Hein Riess

He was previously a sailor who began work as a cabin boy on ships and then became a professional singer, mainly of sea shanties.

[1] As an actor, he made appearances on several German television productions and in German films including the 1963 Werner Jacobs directed drama Homesick for St. Pauli (German: Heimweh nach St. Pauli), but he is best known internationally for his performance as Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring in the film Battle of Britain (1969).

According to a booklet publicising the movie, he had allegedly once met Göring himself during the war.

[2] Former fighter ace Adolf Galland who worked as a technical consultant on the film had known Göring and was impressed with his performance[3] and said his voice was exactly like Göring's.

Riess died of heart failure at age 79.