Charlotte Kerr

Charlotte Kerr (29 May 1927 – 28 December 2011) was a German director, film producer, actress, writer and journalist. She first performed on stage in Fritz Kortner’s version of Schiller's Don Carlos in 1951. She became well known for her television role as commander of the spaceship Hydra in the Raumpatrouille series and for her appearances in the films of Rainer Erler, including Fleisch (1979). In 1971, she was a member of the jury at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival. In 1983, during the filming of a film about the Greek minister Melina Mercouri, Kerr met the Swiss poet Friedrich Dürrenmatt. They became close after discussing his latest play Achterloo and were married in 1984. The two collaborated on the film Portrait eines Planeten and the play Rollenspiele. Dürrenmatt died in 1990. Her autobiography, Die Frau im roten Mantel, discussed her life with the writer. In 2000, her Centre Dürrenmatt was opened in Neuchâtel. She took legal action against the writer Hugo Loetscher for an alleged affront of her dignity and personal rights in his book about Dürrenmatt's death and funeral, which was released 13 years after Dürrenmatt's death and published by Lesen statt Klettern. She died on 28 December 2011 in a hospital in Bern.