Fritz Benscher

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Friedrich "Fritz" Benscher (born November 13, 1904 in Hamburg ; † March 10, 1970 in Munich ) was a German actor , quiz master , presenter , conférencier , radio play speaker and director .

Life

Fritz Benscher grew up as the third and youngest son of Gotthard and Pauline Benscher in a wealthy, middle-class Jewish family in Blankenese . From 1910 to 1914 he attended the private Gustav-Bertram-Preschool and then the Talmud-Tora-Realschule in Hamburg. According to the father's wishes, he should complete a commercial training in order to join the father's company, a leather wholesaler. The adolescent decided instead to pursue an acting career. From 1921 he worked at the Oldenburg State Theater, from 1924 in Hamburg, initially as an extra at the Hamburg Volksoper. He then received engagements at the Schiller Opera in Altona and at the Metropol Theater in Berlin . At times he used the stage name Fritz Bernd . His stage roles included Moritz Spiegelberg in Die Räuber and Armand Brissard in Die chaste Susanne .

At the same time, Benscher came into contact with the still young medium of radio . In 1926 he worked as a spokesman for NORAG , which was founded in Hamburg in 1924 ; He worked as an announcer at the inter-station Bremen , which later became the radio station Radio Bremen .

In addition to his acting activities, Benscher appeared as a cabaret artist and successful emcee .

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Benscher was banned from performing as a Jew. An attempt to emigrate to the USA failed. Around 1935 he joined the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden in Hamburg (Kulturbund 1), a self-help organization for Jewish artists affected by the professional ban. The paternal company was Aryanized . After all, Benscher worked as a coffin carpenter for the Jewish community at the Stellingen cemetery . In June 1943 he was first deported by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt concentration camp and in September 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp . Probably in January 1945, he came from there to the outside Kaufering camp of Dachau concentration camp , where he was liberated on May 1, 1945th

After his liberation, Fritz Benscher went to nearby Munich and found a new home there. In May, thanks to Klaus Brill, whom he still knew from Hamburg, he got a job at Radio Munich, the forerunner of Bavarian radio . The German-American Brill was at that time as a lieutenant in the US Army program director of the station and made Benscher the first announcer and later the broadcast manager.

As a left-wing Jewish concentration camp survivor, Benscher was a singular figure in the media world of the Adenauer era. In the first decade after the war, in particular, he saw his work as part of political re- education . He campaigned against militarism and Nazism, against rearmament and for conscientious objection and in 1950 signed the Stockholm Appeal against Nuclear Weapons. He won a lawsuit against the radical right-wing Deutsche Soldatenzeitung after he had made derogatory comments about marching music on a radio broadcast. Benscher also suffered from the psychological and physical consequences of his time in the concentration camp: insomnia, nightmares and anxiety, which culminated in a severe breakdown in 1957.

Fritz Benscher designed and produced numerous entertainment programs for Bayerischer Rundfunk. In 1955, for example, he developed the program Take the gas away or (from 1959) Gute Fahrt , the first motorist program on Bavarian radio. His special characteristic was that he became more and more quiet during the moderation, mumbling his name and the farewell to his eagerly listening listeners differently each time. B. once with: "..., your lion-Benscher." Benscher moderated this program until his death in 1970.

Radio plays became another important field of activity . Here he worked as a dramaturge, director and speaker in well over 100 productions. So he edited the comedy The Beautiful Liar by Just Scheu and Ernst Nebhut for the funk, directed and played the role of Prince Talleyrand. Thanks to several DVD releases, the radio play series about Dickie Dick Dickens (1958–1961) is known to this day, in which he spoke to Josua Benedikt Streubenguss, the fence and accomplice of the title hero embodied by Carl-Heinz Schroth .

Since the end of the 50s it has been on television through the ARD programs Tick-Tack-Quiz (1958 to 1967), The Key to Luck (1959) and the afternoon program How did you come up with it? (1961) known as moderator and quiz master . His relaxed, quick-witted manner, which was unusual for the time, and always tended to spontaneous gags, made him a crowd favorite.

From 1949 he was also seen in several feature and television films, for example in 1949 in Der Ruf by and with Fritz Kortner or in 1953 alongside Hans Albers in Käpt'n Bay-Bay . The comedy string quartet by the Hungarian actor and author Szöke Szakall is known to this day, in which Benscher u. a. with Dieter Hildebrandt and Ursula Noack can be seen. In 1968 he appeared in an episode of the television series Hafenkrankenhaus , in which Anneli Granget played the leading role.

On June 27, 1950, Benscher married Annemarie (artist name: Tamara) Moser (* 1927), whom he had met in 1947 as an acting student. The witnesses were the director Wilm ten Haaf and the actor Heinz Leo Fischer . The marriage lasted until Benscher's death and remained childless.

