Heinz Ingo Hilgers

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Autograph session with Heinz Ingo Hilgers in a Kiel department store (1963)

Heinz Ingo Hilgers (born August 7, 1926 in Duisburg ; † April 27, 2004 in Rendsburg ) was a German actor who was best known for his portrayal of Winnetou at the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg .

Live and act

Childhood and youth

Hilgers had a happy childhood and a war-torn youth:

“Thanks to the grandparents' garden and a riding stable nearby, he developed a great love for nature and horses early on. His love for Karl May only begins later, after reading ' Winnetou I ' and ' Der Schatz im Silbersee '.

After the secondary school leaving certificate, he took on extra roles at the Duisburg City Theater - parallel to the further aspired to high school diploma. However, the war ended the 16-year-old's schooling prematurely. Because of the constant devastating bombing raids , all teaching institutions in Duisburg are closed in 1944. As an anti-aircraft helper in Moers , the sensitive Hilgers had his first traumatic experiences: his childhood sweetheart was shot by low-flyers in front of his eyes; he doesn't even know where her grave is. Three of his school friends die. He himself collapses under the harassment of duty drill and ends up in the hospital .

He then worked as a chemist, but still took acting lessons in the evening and passed the aptitude test for the Folkwang School in Essen . The conscription to the Navy in August 1944 had no consequences, as the hometown of Duisburg was so massively bombed and destroyed that he was allowed to return there for rescue operations. The father is in captivity, the mother is ill and the little brother is only four years old. The family is bombed out and evacuated to Lipper Land . While taking a walk with friends, young Hilgers is picked up by English and Polish soldiers and abused in a way that he only suggests in his memories by describing his state of mind as 'helplessness, anger, shame, despair'.

1945 - the first Christmas in peace. The father is back home, the world seems fine, but the 20-year-old Ingo is burned out, desperate and depressed. Fortunately, he has the gift of expressing his feelings in words and verse. He writes numerous poems and a moving essay in which he settles accounts with the politicians ('voice of youth'). "

- Ingrid Schorn : Memories of Heinz Ingo Hilgers, 2005

First acting experience

Ingrid Schorn described his first acting experiences as follows:

“At the age of 22 he took his acting exam with Gustav Gründgens in Düsseldorf and finally made the leap onto the theater stage. From now on he played almost all important roles in major theaters and stages. If you read his repertoire at the end of the book, it would be hard to believe that a single person can represent so many different characters. It is so versatile and flexible that it is impossible to pin it down to one type or genre. The critics are full of admiration and certify that Hilgers portrayed every character and person exactly as the poet “could not have wished for better.”… Hilgers is also a recognized actor before, after and during his Winnetou engagements who fascinates his audience in every role. The sonorous, almost magical voice certainly played a major role in his success. Little is learned from the first marriage; she was divorced in 1959. Finally, the commitment to Bad Segeberg takes place through the artistic director Wulf Leisner , which he accepts after some hesitation. "

- Ingrid Schorn : Memories of Heinz Ingo Hilgers, 2005

Eleven years in Bad Segeberg

In 1960, Segeberg's Karl May director Wulf Leisner became aware of him, whereupon a successful eleven year collaboration began. Hilgers reported about this in an interview in 1977:

“The director at the time, Wulf Leisner, found me and offered me to play in Segeberg. It appealed to me because it was the largest open-air theater in Germany and Europe for drama. At the same time I had two other offers, one from the Harz mountain theater in Thale and one from Bad Kreuznach in Saarland . I was supposed to play Major von Schill in Thale and Petruchio in ' The Taming of the Shrew ' in the other. But I decided on this third one, the Leisner and Karl May! That's how I was discovered for the role of Kara Ben Nemsi . ... I played a lot in the Rhineland. I had played a lot of big roles there and so I was known to Leisner. And then he saw me, he liked me, he made me the offer, I asked for time to think it over and then accepted. And then he said: 'No, dear Mr. Hilgers, I don't want you for the Old Shatterhand next year , but much better for the Winnetou ! Wouldn't you prefer to play Winnetou? I see that exotic in you much more, that is, the embodiment of Winnetou than Kara Ben Nemsi or Shatterhand ... 'And I thought to myself:' Good, Mr Leisner, if that's what you mean, let's try it ', and I have it Winnetou played. With a - I can probably say - success that I immediately received an offer to film that I unfortunately could not accept because the city had gone too long to give me the letter. And so this role passed me by, for which Pierre Brice was then taken. "

- Heinz Ingo Hilgers : Winnetou tells ..., 1977

Winnetou - the role of his life

In 1961 Hilgers played the Winnetou for the first time. Then again from 1964 to 1967, 1969 and 1970. This role shaped his life: he spoke Winnetou in numerous radio play productions , he completed signing tours through German department stores and achieved nationwide popularity thanks to the television recordings of the Segeberger Games.

