melzer, who lives in Potsdam, has also appeared on stage as a solo cabaret artist under the label Solokabarett Gert Melzer.