Mario Adorf: A selection of films

Born on September 8, 1930, Mario Adorf is known as one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. In Germany, he became particularly famous as the murderer of Winnetou's father and sister, in the 1963 western "Apache Gold," based on Karl May's bestselling novels.

While he mostly portrayed villains, Adorf also managed to overcome his bad guy image by starring in Wolfgang Staudte's comedy "Ganovenehre" ("A Scoundrel's Honor") from 1966.

During the 1960s, Mario Adorf also made it as a gunslinger in Italian films. The German actor whose father was Italian, starred in Spaghetti Westerns such as Sergio Corbucci's "The Specialists" (1969).

The actor who had almost always played villains was then discovered by New German Film directors. He worked with star directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff. Most notably, Mario Adorf co-starred in Fassbinder's "Lola" alongside Armin Müller-Stahl.

Most unforgettable to many fans is Mario Adorf's performance in the film adaptation of the Günter Grass novel "The Tin Drum" ("Die Blechtrommel"), directed by Volker Schlöndorff. In 1978, the film was awarded an Oscar.

Now turning 90, Mario Adorf remained active as an actor through his 80s. Among others, he starred in "Der letzte Mentsch," a 2013 road movie about an elderly man searching for his Jewish roots