Hilgers was considered the stage Winnetou par excellence in the 1960s - alongside the film Winnetou Pierre Brice . And who knows what would have become of Hilgers if the Segeberg city fathers hadn't withheld the film production's letter inviting the successful Hilgers to audition so as not to lose "their" Winnetou ...

The biographers judge: "Heinz Ingo Hilgers was the first big Winnetou star in Bad Segeberg, in fact in Germany par excellence ... his predecessors did not understand how to convey the charisma that this role simply needs."

“He's now also enjoying success privately: He marries the love of his life: Ingrid Derlin, whom he got to know as an intern at the Rendsburg theater. They have two children; tragically, son Armin dies early, which Hilgers tries to process poetically again. The daughter is interviewed by the biographers, as is the wife, and we learn that Heinz Ingo Hilgers was a multi-talented person with a solid character. A whole chapter is devoted to his writings and poems, which impress me very much because all facets of life are reflected in them. "

- Ingrid Schorn : Memories of Heinz Ingo Hilgers, 2005

Festival

From 1961 to 1970 (with interruptions in 1962, 1963 and 1968) Hilgers was a popular Winnetou actor in Bad Segeberg, but also appeared on the stage at Segeberger Kalkberg as Kara Ben Nemsi (1960), Wohkadeh (1962) and Tarik (1963) . In 1971 he was (under the direction of Wulf Leisner) as Winnetou on the "Freilichtbühne an der Dimbeck" in Mülheim ad Ruhr .

The performances in detail:

  • 1960: in "In the Gorges of the Balkans" as Kara Ben Nemsi (alternating with Horst Forester)
  • 1961: in " The Oil Prince " as Winnetou
  • 1962: in " Unter Vultures " as Wohkadeh
  • 1963 in " Through the Desert " as Tarik
  • 1964: in "The Treasure in the Silver Lake" as Winnetou
  • 1965: in " Old Surehand " as Winnetou
  • 1966: in " Winnetou II - Ribanna and Old Firehand " as Winnetou
  • 1967: in "Unter Vultures - Son of the Bear Hunter" as Winnetou
  • 1969: in " Die Felsenburg " as Winnetou
  • 1970: in "The Oil Prince" as Winnetou
  • 1971: in "The Secret of Bonanza" as Winnetou

Radio plays

Hilgers also spoke the Winnetou in numerous radio play productions. It was very often on the cover when photos from the Segeberger Festival were used to design the radio play cassettes.

In 1966 he played an unusual role for him in “ From Baghdad to Stambul ”: Hassan Ardschir Mirza.

watch TV

Not least because of the annual festival broadcasts from Bad Segeberg and the recordings of the North German Broadcasting Corporation ( NDR ) for the first German television program ( ARD ), Hilgers gained nationwide fame.

Engagements after Winnetou

After his time in Segeberg, Hilgers played open-air at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig for a while, and since 1978 has been irregularly active for the Schleswig-Holstein State Theater . In 1992/93 he negotiated with the then director of Segeberg, Jürgen Lederer , about the offer to take on the role of a mediating Indian chief, but turned it down because he “never wanted or could play a role other than Winnetou in this theater”.

"After Hilgers was never committed to certain characters - not even Winnetou -" shedding "this character could not shake his self-esteem. Until recently he played demanding roles, recorded records and recited texts. He felt most comfortable in his second home, Rendsburg. He died here on April 27, 2004 after suffering from cancer. "

