Fritz Rotter

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Fritz Rotter (born March 3, 1900 in Vienna ; † April 11, 1984 in Ascona ) was an Austrian author and composer .

life and work

At the age of 17, Fritz Rotter wrote texts and chansons for a number of cabarets , including the “Simplicissimus” (the Simpl ) in Vienna . In the 1920s , like so many artists, he moved to Berlin . Here he worked with Robert Stolz and Ralph Benatzky and Rudolf Friml . He wrote hit lyrics and composed film scores and film songs that were sung by Richard Tauber , among others . Some of the hits that came from him include When the white lilac blooms again ; Veronika, spring is here; I kiss her hand, madame ; I got so used to you ; Whenever I'm happy I cry ; I've hired a servant for Grinzing ; You go with me as well as sugar goes with coffee . In particular, Rotter created many of the nonsense texts that have become characteristic of the German hits of the twenties: What is Maier doing in the Himalayas? ; Today I was at Frieda's (I'll do that again tomorrow) ; Today Käthe is etepetete or why is Walter so smart for his age .

In 1933 Fritz Rotter had to leave the German capital because of his Jewish origins. First he went to his native Austria. But when fascism got the upper hand there too , he emigrated to England in 1936 and to the USA a year later . Here he wrote scripts for numerous films. He also worked with Franz Werfel , Fritz Kortner and Fritz Lang .

After the war he returned to Europe and continued to write scripts and hit texts. In total he wrote about 1200 texts for the "light muse" in his life. His hit text “ Wir ”, written in 1966 , which begins with the words: “ Who doesn't want to be confused with bums? We! “Sparked discussions in Die Zeit and in the mirror and gave Freddy Quinn a kink in his career.

After retiring to Switzerland years earlier, Rotter died in Ascona at the age of 84.

Participation in films (selection)

Films on which Fritz Rotter worked as a screenwriter and composer:

Awards

literature

  • Volker Kühn (Ed.): Germany's Awakening: Cabaret under the swastika; 1933-1945 . Volume 3. Weinheim: Quadriga, 1989 ISBN 3-88679-163-7 , p. 384 (short biography)
  • Kay Less : 'In life, more is taken from you than given ...'. Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. P. 433 f., ACABUS-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Choir of the Decent. To Freddy Quinn's "We" (Text: Fritz Rotter)
  2. ↑ Hildegard Knef: Filmography, Kino-Produktionen 1951. Accessed December 12, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Rotter, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian author and composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 3, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1984
Place of death Ascona