Doesn’t happen to everyone, it happened to Horst Sachtleben. Hard on the retirement limit, the actor got a role that should make him very popular: Bishop Rossbauer in the ARD series “For Heaven’s sake”. Since 2002, Sachtleben had been a member of the ensemble of the TV long-running hit, which ended last year, alongside “Mayor” Fritz Wepper.

In the course of the corona pandemic, Sachtleben withdrew from the profession. “All the regulations and the fear of infection made my decision easier,” he told the German Press Agency on the occasion of his 90th birthday in September 2020.

“I’ve had a good life and I’m trying to make the most of what time I have left and enjoy it,” he said at the time. Born in Berlin, he was married to actress Pia Hänggi for 47 years and lived near Munich. “I enjoy the garden and being with my wife who takes good care of me. I lack for nothing!” he said in 2020.

According to his agency, Sachtleben studied theater studies in Berlin and took acting lessons at the same time. This was followed by engagements on German-speaking stages such as Berlin, Zurich, Bonn and Munich. His theatrical roles were far more of a challenge than Bishop Rossbauer, but in the eyes of the public they were nowhere near as good as the TV clergyman.