- Smoking prosecutor gets off at Münster "crime scene"
The woman with a cigarette in her hand and a distinctive deep voice says "Goodbye": Mechthild Großmann, who has been a public prosecutor in the Münster "Tatort" on ARD for over 22 years, will retire in 2025, as announced by Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
As the boss of Chief Inspector Thiel and forensic pathologist Professor Boerne, the actress will still be seen in three new episodes, after which she wants to tackle new tasks, the station quoted Großmann. In the ARD ratings success, she plays the public prosecutor Wilhelmine Klemm.
For the role of a "villainous murderer", Großmann would immediately return.
"When the last Münster 'Tatort' with me is broadcast at the end of 2025, I will be 77 years old, and I have no intention of stopping working. I will continue to act in theater and give readings, preferably with music - and if WDR is ever looking for someone to play a villainous murderer, I would be there immediately," said Großmann in a statement from WDR.
Großmann, born in Münster in 1948, has been part of the Münster "Tatort" ensemble since the first episode in 2002. Before her, only Friederike Kempter had left the long-standing ensemble in the role of Boerne's assistant Nadesha Krusenstern. Her supporting role was very popular with TV viewers. Above all, her strong sense of justice characterized Staatsanwältin Wilhelmine Klemm, who could also get louder when things didn't go according to plan.
Long collaboration with Pina Bausch
Before the "Tatort", Großmann already had a long career - she began at the Theater Bremen in 1963. She first worked with dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch in 1976. From 1977 to 1979, she had an engagement at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, before celebrating worldwide successes with the Tanztheater Pina Bausch in Wuppertal - but not as a dancer, as she emphasizes on her own homepage.
She has also acted in films with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Caroline Link. At the Folkwang University of Essen, she taught dance history and acting. The "Tatort" role is "only a very small part" of her professional life, she once said in a dpa interview. "That's eight days a year for me. And I like to work 280 days a year."
"At least my voice is the best thing about me"
Nevertheless, the role was something special for the actress. It was an honor and a pleasure for her to play with Christine Urspruch and Bjoern Meyer, many years with Friederike Kempter and the wonderful Vadder - Claus D. Clausnitzer - and of course with Axel Prahl and Jan Josef Liefers for 23 years. "Thank you," said the actress in a statement.
About her distinctive voice, she joked a few years ago in a "Zeit" interview: "I always say that since I'm old and ugly, my voice finally comes into its own. At least my voice is the best thing about me. My daughter always says: 'You can still do audiobooks in a wheelchair.'" However, her roles are also somewhat limited by her voice. "If I were to play the grandmother in a prime-time series and say 'The tea is ready', everyone would think it was poisoned."
Alexander Bickel, head of the WDR Fiction department, thanked Großmann "very warmly for her wit, her joy in acting, and her tireless, distinctive commitment to justice and the law in her hometown of Münster". Wilhelmine Klemm will be greatly missed by the "Tatort" audience, "who have embraced the character and her wonderful portrayal from the start", said Bickel. "Dear Mechthild Großmann: Thank you for so many wonderful years of crime entertainment!"
The 46th Münster "Tatort" titled "Man dies only twice" - featuring Großmann - is set to air in the fourth quarter of 2024.
After retiring from her role as Wilhelmine Klemm in the "Tatort" series, Mechthild Großmann mentioned her interest in returning for a villainous murderer role. In the past, Mechthild Großmann had a long-standing role in the Tanztheater Pina Bausch in Wuppertal before joining the Münster "Tatort" ensemble.
