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A gracious and sympathetic doyenne of stage and screen, latterly often in poignant maternal or insightful roles, Maria Sebaldt's career spanned almost six decades. She was born in Berlin, the daughter of a one-time portrait painter, who, by 1930, had achieved a senior position as a department head within the German branch of Paramount (this was at a time when Hollywood money underpinned cash-strapped German film studios, such as Ufa). Sebaldt began training as an actress from the age of sixteen, beginning with private tuition and progressing from there to a Stanislavsky Academy in Weimar from where she graduated in 1950. She spent her early performing years on the stage and soon became renowned as a sophisticated boulevardier and cabaret artist with notable engagements at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm in Berlin (founded by Max Reinhardt in 1924) and at the Kleine Komödie in Munich.

Following her screen debut in 1953, Sebaldt appeared in supporting roles or second leads in anything from operetta (The Gypsy Baron (1954)), comedy (The Captain from Köpenick (1956)) and romantic melodrama (Liebe ohne Illusion (1955)) to thrillers (Der Greifer (1958)) and literary adaptations from the classics (The Buddenbrooks (1959)). She received top billing as the heroine in the crime satire Hoppla, jetzt kommt Eddie (1958) (as travel companion to the eponymous hero), in Das schwarze Schaf (1960), a murder mystery headlining Heinz Rühmann as G.K. Chesterton's famous detective Father Brown (she would later co-star with Rühmann in another crime comedy, Vorsicht Mister Dodd (1964)) and in the swinging sixties romp Bekenntnisse eines möblierten Herrn (1963) (as the free-spirited Daniela, who turns the tables on a womanizing lothario played by Karl Michael Vogler). Yet another of Sebaldt's noted roles on the screen was as the beautiful heiress Carlotta Ramirez in an Austrian adaptation of the classic farce Charley's Aunt (opposite Peter Alexander). In stark contrast, she also essayed a lady rancher among an international cast in the hard-boiled Italo western Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace (1965).

In later years, Sebaldt maintained her popularity with audiences as a character actress on television, particularly compelling as the caring family matriarch in Die Wicherts von nebenan (1986). Her many guest appearances on prime time series have included episodes of Tatort (1970), Derrick (1974) and Das Traumschiff (1981). She also made occasional forays into voice-overs, dubbing for, among others, Joan Greenwood, Joanne Woodward and Eva Marie Saint. Maria Sebaldt died in Munich on April 4 2023, aged 92. She was predeceased in 2010 by her husband of 45 years, the actor Robert Freitag, with whom she had a daughter.

German-American producer, the son of a painter, Wilhelm Blanke. Henry began in films in 1920 as personal assistant to the renowned director Ernst Lubitsch whom he accompanied to Hollywood in 1922. However, while the autocratic Lubitsch soon departed following artistic differences with the equally headstrong studio boss Jack L. Warner, Blanke remained behind at an ever increasing salary which would eventually top $5000 a week. From 1928 to 1930, he was based in Berlin, supervising the German-based output of Warner Brothers. Returning to the fold at Burbank in 1931, he brought with him the noted German director William Dieterle, who stayed on Warner's roster until 1939.

In 1931, Blanke became staff producer and production supervisor, subordinate in the studio hierarchy only to Hal B. Wallis and to the Warner brothers themselves. Blanke remained with the company until 1961. Popular with directors and production staff alike for his easy-going, laissez-faire approach (never a typical character trait of producers, then or now), Blanke turned out numerous imperishable classics featuring the cream of Warner Brothers talent: Bette Davis (Jezebel (1938), The Old Maid (1939)), Errol Flynn (The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Sea Hawk (1940)) , Humphrey Bogart (The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) ) , James Cagney (Come Fill the Cup (1951)), Paul Muni (The Life of Emile Zola (1937), Juarez (1939)) and Edward G. Robinson (A Dispatch from Reuters (1940), The Sea Wolf (1941)).

David Bode was born on 28 May 1991 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany. He is an actor, known for Krimi.de (2005), Circle of Life (2004) and Der Schatz der weißen Falken (2005).

Susanne Erichsen was born on 30 December 1925 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Drei Damen vom Grill (1977), Dalli Dalli (1971) and Am laufenden Band (1974). She died on 13 January 2002 in Berlin, Germany.

Manuel Vogt was born on 23 January 1986 in Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. He is a composer, known for Gunpowder Milkshake (2021), Heart of Stone (2023) and Das Boot (2018).

Joachim Seyppel was born on 3 November 1919 in Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. He died on 25 December 2012 in Wismar, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

Suzanne Serge was born on 3 February 1905 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for On ne triche pas avec la vie (1949). She was married to Paul Vandenberghe. She died on 14 July 1996 in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

Rose Rowbotham was born on 9 April 1903 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for The Mikado (1926). She died on 8 February 1987 in Witham, Essex, England, UK.

Wilfried Wieck was born on 28 May 1938 in Steglitz, Berlin, Germany. He died on 9 June 2000.