German screen and stage actor, singer, painter, photographer, draftsman, costume designer and set designer. Since January 2013, Jürgen Draeger has been working on a series of pictures, “Sünde sein”, a homage to his late partner, the lyricist Bruno Balz.
At the age of 13, Draeger first published his drawings in Berliner Tageszeitungen. With a special permit, at age 15 he was allowed to study life drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later, his first oil painting depicting Berlin houses was shown in 1960 at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. At the height of abstract painting, Draeger surprised art critics with his socially critical realism. The painting was bought by the librettist Bruno Balz, resulting in a lifelong friendship.
Draeger earned his living as a factory worker and as an assistant to the photographer Herbert Tobias and he took acting lessons with Marlise Ludwig. His first stage success was at the Schiller Theater Berlin with a role in Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening. With a leading role in Jürgen Roland’s film Polizeirevier Davidswache (1964) Draeger, overnight, became an idol of the younger generation. More film roles followed and his face appeared on numerous magazine covers. Draeger was voted the most popular film actor of the year in 1967 and shot over 50 films across Europe, including the bio-pic Komm nach Wien, ich zeig dir was!, in which he portrayed the Austrian painter Hans Makart (1840-1884). At the same time, he made a parallel career in television.
Federico Fellini engaged him in 1971 as a costume designer and set decorator for his film Roma. Draeger studied the technique of etching and engraving. He worked as a photographer for Stern and Die Zeit magazines.
In the 1970s, the artist lived mainly in Munich. There he met the actress Helga Anders, who died in March 1986 shortly before their planned wedding. On 14 March 1988 his partner Bruno Balz died. On 19 March 1988, the death of his mother Käthe followed.

Link to Wikipedia biography (German)