Ulli Herzog

Ulrich "Ulli" Herzog (* 9. June 1938 in Königsberg , East Prussia ; † 1. March 2003 in Grömitz ) was a German radio play - director , author and radio speaker. His children's radio play series Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg alone have been sold well over 100 million times . Ulli Herzog was director of both productions from the very beginning and later also active as a writer. In total, he directed around 800 radio play productions such as Jan Tenner or Bibi and Tina , around 300 of them for the SFB and the BR . In addition, Herzog worked as a presenter for radio and television.

biography

childhood and education

Herzog was born on June 9, 1938 in Königsberg, East Prussia, the son of a textile engineer (killed in 1943) and a home economics teacher. In 1944 he started school in East Prussia. Then he fled together with his mother, brother (* 1939) and sister (* 1941) to live with their grandparents in Bethel in East Westphalia . It was here that Herzog graduated from high school in 1958 . A little later he was accepted at the Max Reinhardt Drama School in Berlin . After various appearances on the stage, he changed his subject in 1961 and became a news and program spokesperson for the Sender Freies Berlin (SFB).

Radio and television

When one of the first youth radio programs went on air with SF-Beat | sf-beat in 1967 , Ulli Herzog played a key role in the conception. He moderated the show from 1967 to 1974. For two decades, he also acted as a moderator for the morning show Rund um die Berolina . As a director, he has been responsible for numerous successful radio series, such as Sundays Always or We at Twenty .

In the early 1970s, Ulli Herzog was hired by the SFB Children's Radio; the subsequent collaboration extended over a period of more than twenty years. At the SFB - and later at the BR - he took over the direction of around 300 radio plays, among others for the series Ohrbär .

As a TV newscaster, he was also regularly seen in front of the camera, including in the Umschau and the Berlin evening show of the SFB as well as in the show Blick in die Presse .

In addition to his work for the SFB, Herzog worked as a director and author for the children's label Kiosk , now Kiddinx, from the mid-1970s . Here he worked on numerous radio play series, including a. Xanti , Käpt'n Kux & Co. , Odysseus , The Nibelungs , The Little Detectives and Ullis bedtime stories .

Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg

Also in the mid-1970s, children's book author Elfie Donnelly was looking for a producer for her radio play, which themed the adventures of a talking elephant. The SFB had rejected the project in advance. Herzog then introduced Donnelly to the entrepreneur Karl Blatz. It was the hour of birth of Benjamin Blümchen . In September 1977 production began in the rented church radio studio in Berlin. Ulli Herzog directed. For the title role he cast Edgar Ott , after whose death in 1994 Jürgen Kluckert took over the setting of the character. In 1980 the production of Bibi Blocksberg began with Elfie Donnelly as author, Karl Blatz as producer, Ulli Herzog as director and Jutta Buschenhagen as editor. Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg sold millions of copies in the following years and were among the most popular children's radio play series in German-speaking countries.

When Elfie Donnelly gave up her writing for the two series in 1989, Herzog continued her work. Over the years he wrote over 100 other radio play episodes , as well as numerous song texts, including for the Benjamin Blümchen song zoo . On the screen, on television and on video, Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg are now internationally sought-after children's productions. As a writer and sound director, Herzog was involved in all production steps until his death.

More productions

In addition to speaking for the SFB, Herzog was also a voice actor. In 198 episodes of the US crime series FBI with Efrem Zimbalist , he acted as the narrator.

Ulli Herzog had another radio play hit in 1980 with Jan Tenner , also published by Kiosk , today Kiddinx . The lavishly produced science fiction series (1980–1989, new edition 2000–2002) has a loyal fan base up to the present day. Herzog not only directed Jan Tenner from the beginning, but also acted as a narrator.

The Bibi Blocksberg spin-off series Bibi and Tina also became a sales success . Herzog worked for them as a director and also as a writer under the pseudonym Ulf Tiehm . Shortly before his death in 2003, he directed the first episode of the new Elfie Donnelly radio play series Elea Eluanda . The focus is on the adventure stories of a 13-year-old girl who lost both parents in an accident and has been in a wheelchair ever since.

death

Grave of Ulli Herzog

Ulli Herzog died unexpectedly of heart failure on March 1st, 2003. He was buried in the forest cemetery in Berlin-Zehlendorf (grave location 060-132). He was married twice, his first marriage from 1966 to Monika Vogt, and his second marriage from 1996 to Jutta Buschenhagen . He left behind two children, Andreas (* 1966) and Anja (* 1971).

Works

Ulli Herzog directed around 800 radio plays and sound direction in almost 100 films. He wrote over 100 radio plays and over 100 lyrics.

• Benjamin Blümchen
  since 1977: Director of the first 96 radio play episodes, since 1989 also author; Sound direction for the Benjamin Blümchen cartoon series and the Benjamin Blümchen movie His most beautiful adventures
• Bibi Blocksberg
  since 1980: Director of 78 radio play episodes, since 1989 also author; Sound direction for the Bibi Blocksberg cartoon series
• Bibi and Tina
  since 1991: Director and author for 47 radio play episodes
• Jan Tenner
  1980–1989, 2000–2002 (new edition): director and narrator
• Elea Eluanda
  since 2003: Director of the first Elea Eluanda episode

Web links

• Biography and detailed information (PDF; 1.47 MB)