- Heinz Erhardt
Heinz Erhardt (
February 20 ,1909 inRiga –June 5 ,1979 inHamburg ) was a German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor, and poet.Heinz Erhardt was the son of Baltic German
Kapellmeister Gustl Erhardt. He lived most of his childhood at his grandparents inRiga , where his grandfather, Paul Nelder, owned a music house. His grandfather also taught him how to playpiano ; Erhardts wish to become a professional piano player was not supported by his grandparents who wanted him to work as a merchant.In 1935, Erhardt married Gilda Zanetti. He had four children: Grit, Verena, Gero, and Marita.
Gero Erhardt became afilm director andcinematographer , and his son,Marek Erhardt , became an actor.The spectacle wearer and nonswimmer Erhardt was drafted into the
German navy during theSecond World War , but only on the third callup; he served as a piano player in the Marine orchestra and only handled weapons during hisbasic training .After the World War, he moved to Hamburg-Wellingsbüttel and worked beginning in 1948 as a
radio moderator atNWDR . From then on he became more and more famous for his countlesspun poem s. Also, he became an actor. In his movies he played always a character that fit to his stage appearance as an entertainer and comedian. His roles were polite and slightly weird persons typical for the time period of theWirtschaftswunder .Heinz Erhardt suffered a
stroke in 1971, which left him unable to speak or write. He was limited to reading and understanding the speech of others; these limitations ended his long career as an actor.He was awarded the
German Distinguished Service Cross four days before his death in 1979.
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