Curd Juergens

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Curd Juergens 1976
Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt welcomes Romy Schneider (right) and Curd Jürgens with his wife Simone in front of the Chancellor's bungalow (1971)
Curd Jürgens, detail from the portrait of Günter Rittner (1980)
Grave of Curd Juergens in the Vienna Central Cemetery

Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (born December 13, 1915 in Solln , today Munich , † June 18, 1982 in Vienna ) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor who has also appeared in numerous international films.

Life

As the son of wealthy Hamburg Import - Export - businessman Kurt Juergens, a hamburger Danish origin, and the southern French teacher Marie-Albertine, born Noir, from Évian-les-Bains ( Haute-Savoie ), Jürgens grew up bilingually in an upper-class family. Curd Jürgens had two older sisters, Jeanette and Marguerite.

After lucrative deals (which even after the First World War often and for a long time took him to Far Eastern parts of the Russian Empire ), Jürgens' father settled in Berlin after a short interlude in Munich . Curd Jürgens spent his youth in the upscale Berlin district of Neu-Westend (Oldenburgallee 57) and devoted a lot of space to this time in his autobiography ... and not a bit wise . Immediately after graduating from school, Jürgens worked as a journalist for the Berlin “8 o'clock evening paper”, at the same time taking acting lessons. In 1933 he was unable to conceive in a serious car accident. In 1935 he introduced himself to the UFA .

After the end of shooting the film Wiener Mädeln he lay down in September 1944 in a Viennese local unknowingly Robert Kaltenbrunner, brother of the Gestapo chiefs Ernst Kaltenbrunner , obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny and a staff Baldur von Schirach on, a few days was on a call-up , but was not in the Wehrmacht , but sent to a labor camp as "politically unreliable" . A few weeks later, he escaped and escaped persecution. After the Second World War , he was director of the Straubing City Theater for a short time ; He also directed the Paris Théâtre Hébertot for a season. He also worked - albeit without resounding success - as a director and screenwriter, mainly for Austrian entertainment films. He made his directorial debut in 1950 with bonuses on death .

Curd Jürgens, who already lived in Vienna and was engaged to Judith Holzmeister , decided in 1946 to take on Austrian citizenship , which he got on the same day after a telephone call between the Burgtheater director and Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl . The specific reason was that as a German he had not received a travel permit from the Soviet occupying forces for a Burgtheater tour in Switzerland with Käthe Dorsch , who only wanted to perform with him . According to his own statement, he had had an Austrian passport since 1935. Politically, he identified himself as a supporter of Willy Brandt . He was married five times: with the actresses Lulu Basler (1938), Judith Holzmeister (1947) and Eva Bartok (1955), then with the mannequin Simone Bicheron (1958) and finally from 1978 with Margie Schmitz. Because of his stature and cool appearance, the 1.93 m tall actor was nicknamed "the Norman cupboard" by Brigitte Bardot . The German press turned it into a "Norman wardrobe". In a "List of men with the most sex appeal " compiled by the tabloid Bild in 2005 , Jürgens came in second.

“He could do without everything,” he quoted Oscar Wilde , “only not luxury.” Curd Jürgens owned a luxury apartment on the Parisian Champs-Elysées (house number 72) and lived in Zurich in 1963 , where he also “had a few office buildings " would have. He had several residences (each with its own staff), including on Franziskanerplatz in downtown Vienna , in the southern French towns of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and later Saint-Paul-de-Vence , in Gstaad in Switzerland , in Neuhaus (Schliersee ) , in the Bahamas and most recently in Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn near Vienna. His fleet of vehicles included a Haflinger , a Bentley “to show off”, two Mercedes as a touring car, an Austin as a “shopping net”, a Porsche for sports drives, a Land Rover for guests and a Rolls-Royce as a reason for the amount of his fees. He drove his Rolls-Royce, a Silver Cloud III Cabrio , himself, although he had previously sold his Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster .

His activities as a host and as a guest at countless parties were legendary, especially during his time as Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival . When asked by a reporter how many bottles of whiskey he consumed every day, he said: “I think that's at most one a day.” From 1967, Jürgens had to undergo numerous heart operations, but he stuck to his lifestyle - eating and drinking and smoking - faithfully until almost the end.

