Wolfgang Gruner

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Wolfgang Gruner (left) and Achim Strietzel in Düsseldorf in 1956
Berlin memorial plaque on Westendallee 57, in Berlin-Westend

Wolfgang Gruner (born September 20, 1926 in Rathenow ; † March 16, 2002 in Berlin ) was a German cabaret artist , voice actor , actor and director .

Life

Gruner, who actually wanted to start training as a tax advisor before being drafted into the Wehrmacht after his time with the Hitler Youth , came into contact with the theater during his Soviet captivity . When he came to Berlin in 1950, he took acting lessons at Marlise Ludwig's school . While he was still in training, he was hired to perform two pieces in the stands at the knee . In the spring of 1951 he appeared for the first time as a cabaret artist in the newly founded cabaret The Fly Agaric in the Burgkeller restaurant on Kurfürstendamm . Then he was taken over by the cabaret The Porcupines , which also appeared there at the time.

As an actor he gained further experience at the German-English theater club British Center, where he played the scoundrel in The Robbers in a production by Kurt Meisel . In the Berlin Schloßparktheater he played the role of the morality singer in the Threepenny Opera in the production of Boleslaw Barlog . He remained loyal to the porcupines as a cabaret artist and director until his death. The cabaret, which is now in the Europacenter on Breitscheidplatz , was a major tourist attraction with Gruner. He was known for his self-written solo appearances in the porcupine programs, for which Michael Alex often provided text contributions. He also ran the Berlin restaurant “Die Kneipe” in the nearby Rankestrasse , a meeting place for many Berlin artists.

He gained television experience in the role of "Telekehrer Otto Schruppke" on the regional broadcast Berliner Abendschau at the SFB , in which he regularly commented on current events in the 1950s and 1960s. On SFB radio, he commented on current events every fortnight at the end of the series Rund um die Berolina in 41 episodes as taxi driver Kalle Bräsicke (author: Michael Alex ). His level of awareness was increased enormously through his appearances on the ZDF television show The Grand Prize with Wim Thoelke . There he appeared regularly in over a hundred episodes as the Berlin taxi driver Fritze Flink with a cabaret number that contained a riddle for the candidates. In addition, he was seen in many Berlin television and cinema films. Gruner also worked extensively as a voice actor and lent his distinctive voice, for example, Bud Abbott ( Abbott & Costello in Hollywood ), Lee van Cleef ( The Rats of Chicago ), Buddy Hackett ( A totally, totally crazy world ), Paul McCartney ( Yeah Yeah Yeah , Hi-Hi-Hilfe! ), Peter Sellers ( the party horror ) and Ugo Tognazzi ( luxury woman ). A star in the Cabaret Walk of Fame is dedicated to Gruner .

Honorary grave of Wolfgang Gruner in the Heerstrasse cemetery in Berlin-Westend

Wolfgang Gruner succumbed to cancer on March 16, 2002 at the age of 75 in a Berlin hospital. Around 800 people took part in the funeral service in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on March 25, 2002, including Federal President Johannes Rau and the Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit . The burial then took place in the closest family circle at the Heerstrasse cemetery in Berlin-Westend . The widow Eva Marie b. Maeske was buried at his side in April 2013.

By resolution of the Berlin Senate , the last resting place of Wolfgang Gruner (grave location: II-W10-88 / 89) has been dedicated as an honorary grave of the State of Berlin since 2010 . The dedication is valid for the usual period of twenty years, but can then be extended.

In his honor, a Berlin memorial plaque was unveiled on November 10, 2011 at his home at Westendallee 57 in Berlin-Westend. A wax figure based on his image was on display at the Panoptikum Mannheim from 2013 to 2014 .

Filmography (selection)

Radio plays

Sound carrier

  • Unknown: Humor of Landscapes: Berlin , EP (with Rolf Ulrich , Marcato)
  • 1961: Moritats !!! - Well-known and nonetheless unbelievable incidents, musically performed by Wolfgang Gruner with organ organ , EP (Telefunken)
  • 1970: The 10,001. Night (German version of Je t'aime… moi non plus ) / The Nee waltz (with Edeltraut Elsner , on the TWR label )
  • 1971: In The Wintertime (German version of In the Summertime ) / Have you ever played in the dark (with Edeltraut Elsner, on the TWR label )
  • 1971: Here is a person (parody of Peter Alexander ) / Take off your swimming trunks
  • 1971: Hurray, we're bachelors again! (Cornet single with Georg Thomalla )
  • 1985: So you know, no ... Wolfgang Gruner alias Fritze Flink (MC on KONTRA)
  • 1994: Sung through the flower , CD (Monopoly)

Awards

Web links

Commons : Wolfgang Gruner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cabaret legend Wolfgang Gruner succumbed to cancer . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 17, 2002. Retrieved November 10, 2019. Mourning for Wolfgang Gruner . (PDF) In: Hamburger Abendblatt . March 18, 2002, p. 32. Retrieved November 10, 2002.
  2. ↑ 800 mourners said goodbye to the Berlin snout . In: BZ . March 26, 2002. Accessed on November 11, 2019. Hans-Jürgen Mende : Lexicon of Berlin Burial Sites . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 . P. 487.
  3. ↑ Obituary notice for Eva Marie Gruner geb. Maeske in the Berliner Tagesspiegel , April 28, 2013; accessed on November 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ Honorary graves of the State of Berlin (as of November 2018) . (PDF, 413 kB) Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, p. 29; Retrieved on November 11, 2019. Recognition and further preservation of graves as honorary graves of the State of Berlin . (PDF, 73 kB). Berlin House of Representatives, printed matter 16/3696 of November 30, 2010, pp. 1 and 3–4. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Gruner, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cabaret artist, actor and director
DATE OF BIRTH September 20, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Rathenow
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 2002
Place of death Berlin