Tom Toelle was born May 19, 1931, in Berlin. He studied German studies and history and at the same time made his first experiences as an assistant director at several theatres in Berlin and as a writer of radio plays. From the 1960s on, Toelle wrote and directed TV productions and mainly dedicated himself to subjects that were questioning social and contemporary developments. After films like "Der Reichstagsbrandprozeß" and "Die Trennung", Toelle caused a stir far beyond the borders of Federal Germany with his daring media satire "Das Millionenspiel" ("The Millions Game", 1970): The TV movie that won numerous international awards paints the dark vision of a future where candidates of a TV show literally play for their lives.

In his following films, Toelle also frequently dealt with current and controversially discussed social topics, for instance, the new phenomenon of youth unemployment ("Wo geht‘s lang, Kutti? ") or the influence of politics on television programs ("Ein Mann von gestern"). Besides his TV work, Toelle also worked for numerous years as a theatre director at well-known theatres like Hamburg’s Thalia Theater, Berlin’s Schillertheater, or at Schauspielhaus Zürich.

In the 1980s, Toelle finished the successful multi-part TV movie "Via Mala" with Mario Adorf in the leading role. His later works include "Der Bierkönig" (1991), the adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’s story "La Paloma fliegt nicht mehr", and the historical drama "König der letzten Tage" ("A King for Burning"). In 1995, Toelle – who was married to the film and TV actress Ulli Philipp – made a film version of Hans Fallada’s novel "Der Trinker". Critics and movie goers equally praised Toelle’s film as well as leading actor Harald Juhnke. Besides his movie projects, Toelle also served as a long-time lecturer at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg.

Tom Toelle died on March 25, 2006, in Munich.