In December 1981, Jürgens had a big TV hour. In the film adaptation of the Stefan Heym novel Collin , the patient with heart disease played a GDR writer who had heart disease because he never wrote the truth. He had his last major film role in the international production Tehran 43 as an enterprising lawyer for a former Nazi murderer. Jürgens died of multiple organ failure in the Rudolfstiftung hospital in Vienna before the German version was finished . His role therefore had to be dubbed.

His burial in the Vienna Central Cemetery in a grave of honor (Group 32C No. 54) of the City of Vienna took place on June 22, 1982 in the first and only nightly ceremony from 9 p.m.: His widow and one of his older sisters with their sons and around 3,000 Fans were gathered at the grave. An honorary formation of the Austrian Air Force flew over his grave.

On stage

As a versatile actor, he also showed himself on stage. For many years, Jürgens was a member of the ensemble at the Vienna Burgtheater , where he had great success in Tennessee Williams ' final destination, Sehnsucht .

He had the following engagements :

In the movie

Willi Forst recognized that the young acting talent could be suitable for the film. Curd Jürgens played in around 160 films over four decades. As a film actor he was one of the few German-speaking stars with worldwide fame from the late 1950s and worked in numerous international productions until his death.

With the film Des Teufels General, based on the drama of the same name by Carl Zuckmayer , Curd Jürgens achieved his international breakthrough, which earned him numerous roles in major US productions. The type of the smart woman hero and charming daredevil was cast with him in film roles. His stately figure, blonde - later white - hair and blue eyes also predestined him for portraying slightly hypothermic, attractive aristocrats and successful people. Impressively, he acted in 1977 as Karl Stromberg, opponent of James Bond, in the film The Spy Who loved me (under the anglicized name Curt Jurgens , probably because Curd in English Quark does).

He also devoted himself to the recitation of literary works a. a. also on television and on records . On the political situation and emigration at the end of the 1930s, Curd Jürgens reported in an interview for the Austrian ORF television series "Filmgeschichte (n) aus Österreich" about his involvement with the director Willi Forst for Viennese girls :

“He (Willi Forst) said in 1941: 'Curd, just don't make a film that shows a political situation. You will have to give an answer one day. ' There were many more or less mature or young people who continuously toyed with the idea of ​​emigrating. It wasn't that easy. You know, crossing the Swiss border on foot is also a thing that you have to do with a good dose of courage. And besides, it was good that we were allowed to live, of course - if you want - propaganda, but it was a very good form of survival, and I believe that these little cells that stayed in Austria and Germany, yes, if they did hadn't even stayed, I don't know how things would have been in post-war Germany. Because you know that emigration is a terrible thing. "

Filmography (selection)

As an actor

As a director

As a voice actor

Radio plays

Sound carrier

Single Ferry To Hong Kong , 1959
Single 60 years - and not a bit wise , 1975

Curd Jürgens recorded several records in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly hits in the style of Freddy Quinn or Hans Albers . In the film Die Dreigroschenoper (1962), Jürgens sang, among other things, The Moritat by Mackie Messer and the Kanonen-Song . The film's soundtrack appeared on an album, named title as a single. The chanson 60 years - and not a bit wise , which appeared in 1975 parallel to his biography, was exceptionally successful and reached number 21 in Germany and ninth in Switzerland. The song was composed by Hans Hammerschmid , the text was written by Miriam Frances . As a speaker, Juergens could be heard in 1980 in the role of journalist George Herbert in the German-language edition of " Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds ".

Discography (selection)

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
60 years - and not a bit wise
  DE 21st December 15, 1975 (9 weeks)
  CH 9 January 16, 1976 (4 weeks)

Singles

  • Ferry To Hong Kong / Live For Love (1959; Top Rank )
  • Blacky Jones / Majanah-Keh (1961; Ariola )
  • Mackie Messer / Cannon Song (1963; Ariola)
  • I tore up trees / O Susanna (1969; Philips )
  • I uprooted trees / Lonesome Traveler (1969; Philips)
  • On the Reeperbahn at half past twelve / Kleine Möwe, fly to Helgoland (1970; Ariola)
  • It's beautiful everywhere in this world ("Käpt'n Rauhbein-Song") / Under the dirty stars of the city (1971; Telefunken )
  • 60 years - and not a bit wise / Wenn (1975; Polydor )
  • Cold coffee / Looking at the day like that (1976; Polydor)
  • Heads or Tails / Don't Pour Water in My Wine (1977; Polydor)
  • Those were the days / Winnetou (1981; RCA )

LPs

Speaking roles

Honors

Honorable memory

In Munich- Neuperlach and Neu-Ulm streets are named after Curd Jürgens.

