Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the concert stage with a career dating back to the 1920s. He worked as an actor until his death and was one of the oldest performing entertainers in history, performing shortly before his death at the age of 108. Heesters was almost exclusively active in the German-speaking world from the mid-1930s and became a film star in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, which later led to controversy in his native country. He was able to maintain his popularity in Germany in the decades until his death.

Early life

Heesters was born in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the secon ...

, Netherlands, the youngest of four sons. His father Jacobus Heesters (1865–1946) was a salesman and his mother Geertruida Jacoba van den Heuvel (1866–1951), a homemaker. Heesters was fluent in German from an early age, having lived for several years in the household of a German great uncle from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. Heesters decided to become an actor and a singer at the age of 16 and began vocal training. He specialized in Viennese operetta very early in his career, and made his Viennese stage debut in 1934 in

Carl Millöcker Carl (or Karl) Joseph Millöcker ( – ), was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor. __NOTOC__ He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he ...

's '' Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'').

Nazi Germany

Aged 31, Heesters permanently moved to Germany with his wife and daughters in 1935. His signature role was Count Danilo Danilovich in

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

's ' (''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to ...

''). His version of Count Danilo's entrance song, "", was well known. During his time in Germany, he performed for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and visited the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

, which made him a controversial figure for many Dutch.

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...

placed Heesters on the ''Gottbegnadeten'' list as an artist considered crucial to

Nazi culture Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

; he was the only non-German included. Heesters funded the German war machine by donating money to the weapons industry. This helped to make him a very controversial figure in the late 1970s. Heesters always denied these accusations despite reliable evidence. He befriended several high-ranking

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

-officials and SS-officers. Hitler is known to have been an avid admirer of his acting skills. At the same time, Heesters was idolized by the Swingboy subculture, who admired his pale face and combed long black hair and tried to copy his attire. His style contrasted that promoted by the

Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

.'' »Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger!«: Meine Kindheit in Deutschland'', page 155,

Hans J. Massaquoi Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi (January 19, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was a German-American journalist and author. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a German mother and a Liberian father of Vai ethnicity, the grandson of Momulu Massaquoi, the co ...

, S. Fischer Verlag, . Heesters met Hitler several times, especially in the role of Count Danilo. Throughout the war, Heesters continued to perform for German soldiers in camps and barracks. According to German author Volker Kühn, Heesters performed for the SS at the Dachau concentration camp. Kühn cites as evidence the testimony of a Dachau inmate, Viktor Matejka, who worked for the SS and told Kühn he pulled the curtain when Heesters performed in 1941. According to German writer Jürgen Trimborn however, the interview with Matejka may not be reliable as it occurred some 50 years after the performance was said to have taken place. In December 2009, Heesters lost his

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

suit against Kühn. While acknowledging having visited the camp, he denied having performed as entertainment for the SS troops. In its ruling, the German court did not find whether Kühn's allegations were true, but rather that too much time had passed for an accurate determination of fact to be made.

After the war

Heesters worked extensively for

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

until almost the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(his last wartime movie being ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'', produced in 1945) and easily made the transition from the Nazi-controlled cultural scene to post-war Germany and Austria, appearing again in a number of films. These included ' and the 1957 version of '. He stopped making movies around 1960 to concentrate on stage and television appearances and on producing records. In later years, Heesters spoke fondly of Hitler as a person, but condemned his political stance. In the 1990s, he and his wife toured Germany and Austria with

Curth Flatow Curth Flatow (9 January 1920 – 4 June 2011) was a German dramatist and screenwriter who started his career in post-war Germany specializing in light comedy. Flatow was born in Berlin. Many of his plays have been adapted for the big screen. On ...

's play ' (''A Blessed Age''), which was also televised in 1996. On 5 December 2003, he celebrated his 100th birthday with a television special ' (''A legend turns 100'') on the ARD television channel. He received the title "". In December 2004, at the age of 101, Heesters appeared in Stuttgart at the theatre in a show commissioned on the occasion of his 100th birthday, '. In 2005, at the age of 102, he was featured as a soloist in a major concert tour with the under the direction of Scott Lawton. On 5 December 2006, Heesters celebrated his 103rd birthday with a concert at the . On 5 December 2007, he celebrated his 104th birthday with a concert at the Admiralspalast,

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. Then in February 2008, he performed in his home country for the first time in four decades amidst protests against his Nazi associations. On 13 December 2008, at the age of 105, Heesters apologised for calling Adolf Hitler a "good chap" on the popular German TV show '. He stated that he had said something stupid and horrible and asked for forgiveness. German media suggested that he had failed to understand the show's satirical nature. Heesters played smaller roles in his last years, as he began to lose his eyesight due to

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

and could not perform on stage for long periods of times. Unable to read a teleprompter, he had to memorize his lines before a show. He played in the 2011 short film ''Ten'' as

Simon Petrus ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupatio ...

and made his last stage appearance on 31 October 2011 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Personal life

Heesters had two daughters by his first wife

Louisa Ghijs Ludovica "Louisa" Ghijs (19 March 1902 – 18 July 1985) was a Belgian stage actress. She was married to Dutch-German actor Johannes Heesters. Ghijs met Heesters in 1928, they married in 1930, and had two daughters Wiesje (1931), nowadays a ...

