Paul Z'dun

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Paul Joseph Z'dun , stage name Paul Doon , (born June 15, 1904 in Harbke , district of Neuhaldensleben , † June 20, 1981 in Dahlen , district of Brandenburg-Land ) was a German "funny cyclist".

biography

At the age of 14, Paul Z'dun, who was training to be a blacksmith in his hometown, discovered his talent for artificial cycling and joined the workers' cycling club in Frischauf . Six years later he became a master of one-man art cycling. Around this time he joined Troupe Sylwest , whose artists rode very high unicycles , so-called "bar wheels ", but also performed with other groups such as the Deblars .

From 1925 Z'dun entered into a partnership with Fritz Hellars, also an artist in the Sylwest Group, with whom he worked as a duo P. & F. Hellars performed. Hellars took on the role of stupid August , while Z'dun put the emphasis on bicycle artistry. The duo was sponsored by Triumph-Fahrradwerke in Nuremberg , on whose bikes the two men demonstrated their feats. They also used unicycles with a saddle height of up to seven meters, which Paul Z'dun, the trained blacksmith, had probably built himself. With increasing success, the artists who had their permanent location in Homberg (today Duisburg) also called themselves Fleur & Feuille (flower and leaf) . They took on engagements in Amsterdam , Vienna , Prague , Rotterdam , Dresden and Frankfurt am Main ; in 1925, 1926 and 1928 they also performed in Finland . A trip overseas was out of the question for Paul Z'dun because he could not swim and was terrified of water and ships.

From 1936 on, Paul Z'dun worked under the stage names Fleur , Fleuret or Paul Doon alone as a "funny trick cyclist". As a “drunkard on the bike”, his trademarks were a crumpled hat and a mustache, later a cigar and a bulbous nose were added. He had numerous appearances in cabarets and variety shows as well as in well-known circuses: Althoff , Barlay , Busch and Roland . He lived again in his hometown Harbke; During one of his engagements, he met his future wife Pauline in Cologne, whom he married in 1942.

During the Second World War , Paul Z'dun toured regularly from May to July with the Nazi organization Kraft durch Freude and continued to perform in variety shows . In 1944 he was drafted as a soldier. The couple's joint apartment in Cologne was bombed out, and after the end of the war, Z'dun and his wife moved to Großwusterwitz ( Jerichow II district ) near Brandenburg (Havel) , where Z'dun owned a large piece of land.

After the end of the war, Z'dun was able to build on his old successes and performed again alternately in circuses and variety shows. Later a circus colleague attested him in an obituary "an indestructible, dry, bizarre humor". He has combined comedy and skill into a "harmonious whole".

“In a hotel, he wrote the occupation 'cyclist' in the registration book, which the police […] did not recognize […] - the law enforcement officers felt fooled. He tried to explain that he cycles in the circus for work. Then he would have to write 'Artist', he was told. Doon was persistent: 'I'm not an artist'. The police were annoyed and replied that he should then write to artificial cyclists. But Doon replied modestly: 'It has nothing to do with art.' Finally they agreed, he wrote in the book: 'Strange cyclist'. "

- Michael Mertins : A radarist with body and soul. The eventful artist life of Paul Z'dun from Harbke
Self-made mini bike by Paul Z'dun (handlebar height 40 centimeters)

From 1954, guest appearances in the West were no longer possible for Paul Z'dun. He only toured through the GDR and the states of the Eastern Bloc and also had an engagement with the Moscow State Circus . His props were unicycles, collapsible bicycles and custom-made items such as a mini-bike and a ratchet that mimicked engine noise, a handlebar switch that he could use to ignite fireworks, and a rubber ball that he could use to blow powder into the air from the handlebars To simulate exhaust gases. The showpiece of his unusual wheels was one with a canopy, for which he had a witch's head carved on a straw body by the Wusterwitz puppeteer Wilhelm Götze (Father Götze) . The witch waved a rubber arm when Z'dun drove out of the ring.

In 1961 Paul Z'dun had his last appearances. He brought two donkeys with him from a tour through Bulgaria , ran a small donkey farm on his Wusterwitz property and worked in his wife's “Waldkater” restaurant. He spent his last years in the Dahlen nursing home near Gräben , 25 kilometers from Wusterwitz, where his wife visited him every weekend by bike.

Commemoration

At his last place of residence, the two local originals Paul Z'dun and Wilhelm Götze are commemorated in a permanent exhibition of the Heimat- und Kulturverein Wusterwitz. Z'dun's smallest bike is on display there.

literature

  • Michael Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. The eventful artist life of Paul Z'dun from Harbke . In: Association of historical bicycles (ed.): The bone shaker. Magazine for lovers of historic bicycles . Issue 59, No. 1/2015 , p. 10-16 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Mertins: A radartist with body and soul. P. 10.
  2. ↑ Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 10 f.
  3. ↑ Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 11.
  4. ↑ Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 12 f.
  5. ↑ Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 13 f.
  6. ↑ a b c Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 14.
  7. ↑ a b c Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 16.
  8. ↑ Mertins: A radarist with body and soul. P. 15 f.
  9. ↑ Permanent exhibition “100 years of Wusterwitz history” in the former sexton's house. Wusterwitz Office, accessed on April 4, 2015 .
  10. ↑ High visit to Wusterwitz. In: landbote.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Z'dun, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Z'dun, Paul Joseph; Doon, Paul (stage name); Fleur (stage name); Fleurette (stage name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German radar artist
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Harbke
DATE OF DEATH June 20, 1981
Place of death Dahlen