Dieter Bockhorn

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Dieter Bockhorn (* 1938 in Stuttgart ; † December 31, 1983 at Cabo San Lucas , Baja California Sur , Mexico ) was a big Hamburg neighborhood and was known in the 1970s as the partner of the photo model Uschi Obermaier .

Hamburg years

Dieter Bockhorn first worked as a waiter in Bonn and later in Hamburg . There he opened in the late 1950s his first nightclub , the "L'Amour". A few years later, the "Baby Doll" followed - both on the Reeperbahn . In the 1960s, Bockhorn increasingly established itself as a nightclub operator , pub owner and owner of striptease bars in Hamburg's red-light district . Contrary to statements to the contrary, he was not active as a pimp . His great commercial success earned him the nickname “Prince of St. Pauli ”.

In the early 1970s, Bockhorn leased his Reeperbahn restaurants and concentrated on the legendary Galerie-Café Adler , which he had opened in a former drugstore on Weidenstieg in the Hamburg district of Eimsbüttel . The bar - a mixture of pub, gallery and platform for action artists - quickly advanced to a well-known scene and a drug hub. The guests included rock greats such as Alvin Stardust and the Boomtown Rats , but also Rudolf Augstein and some Hamburg local politicians.

During his time in Hamburg, Bockhorn lived an extravagant lifestyle. His apartment was furnished with antiques and replicas of historical busts as well as animal skulls and marijuana plants. He kept his gold Rolex in an aquarium stocked with piranhas. He kept a monkey named Cheetah as a pet. Bockhorn was a polytoxicomaniac - he consumed heroin , cocaine , marijuana , LSD and, on his travels through Asia, also opium .

The relationship with Uschi Obermaier

Bockhorn became known nationwide through his relationship with Uschi Obermaier, whom he got to know in 1973 on his own initiative, after he had decided, based on photographs, to have found his "princess" in the photo model . The relationship was problematic. Bockhorn cheated on his partner many times with other women and also hit him. The couple had to seek help from their psychologist friend, Halko Weiss, several times. Nevertheless, the relationship lasted over ten years until Bockhorn's death.

Between 1976 and 1983 they both made extensive trips in minibuses, which Bockhorn had converted into luxury mobile homes with the help of designer Holger Schmidtchen. The first, 20-month trip led both of them on the hippie trail to the Middle East to Afghanistan , Pakistan , Nepal and India . There both married according to Hindu custom, whereby Uschi Obermaier always emphasizes that it was only a happening , not an actual marriage. Marriage was never legally recognized in Germany either. After a short stay in Hamburg, the second three-year trip to the USA and Mexico followed . Through the trips together, which for many embodied the breakout of civic constraints and the dream of freedom, Obermaier and Bockhorn became a cult couple of the 1970s and the subject of media coverage.

On the trip to the Middle East, Bockhorn continued his excessive drug consumption, whereby he succeeded several times in smuggling the drugs hidden in the bus past police checks using imaginative tricks. For example, he posed as a general in the Bundeswehr , which successfully prevented the impressed customs officials from searching the bus. While traveling through America, Bockhorn severely restricted his use of illegal drugs, but instead became addicted to alcohol.

death

Dieter Bockhorn died on December 31, 1983 on his last trip with Uschi Obermaier near the Mexican seaside resort of Cabo San Lucas. He crashed into an oncoming truck on his motorcycle, drunk and at excessive speed. It is still unclear whether it was an accident or suicide . The day before, Bockhorn had said to his companions: "Tomorrow is the last day". The suicide thesis is based primarily on this quote and Uschi Obermaier's reports that Bockhorn had shown increasing resignation in Mexico. Uschi Obermaier herself stated in several interviews (see web links) that she personally believed in an accident. Dieter Bockhorn's body was cremated and the ashes scattered in the Pacific . There is no grave.

Movie

In the free film adaptation of Uschi Obermaier's life Das wilde Leben (Germany 2007 ), the role of Dieter Bockhorn is played by David Scheller .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bockhorn, Dieter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German night club operator and pub in Hamburg's red light district
DATE OF BIRTH 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH December 31, 1983
Place of death Cabo San Lucas , Mexico