- Ingrid Schorn : Memories of Heinz Ingo Hilgers, 2005

obituary

“The actor Heinz Ingo Hilgers died on April 27, 2004 at the age of 77 in Rendsburg. From 1961 to 1970 - with interruptions - Hilgers was extremely successful as a Winnetou actor in the Bad Segeberger Karl May Games. Together with his stage partner Harry Walther, he was a pair of blood brothers on the open-air stage at Kalkberg who were looking for their own kind. Until the end of the 1970s, Hilgers toured German-speaking countries in a Winnetou costume. In an interview with KARL MAY & Co. in 1997, Hilgers said in retrospect about his star role: 'I always saw the role of Winnetou as a medieval emperor. Emperors have majesty. I tried to show majesty. Maybe that was a little bit of the secret of my success. '"

- KARL MAY & Co. of April 29, 2004

source

  • Entry in the Karl May Wiki

literature

  • Nicolas Finke, Torsten Greis: 45 years of the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg. Part 1 and 2 . In: Karl May & Co. No. 66/1996 and No. 67/1997.
  • Nicolas Finke: Visiting "Winnetou" legend Heinz Ingo Hilgers :
    • 1st part: "One should play Karl May fairer" . In: Karl May & Co. No. 70/1997.
    • Part 2: "Winnetou" tells ... . In: Karl May & Co. No. 71/1998.
  • Theo Hößlin: Winnetou in the limestone rock. Bad Segeberg popularized by Karl May. In: ZEIT-Online July 29, 1966. Updated on November 21, 2012 ( online version )
  • Frank Knittermeier: Winnetou forever on the Segeberger Kalkberg . In: Hamburger Abendblatt of August 10, 2012 ( online version ).
  • Peter Krauskopf : "Horses, Action, Explosions". Winnetou on stage . In: Dieter Sudhoff , Hartmut Vollmer (eds.): Karl Mays "Winnetou" (Karl May Studies Volume 10), Suhrkamp-Verlag 1989 / Igel-Verlag 2007, p. 373 ff.
  • Jutta Laroche: He acted like a king. In memoriam Heinz Ingo Hilgers . In: Karl May & Co. No. 97/2004.
  • Jutta Laroche , Reinhard Marheinecke : Memories of Winnetou. Heinz Ingo Hilgers. An acting life . CBK Productions, Hamburg 2005. ISBN 3-932053-56-7
  • Reinhard Marheinecke, Nicolas Finke, Torsten Greis, Regina Arentz: Karl May am Kalkberg. History and stories of the Karl May Games Bad Segeberg since 1952 , Bamberg / Radebeul: Karl May Verlag 1999, therein a. a .:
    • Winnetou says ... "One should play Karl May fairer". In conversation with Winnetou legend Heinz Ingo Hilpers , p. 107 ff. (Interview from 1997)
  • Reinhard Marheinecke: Biographical approach to Heinz Ingo Hilgers. A workshop report. In: Karl May & Co. No. 101/2005, p. 24 ff.
  • Ingrid Schorn: Memories of Heinz Ingo Hilgers. A new book illuminates the life of the popular Winnetou actor , in: Karl May & Co. No. 101/2005, S, 60 f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Karl May & Co. No. 101/2005, p. 60 f.
  2. ↑ Jutta Laroche, Reinhard Marheinecke: Memories of Winnetou. Heinz Ingo Hilgers. An acting life . CBK Productions, Hamburg 2005. ISBN 3-932053-56-7
  3. ↑ a b Marheinecke u. a .: Karl May am Kalkberg ... , 1999, p. 107.
  4. ↑ Marheinecke u. a .: Karl May am Kalkberg ... , 1999, p. 108 f.
  5. ↑ https://www.abendblatt.de/region/norderstedt/article215543297/Gesucht-Wer-wird-Winnetou-Nummer-14.html
  6. ↑ http://karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Wokadeh
  7. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Tarik
  8. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Horst_Forester
  9. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Der_Schatz_im_Silbersee_(Bad_Segeberg_1964)
  10. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Unter_Giere_(Bad_Segeberg_1967)
  11. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Der_Ölprinz_(Bad_Segeberg_1970)
  12. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Das_Geheimnis_der_Bonanza_(Mülheim)
  13. ↑ http://karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Hassan_Ardschir_Mirza
  14. ↑ Marheinecke u. a .: Karl May am Kalkberg ... , 1999, p. 109.
  15. ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Harry_Walther
  16. ↑ https://www.karl-may-magazin.de/aktuell/nachrichten/lesen/article/er-praegte-die-bad-segeberger-spiele/
personal data
SURNAME Hilgers, Heinz Ingo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor, Winnetou actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Duisburg
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 2004
Place of death Rendsburg