I started this website after I became completely and absolutely wrapped around Konrad, a character Norbert played in one episode of the short-lived television series The Agency. I quickly became a fan of all of his work. This is just a very small way of showing appreciation for his talent. Out of all of his characters, Konrad continues to hold that special place in my heart -- I must admit that I have quite a "thing" for that character. Don't ask me why -- I'm not sure I can explain it.
It's here! The tribue to The Radicals 20th anniversary is now live. It was such an honor to work with the very creative team behind that movie in order to bring you lots of special features, behind the scenes photos and trivia, and input from many of the people associated with the movie. A very special thanks to all of them for their tremendous help and enthusiasm as they helped me with this tribute -- this is especially true for Producer Robert A. Nowotny for his tireless efforts in coordinating with the French production team members and the volunteers who helped on the movie, and for sending me countless photos, stories and bits of trivia about the movie. An extra special and heartfelt thanks also to Norbert Weisser and Leigh Lombardi who played Michael and Margaretha Sattler, and also Dan Perrett who had the role of Wilhelm Reublin. Their time, efforts and significant contributions made this project come to life and have real meaning.
Special thanks to Mr. Weisser for contributing several images for the Theater section of this website, and for some insight into one of the characters he played in Taking Sides -- Helmuth Rode. This is deeply appreciated and adds so very much to that page. And even better -- Mr. Weisser provided a DVD of a video taped performance of Times Like These, so I have been able to expand that presentation with screencaps representing a good portion of the play. What a valuable addition to this site!
The Theater section of this site has been difficult -- it's not as if you can just run out and rent these performances on DVD and present them on the site. Once performed, they are lost to time -- which is a real tragedy when you stop and think about it. It gives those of us who have not seen them a sense that we have missed something special that we can never recapture. We then have to rely on reviews, theater websites or other articles to glean some sort of information about the plays, and it's just not the same as being there. At least with Mr. Weisser's help, that page has a lot more depth and substance.
The Special Feature page will always showcase one of Norbert's many interesting characters or movies in a more in-depth manner in the form of screencaps, an occasional slideshow or video, or an additional wallpaper or two if I am feeling extra creative. Norbert has been involved in several projects with historical significance, so I always try to incorporate that as a part of the feature. A couple of these have led me down some very interesting paths, such as the movie The Incident and German POWs in America.
TCM.com is the only place I have found that sells The Incident, but it is available as a rental from Netflix. It is a fabulous made-for-TV movie about German POWs in America, and is partially based on similar incidents that actually did happen in the POW camps before the regular German army soldiers were separated from the more hardcore Nazi soldiers. The movie is directed by Joseph Sargent (who also directed My Antonia, which will return as a Special Feature soon), and has a terrific cast with many familiar faces, such as Walter Matthau, Harry Morgan and more. If this movie is of interest to you, please take some time to read two very well written books on the subject: Guests Behind the Barbed Wire, by Ruth Beaumont Cook, and another by the man who is probably the foremost authority or historian on the subject, Arnold Krammer, who authored Nazi POWs in America. This is also available as a fascinating documentary on DVD from the History Channel.
By the way, don't worry if you have missed a particular special feature presentation. I plan to recycle many of them in the future. They may be updated in some manner, but they will be back at some point. Unfortunately I don't have an endless supply of new material. There is just some of Norbert's work that is not available on DVD or video-on-demand download.
As for me, I own a very small graphic design service (just one employee -- me!) in the Olympia, Washington area. This site is the result of my creative fun time. I hope you enjoy it because I sure do have a great time with it! Don't hesitate to contact me if you have comments or suggestions for things you would like to see -- or just take a moment to say hi. I always enjoy hearing from you!
As always, I will add more things as I run across them, such as the new additions of The Hardy Boys, Deutschlandlied and so on, so check back often!
This website is presented as a tribute/fansite only and is not officially affiliated in any way with Mr. Weisser. There is no personal information about or contact information for him posted here.
