Claus Theo Gärtner

Claus Theo Gärtner (born 19 April 1943) is a German television actor and amateur racing driver, best known for portraying the private detective Josef Matula in the long-running crime series Ein Fall für zwei (A Case for Two). From 1981 until 2013 he appeared in about 300 episodes, making the role one of the most recognisable characters in German television.

Early life and education

Gärtner was born in Berlin during the final years of the Second World War. He spent parts of his childhood and adolescence in Austria, the United States, and Southeast Asia, where his father worked for a German trading company. He studied music in Braunschweig and Hanover before turning to acting and made his first theatre appearance at the Junges Theater in Göttingen. During his student years he was active in the German Socialist Students’ Association (SDS).

Career

Gärtner began acting on stage in the 1960s and appeared in minor film and television roles before gaining national recognition with Ein Fall für zwei.

Ein Fall für zwei

The crime series, produced by ZDF, premiered in 1981 and centred on the partnership between the private detective Josef Matula (played by Gärtner) and various defence attorneys, beginning with Dr. Dieter Renz (played by Günter Strack).

Matula’s combination of street-smart intuition and moral ambiguity contrasted with Renz’s legal precision, forming a dynamic that defined the programme’s early years. Gärtner performed most of his own car stunts and fight scenes, drawing on his passion for automobiles and motorsport. He remained with the show for over three decades, departing in 2013 with the 300th episode “Letzte Runde” (“Final Round”).