, whom he married in 1930. After her death in 1985, he remarried in 1992. His second wife,

Simone Rethel Simone Rethel-Heesters (born 15 June 1949 in Herrsching am Ammersee, Bavaria) is a German actress and writer. Biography Simone Rethel is the daughter of painter and designer Alfred Rethel and the granddaughter of aircraft designer Walter Reth ...

(born 1949), was a German actress, painter, and photographer. His younger daughter Nicole Heesters is a well-known actress in the German-speaking world, as is his granddaughter Saskia Fischer. On 1 January 2008, he fell down some stairs in his holiday home in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

and broke two ribs. In December 2010, 107-year-old Heesters announced that he had quit smoking for his then 61-year-old wife: "She should have me as long as possible." On 31 October 2011, Heesters gave his last public performance at the Bayrischer Hof in

. Four weeks later, on 29 November 2011, he developed a fever, and was rushed into the hospital. On 4 December, he was fitted with a heart pacemaker following a good recovery. He was allowed to go home less than a week later, just in time to spend his 108th birthday the next day with family. He did not feel strong enough to make the planned stage appearance to sing in celebration of his birthday and also had missed the premiere of his last film, ''Ten''. Due to a relapse in his condition, on 17 December he was readmitted to the hospital where he subsequently suffered a stroke, dying on Christmas Eve in 2011.

Discography

Albums *1965: ' *2003: ' Singles *1937: "" *1939: "" (featuring Marika Rökk) *1941: "" *1941: "" *1949: "" *1949: "" *1998: "" *2007: "" (featuring Claus Eisenmann)

Honours, decorations, awards

*1984:

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit (german: Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavari ...

*1993: Berlinian Order of Merit *2000: Ring of Honour of the City of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...

in 1967, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *2001: Platinum Romy (TV award) *2003: *2004:

Filmography

*1924: '' Cirque hollandais'' *1934: '' Bleeke Bet'' - Ko Monje *1935: ''

De Vier Mullers '' De Vier Mullers '' is a 1935 Dutch film directed by Rudolf Meinert. A separate version '' Everything for the Company'' was produced, also directed by Meinert. Cast * Adolf Bouwmeester * Wiske Ghijs *Johannes Heesters *Johan Kaart *Tilly Peri ...

'' - Otto Muller, hun zoon *1935: ''Alles für die Firma'' *1936: '' The Emperor's Candlesticks'' - Grossfürst Peter Alexandrowitsch *1936: '' The Beggar Student'' - Simon Rymanowics *1936: '' The Court Concert'' - Lt. Walter van Arnegg *1936: ''Die Weltmeisterin'' *1937: '' When Women Keep Silent'' - Curt van Doeren *1937: '' Gasparone'' - Erminio Bondo *1938: '' Nanon'' - Marquis Charles d'Aubigne *1938: ''Immer wenn ich glücklich bin'' *1939: ' - Heinz van Zeelen *1939: '' Hello Janine!'' - Count Rene *1939: '' My Aunt, Your Aunt'' - Peter Larisch *1940: ' - Enrico Villanova, Tenor *1940: ''Die lustigen Vagabunden'' - Werner Schratt, Schauspieler *1940: '' Roses in Tyrol'' - Graf Herbert von Waldendorf *1941: ' - Will Hollers *1941: ' - Peter Holm *1941: ' - Stefan von Holtenau *1943: ' - Tenor Peter Hansen *1943: ''

Melody of a Great City ''Melody of a Great City'' (German: ''Großstadtmelodie'') is a 1943 musical drama film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Hilde Krahl, Werner Hinz and Karl John. A young woman moves to Berlin to work as a press photographer. Cast ...

'' - Spielt sich selbst in einer Revue (cameo) *1944: ' - Manfred *1944: ''Glück bei Frauen'' - Stefan Hell *1944: ''Es fing so harmlos an'' - Clemens Verné *1944: ''Axel an der Himmelstür'' - Axel *1946: ''

'' - Herbert Eisenstein *1946: ''

Renee XIV ''Renee XIV'' was an unfinished 1946 Hungarian film directed by Ákos Ráthonyi and starring Franciska Gaal, Johannes Heesters and Theo Lingen. It was intended to be a German-language film made with Soviet-backing at the Hunnia Film Studio in Buda ...

'' - (unfinished film) *1947: ''Wiener Melodien'' - Ferry van der Heuvels *1948: '' Insolent and in Love'' - Dr. Peter Schild, Ingenieur *1949: '' Dear Friend'' - Adrian van der Steer *1950: '' When a Woman Loves'' - Martin Pratt *1950: ''

Wedding Night In Paradise ''Wedding Night in Paradise'' (German: ''Hochzeitsnacht im Paradis'') is an operetta in eight scenes. Book by Heinz Hentschke, lyrics by Gunther Schwenn and music by Friedrich Schröder.Meyer-Dinkgrafe p.22 It was premièred in Berlin at the Met ...