On March 10, 1970, Benscher died of the consequences of a heart attack a few days earlier in a Munich clinic. 15 days later he found his last resting place in the north cemetery in Munich in the Urnenhalle-Süd, grave number 406.

Filmography

Radio plays

As a director

  • 1946: What man sows
  • 1946: The Canterville Ghost
  • 1946: The Auditor - Author: Nikolai Wassiljewitsch Gogol
  • 1946: The illegals
  • 1946: Willibald Schmidt's gloomy Sunday
  • 1946: Colportage
  • 1947: The death of the old actor
  • 1947: The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schwejk (3 parts)
  • 1947: Don Quixote de la Mancha
  • 1948: The Flying Privy Councilor - Author: Curt Goetz
  • 1948: The Sunday woman
  • 1948: Storm in a water glass
  • 1948: The Mary Dugan Trial
  • 1948: Arrival at night - Author: Hans Rothe
  • 1948: Galileo Galilei - Author: Bertolt Brecht
  • 1948: The New Coat - Author: Nikolai Wassiljewitsch Gogol
  • 1948: Prossy's Mam
  • 1949: They lived with us - Author: Hans Schweikart
  • 1949: People in the hotel
  • 1949: women lose their heads
  • 1949: a dog's life
  • 1949: Ship without a port
  • 1949: The forgotten word
  • 1950: What do the gods say?
  • 1950: Kaspar Hauser, the mystery of its time
  • 1950: The sea-green emerald
  • 1950: Vagrant uprising
  • 1951: Justice for Parnell
  • 1951: At the end of the street
  • 1951: Mathes looks to the future
  • 1951: the greyhound
  • 1951: The angel and the disgust
  • 1952: The last king
  • 1952: a complicated story
  • 1952: The good-for-nothing from Clochemerle
  • 1952/53: Celia and her adventures (3 episodes)
  • 1953: Three salmon ham
  • 1953: Queen Victoria - One Penny
  • 1953: The match without a head
  • 1953/54: Detective Camel Bluff (7 parts)
  • 1954: Raised from the tear
  • 1954: The man who wanted peace and quiet
  • 1954: Napoleon twice
  • 1954: Jack cracks the wonder cabinet
  • 1954: night edition
  • 1955: Mr. X knocks on the door
  • 1955: It was very easy
  • 1955: But, but, Inspector
  • 1955: Its mild day
  • 1955: The Avenging Nemesis
  • 1955: The fire salamander
  • 1956: The Spirit of Benjamin Sweet
  • 1956: Small things - capitalized
  • 1956: At night in Manhattan
  • 1956: The Admiral
  • 1956: The dirtiest business
  • 1957: The man in the basement
  • 1957: The secret pants
  • 1957: When the doors close
  • 1957: The ray of hope
  • 1957: Ascent of the Rigi 80 years ago
  • 1958: A star is not born
  • 1959: The mandatory mandate
  • 1959: The wedding day
  • 1964: The black lady
  • 1964: an impossible man
  • 1964: The brothers
  • 1964: Seven Danish mastiffs
  • 1967: a case for Dr. Dahlberg (2 parts)
  • 1968: The water is wet

As a director and speaker

  • 1947: Talma's End (Talma)
  • 1951: The crooks strike
  • 1951: The sad story of an opportunity
  • 1952: A murder for the world (Gaston Brunel)
  • 1952: Nicki and Paradise in Yellow (Father Schultes)
  • 1952: The man with the top hat . A musical comedy (Cicero, police chief of Paris)
  • 1953: The Lord of Paris (The Executioner)
  • 1953: The dog boarding house (chairman of the court)
  • 1954: Ily and Rily (prison guards)
  • 1954: Matt in three moves (Librarian, Librarian)
  • 1955: The alibi (speaker / announcement and rejection)
  • 1955: The beautiful liar (Prince Talleyrand)
  • 1955: Special Department K VII (editor)
  • 1955: Albert Graves is my name (cloakroom attendant)
  • 1955: Die Juwelenkitty (speaker)
  • 1956: The Fourth Man (One Speaker)
  • 1957: The seventh veil (Borelli, conductor)
  • 1958: perpetrators wanted! (Moderation) - ( also co-author )
  • 1961: The Big Catch (Porter) (8 parts)
  • 1965: The Eyewitness (George)

