Friedrich Haase (1 November 1827 – 17 March 1911) was a prominent German actor and theatre director. He was born in Berlin, the son of a valet to King Frederick William IV, who was his godfather.[1]
Haase trained under Ludwig Tieck and made his first appearance in 1846 in Weimar. He later performed in Prague (1849–1851), under Eduard Devrient in Karlsruhe (1852–1855), and Saint Petersburg (1860–1866).[1] He also toured the United States.
He was manager of the court theatre in Coburg, and was manager of the Stadttheater in Leipzig (today Oper Leipzig), from 1870 to 1876.[2] After returning to Berlin, Haase founded the Deutsches Theater.[1] He was awarded the prestigious Iffland-Ring in 1878 by Theodor Döring and much the legend of the ring's origin goes back to Haase.[3]
Haase retired from the stage in 1898.[1] The street Haase Straße in Berlin-Friedrichshain is named after him.