In 2003, the best young male actor received the Curd-Jürgens memory camera as part of the Golden Camera . From 2004 to 2012, the Lilli Palmer & Curd Jürgens memory camera, endowed with 20,000 euros, went to a male or female young actor.

literature

documentation

  • Curd Jürgens - the colossus on feet of clay. Documentation, 1982.
    • New version 2015 for the 100th birthday of Curd Jürgens. First broadcast as an edition of the series ORF -Legenden on ORF III in December 2015.

Web links

Commons : Curd Jürgens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eberhard Spiess: Berlin and Vienna - Sketches for a career 1935-1945 . In: Hans-Peter Reichmann, German Film Museum (ed.): Curd Jürgens (=  cinematograph No. 14, series of publications by the German Film Museum ). Henschel, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-89487-587-9 . , P. 15.
  2. ↑ Heike Specht: Curd Jürgens: General and Gentleman. The biography , construction digital, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b "Norman wardrobe, Viennese citizen" - Teddy Podgorsky is reminiscent of the legendary film star Curd Jürgens. In: Austria picture from the regional studio Vienna, April 3, 2001, 6:25 pm, ORF2.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Joy and Sorrow by Curd Jürgens . In: Stern . No. 19 , May 12, 1963, ISSN  0039-1239 , pp. 40-44 .
  5. ↑ 90 years ago: Curd Jürgens is born "The Norman wardrobe". In: wdr.de. December 13, 2005, accessed April 5, 2012 .
  6. ↑ a b Curd Juergens: My crazy life . In: Stern . No. 51 , December 13, 1970, ISSN  0039-1239 , pp. 34-44 .
  7. ↑ a b Culture: Curd Jürgens - Obituary . In: Der Spiegel . No. 25 , June 21, 1982, ISSN  0038-7452 , pp. 204 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed April 27, 2012]).
  8. ↑ Personal details - Curd Jürgens . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , December 20, 1961, ISSN  0038-7452 , p. 91 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed April 27, 2012]).
  9. ↑ Curd Jürgens drives Haflinger, collection = St. Hubertus, number 7, July 1966 ( Memento from January 25, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  10. ↑ Personal details - Curd Jürgens . In: Der Spiegel . No. 32 , August 8, 1962, ISSN  0038-7452 , p. 65 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed April 27, 2012]).
  11. ↑ Personal details - Curd Jürgens . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , May 15, 1963, ISSN  0038-7452 , p. 87 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed April 27, 2012]).
  12. ↑ Hedwig Abraham: Art and Culture in Vienna - Central Cemetery, Graves of Honor. In: viennatouristguide.at. Retrieved April 27, 2012 .
  13. ↑ February 23, 1955: Film premiere of “Des Teufels General”. In: KalenderBlatt DW-World.de. February 23, 2010, accessed February 23, 2010 .
  14. ↑ Fiches personnalités: Curd Jürgens. In: cineressources.net. Retrieved January 28, 2018 .
  15. ^ Fritz Rumler: Colossus on feet of clay . In: Der Spiegel . No. 50 , December 8, 1975, ISSN  0038-7452 , pp. 162–163 ( Spiegel Archive [accessed April 27, 2012]).
  16. ↑ Traielr to The Spy Who Loved Me. Retrieved February 22, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Label of the original single Polydor 2041 689 (1975)
  18. ↑ Chart sources: DE CH
  19. ^ Prosit, Professor Jürgens. (Photo) . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna September 2, 1976, p. 13 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  20. ↑ Office of the Federal President
  21. ↑ On the 100th birthday: Curd Jürgens - the colossus on feet of clay. Documentation 1982, in the new version 2015. First broadcast on December 19, 2015 as ORF legends in the main evening format zeit.geschichte on ORF III .
personal data
SURNAME Juergens, Curd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jürgens, Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Austrian stage and film actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich-Solln
DATE OF DEATH June 18, 1982
Place of death Vienna