German actor Peter Sodann, venerated TV inspector, dies aged 87

German actor Peter Sodann, best known for his role in the country's longest-running crime drama television series "Tatort" (Crime Scene), has died at the age of 87, his family said on Sunday.

Sodann rose to national fame after starring as inspector Bruno Ehrlicher in the iconic police series from 1992 to 2007.

"Tatort," which first aired in 1970, is one of the most popular shows on German TV. Each episode follows a police team solving a case in a different German city or Vienna and Zurich, with the local setting being one of the series' main appeals.

Sodann starred as the inspector in the episodes set in the eastern cities of Dresden and Leipzig.

A new 90-minute episode from a different city premieres nearly every Sunday evening on public broadcaster ARD.

For many Germans, watching "Tatort" on Sunday evening is a sacred ritual. There are even bars screening the show every week.

According to data firm Statista, more than 1,200 episodes have been released since the show began. In 2022, some 8.1 million viewers tuned in on average every Sunday night.

Born June 1, 1936 in eastern Germany, Sodann studied at the drama school in Leipzig, then part of former communist East Germany.

He led a cabaret which was dissolved in 1961 over a programme deemed counter-revolutionary by the Communist regime. Sodan was arrested for anti-state agitiation and spent nine months in prison.

East Germany's Stasi security service continued to monitor his activities afterwards.

Sodann also made a name for himself as a theatre director in his native city of Halle where he set up several venues shaping the city's cultural scene.

In 1986, he received the National Prize in East Germany and in 2001, after reunification, he was honoured with the Federal Cross of Merit.