RIP Mario Adorf

 

Daily Jang

April 9, 2026

 

Mario Adorf, veteran German actor dies in Paris at 95

The legendary actor was part of several German and Italian films before he passed away at the age of 95

Mario Adorf, a German veteran actor who played iconic villain roles, has passed away at the age of 95.

Born in the Swiss capital, Zurich, in September 1930 to a German mother and an Italian father, Adorf grew up in the hilly rural Eifel region in western Germany.

He studied criminology but dropped out to start acting for the theatre before moving on to film.

Mario Adorf's cause of death

A prominent name in German and Italian cinemas, the actor had recently fallen ill and died after a short illness on April 8, 2026, aged 95, in his home in Paris.

Mario Adorf's acting career

From 1954 to 2023, he appeared in both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, ranging from spaghetti westerns to the 1979 Oscar-winning film The Tin Drum.

In 1957, he played a murderer in The Devil Strikes at Night, directed by Robert Siodmak, who had returned from Hollywood.

Discussing his long streak of villanious roles, Adorf said in an interview, "In and of itself, the villain is the interesting role in the book. I don't love the villains as people, as characters, but I know their significance, so I'm happy to lend them my body, my face."

His roles in more recent years included a three-part German TV movie about Winnetou to a mafia film in 2019.

Mario Adorf's marriages

In the 1960s, Adorf married Lis Verhoeven, and the couple had a child, Stella, prior to their divorce. In 1985, he tied the knot with Monique Faye.

ADORF, Mario

Born: 9/8/1930, Zurich, Switzerland

Died:  4/8/2026, Paris, Île-de-France, France

Mario Adorf’s westerns – actor:

The Taste of Violence - 1960 (Chamaco)

Apache Gold – 1963 (Frederick Santer)

The Last Ride to Santa Cruz - 1963 (Pedro Ortiz)

Massacre at Marble City – 1964 (Matt Ellis)

Major Dundee - 1965 (Sergeant Gomez)

Sunscorched – 1965 (Abel Dragna)

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968 (Henry/Harry Jim)

Drop Them or I'll Shoot – 1968 (Francisco Rafael ‘El Diablo’ Fatorro)

Deadlock – 1970 (Charles ‘The Rat’ Drumm)

Winnetou the Myth Lives (TV) – 2016 (Frederick Louis Santer)