Only as a speaker

  • 1947: The Devil Trips Monsieur Darcy (Pierre Darcy) - Director: Paul Verhoeven
  • 1947: Also a small town (speaker) - Director: Fritz Mellinger
  • 1947: Evidence - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1947: Goddess, don't try people (Hermes) - Director: Helmut Brennicke
  • 1948: Mr. Bergström rang the bell - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1948: Ak und die Menschheit (Ak) - Director: Walter Ohm
  • 1948: The Song of Bernadette (Napoleon III) - Director: Walter Ohm
  • 1949: That was Mama - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1949: The Gamma-X Project - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1949: Brumml stories; Episode: Devisen - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1950: Back then in Kongalonga (Freddi) - Director: Axel von Ambesser
  • 1950: Pique-Dame (coachman) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1950: Three Men in the Snow (Privy Councilor Schlüter) - Director: Teinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1950: The Age of Fear - Director: Hannes Küpper
  • 1950: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Schnock) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1950: The hollow tooth - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1950: The Conference of Animals - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1950: One pays his debt - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1950: Raindrops - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1950: Tom the tomcat and the man with the white vest - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1951: Wilhelm Tell (Gessler, Reichsvogt in Schwyz and Uri) - Director: Hannes Küpper
  • 1951: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - Director: Hannes Küpper
  • 1951: Pit and Fonso; 1st episode: SOS girl robbery - Director: Willy Purucker
  • 1951: The Lost Years (Shipowner LeCoz) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1951: Romeo and Juliet in Crete (conférencier) - Director: Otto Kurth
  • 1951: Europe has nothing to laugh about - Director: Kurt Wilhelm
  • 1952: Wendemarke (Reporter) - Director: Gert Westphal
  • 1952: Dresses without People (Vonderputt) - Director: Gert Westphal
  • 1952: Pit and Fonso; 4th episode: Mistake at midnight (narrator) - Director: Willy Purucker
  • 1952: An ideal husband (Lord Caversham) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1952: The small court concert (Emil Knipps, poet) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1952: Jim and Jill - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1952: Brumml stories; Episode: Pension Fortuna (Siegfried Wendulaus, artist agent) - Director: Olf Fischer
  • 1952: Brumml stories; Episode: The Succession - Director: Olf Fischer
  • 1953: Game in the Castle (Dwornitschek) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1953: The sensational news (helicopter announcer) - directed by Gustav Machatý
  • 1954: No parking (Prometüitas) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1954: The Captain of Köpenick (Krakauer) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1955: I want a husband (lawyer Lent) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1955: One hundred minutes too early (Davis, Reporter) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1955: Money does not matter - Director: Kurt Reiss
  • 1955: Never Sleep Again (Dr. Moha) - Director: Hellmuth Kirchammer
  • 1955: Bunbury (The Conférencier) - Director: Heinz-Günter Stamm
  • 1956: John Every or How Much is Man Worth (Banker) - Director: Werner Finck
  • 1957: The Deputy of Ploudalmezo (Bonmot, Deputy) - Director: Gert Westphal
  • 1958: Dickie Dick Dickens (Josua Benedikt Streubenguss) - radio play series - director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1959: News from Dickie Dick Dickens! (Josua Benedikt Streubenguss) - radio play series - director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1959: Die Lokalbahn (Major) - Director: Hermann Wenninger
  • 1960: Dickie Dick Dickens - back in the country (Josua Benedikt Streubenguss) - radio play series - director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1961: Alarm (Director Taler) - Director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1961: The hour zero was three fifteen (night porter) - five-part radio play - director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1963: Allow me, my name is Cox - The Little Witch (Mr. Kilburn) - radio play multi-part - Director: Walter Netsch
  • 1964: Order for Quentin Barnaby. From the diaries of a fire detective (Ackroyd) - radio play multi-part - Director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1965: Allow me, my name is Cox; Part 2: A lovely evening party (Attorney Harry Witson) - Director: Walter Netzsch
  • 1966: A well-dressed gentleman (representative) - Director: Walter Netzsch

literature

  • Johann Caspar Glenzdorf: Glenzdorf's international film lexicon. Biographical manual for the entire film industry. Volume 1: A-Heck. Prominent-Filmverlag, Bad Münder 1960, DNB 451560736 .
  • Paul S. Ulrich: Biographical directory for theater, dance and music. List of references from German-language reference works and yearbooks . Volume 1: A-L . Verlag A. Spitz, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-87061-479-X
  • Beate Meyer: Fritz Benscher. A Holocaust survivor as a radio and television star in the Federal Republic . Wallstein, Göttingen 2017, ISBN 978-3-8353-3001-6 ( review at sehepunkte.de)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Meyer, Beate: Fritz Benscher: A Holocaust survivor as a radio and television star in the Federal Republic . Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2017, ISBN 978-3-8353-3001-6 , p. 110/114 and 216 .
  2. ^ The grave of Fritz Benscher. In: knerger.de. Klaus Nerger, accessed on November 3, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Benscher, Fritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Benscher, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor, quiz master, presenter, conférencier, radio play speaker and director
DATE OF BIRTH November 13, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1970
Place of death Munich