Julius Wittels
Julius Wittels (born October 18, 1860 in Vienna , † March 12, 1899 in Meran ) was an Austrian actor and comedian.
Life
Wittels comedic and musical talents were at a folk festival in the Prater discovered where he in Swiss house -written couplets recited. The actress Valerie Gray-Stipek, who had her own theater in Vienna and gave acting lessons, convinced him to devote himself entirely to stage art. In 1880 he first appeared as an actor in the Gray Theater ; later he was engaged in Ödenburg , Salzburg and Budapest. In 1885 he came to the Theater in der Josefstadt , where he made his debut under director Karl Blasel in the popular play Schikaneder . After three years he moved to the Carltheater , to which he belonged for several years. At that time, he learned the at Theater an der Wien committed soubrette know and later Imperial court actress Gusti Moser, whom he married in 1,893th Since his wife had to leave the Association of the Carltheater after violent arguments with director Franz von Jauner , Julius Wittels' days on this stage were numbered. The Wittels couple led an unsteady wandering life over the last few years and toured almost the entire monarchy on guest tours . If the comedian ever came to Vienna, it was only to recover from the rigors of these trips and to consult doctors.
In February 1899 Wittels, who had been suffering from lung problems since he was 15, began his last trip. It took him to Innsbruck , where he made three guest appearances in the local theater. Although he was strongly indisposed, his couplets caused a storm of applause from the audience. From Innsbruck he traveled on to Merano where he against all medical advice with the song Posse The stupid August gave his last performance. The following night he coughed up blood , which was repeated many times and eventually led to death. Wittel's body was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Merano .
Varia
Two years after his death, when no tombstone had been erected, a group of his followers arranged for a collection to be made for a tomb. The widow, however, did not agree with the project because she had not yet had the funds to purchase a commemorative stone commemorating her status.
In the obituaries of Wittels two sons are mentioned who were wrongly attributed to him. In fact, the children sprang from a romance between their mother Gusti Moser and the later Imperial and Royal Court Economics Director , Baron Karl Prileszky de Prilesz . The affair that began in Bad Ischl and led to a pregnancy threatened to destroy both the young woman's career and her reputation. Julius Wittels, who admired her very much, married Gusti Moser knowing this pregnancy. Three months later she gave birth to her son Gustav. Since her husband tolerated her behavior and had a long stay in a sanatorium due to his lung disease, she was able to continue her affair with the baron, to whom she gave birth to another son, Otto, in 1897. Although the descent of these two sons was legitimized in 1942, they carried on the Wittels name.
Julius Wittels was the interpreter of many songs by the songwriter Alexander Krakauer, who died early . With him and the singer Pius Rivalier (own. Pius Freiherr Rivalier von Meysenbug) he was on friendly terms. After his death, Rivalier was the guardian of his sons Gustav and Otto.
Individual evidence
- ↑ - . In: The humorist . September 1, 1898, p. 2 .
- ↑ - . In: Neues Wiener Journal . 7 December 1895, p. 6 .
- ↑ - . In: Innsbrucker Nachrichten . March 13, 1899 (also the following days).
- ↑ - . In: Neues Wiener Journal . April 30, 1901, p. 5 .
- ↑ Bukey Evan Burr: Jews and intermarriage in Nazi Austria . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2011, ISBN 978-1-107-00285-2 , pp. 70 .
- ^ Peter Wittels: Wittels-Moser, Gusti. Court actress. In: univie.ac.at. Retrieved March 18, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wittels, Julius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian actor and comedian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 18, 1860 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 12, 1899 |
| Place of death | Meran |