Birth name

German film and theatre references list Erich Gustav Otto Engel; he worked professionally as Erich Engel (filmportal.de; Sächsische Biografie). Engel is his birth surname, not an adopted stage name.

Theatre, Brecht, and film

Engel was a major Weimar and later German stage director, closely associated with Bertolt Brecht—including early staging work connected to Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) era collaborations in Berlin theatre history. He also directed popular and literary films across the late Weimar, Nazi-era studio system (working within constrained conditions), and postwar East German DEFA cinema (filmportal.de; English Wikipedia summary).

He died in Berlin in 1966. English-language popular coverage is thinner than German authority files; this page prefers filmportal and regional biography sources.

The Threepenny Opera related film/stage recordings books on Brecht and Weimar theatre DEFA / German cinema history books

Why the "real name" question matters

Search interest in a celebrity's "real name" usually means one of three things: a shortened everyday form (Tom for Thomas, Dave for David), a middle name used as a stage handle (Drake-style), or a true legal/professional change after immigration or branding. This sprint page states which case applies, cites library or encyclopedia authorities where possible, and avoids gossip. Career sections stay high-level and sourced so Domain Bot can add internal/external links without rewriting the biography. Living subjects are limited to public facts; memorials avoid graphic detail.