'' - Pieter van Goos *1951: ''

Professor Nachtfalter ''Professor Nachtfalter'' is a 1951 West German comedy film directed by Rolf Meyer and starring Johannes Heesters, Jeanette Schultze and Maria Litto.Bock & Bergfelder p.191 The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Schroedter. Th ...

'' - Professor Dr. Joachim Wendler *1951: ''Tanz ins Glück'' - Pedro Domingo *1951: '' The Csardas Princess'' - Edwin von Weylersheim *1952: '' The White Horse Inn'' - Dr. Siedler *1953: ''

The Moon Is Blue ''The Moon Is Blue'' is a play by F. Hugh Herbert. A comedy in three acts, the play consists of one female and three male characters. Performance history ''The Moon Is Blue'' premiered at The Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware on February 16, 1 ...

'' - Tourist (uncredited) *1953: ''

Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach ''Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach'' (English translation: "The Virgin on the Roof") is a 1953 American comedy film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Carl Zuckmayer is a German language translation of the script for ''The Moon Is ...

'' - David Slader *1953: '' A Musical War of Love'' - Ralph Beyron *1953: ''

The Divorcée ''The Divorcée'' (german: Die geschiedene Frau) is a 1953 German musical film directed by George Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Johannes Heesters and Hans Nielsen. It was based on the operetta '' Die geschiedene Frau'' by Leo Fall and Vict ...

'' - Karel *1953: '' Hit Parade'' - Singer *1953: ' - Franz von Suppé *1955: '' Hello, My Name is Cox'' - Paul Cox *1955: '' The Star of Rio'' - Don Felipe *1955: ''

Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...

'' - Georges Duroy genannt Bel Ami *1956: ''Ein Herz und eine Seele / …und wer küßt mich'' - Johannes Heesters *1956: '' Opera Ball'' - Georg Dannhauser *1956: '' My Husband's Getting Married Today'' - Robert Petersen *1957: '' Victor and Victoria'' - Jean Perrot *1957: ''Von allen geliebt'' - Rudolf Avenarius *1958: ' - Michael Norman *1958: ' - Bernhard Hauff *1958: ' - John Underhower *1959: '' Die unvollkommene Ehe'' - Professor Paul Lert *1961: ' - Charles Fürst *1985: '' Otto – Der Film'' - Clochard *1994: ''Silent Love'' (Short) - Geigensolist *2008: '' 1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde'' - Wissenschaftler *2011: ''Ten'' (short) - Mr. Peterson (final film role)

Television

*1956: ''Meine Schwester und ich'' (TV film) - Dr. Roger Fleuriot *1960: ''

Am grünen Strand der Spree ''Am grünen Strand der Spree (On the Verdant Shores of the River Spree)'' was a five-part German television movie which first aired in 1960. It was based on a novel by Hans Scholz and has been called a ''Straßenfeger''Felice Baciocchi Felice Pasquale Baciocchi (18 May 1762 – 27 April 1841) was born at Ajaccio into a noble, but poor, Corsican family. He was second lieutenant in the French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), i ...

*1973: ''

Hallo – Hotel Sacher … Portier! ''Hallo – Hotel Sacher … Portier!'' is an Austrian television series. See also * List of Austrian television series The following is a list of television series produced in Austria : References External links Austrian TVat the Int ...

: Opernball'' (TV series episode) - Marinus de Ryder *1974: ''Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies'' (TV film) - Dr. Hansen *1980: ''Liebe bleibt nicht ohne Schmerzen'' (TV film) - Narrator *1982: ''Sonny Boys'' (TV film) - Al Lewis *1984: '' Beautiful Wilhelmine'' (TV miniseries) - Marschall Keith *1991: ''Altes Herz wird nochmal jung'' (TV film) *1991-1993: ''

Zwei Münchner in Hamburg (''Two Münchner in Hamburg''), was a German television series aired from 1989 to 1993 in three seasons. It is based on a book by Karl Heinz Freynik. The series was directed by Rolf von Sydow, Peter German, Celino Bleiweiß and Wilfried Dotzel ...

'' (TV series, 33 episodes) - Konsul Thaddäus van Daalen *1995: ''

Zwei alte Hasen Zwei (German: "two") may refer to: * Zwei (band), a Japanese duo band * ZWEI Zwei (German: "two") may refer to: * Zwei (band), a Japanese duo band * ZWEI, a text editor * '' Zwei: The Arges Adventure'', 2001 video game * '' Zwei: The Ilvard Insu ...

: Grandhotel'' (TV series episode) - Jan van Houten *1996: ''Ein gesegnetes Alter'' (TV film) *1999: ''Theater: Momo'' (TV film) - Meister Hora *2001: ''Otto – Mein Ostfriesland und mehr'' *2003: '' In aller Freundschaft: Zurück ins Leben'' (TV series episode) - Prof. Dr. Junghans *2008: ''

Wege zum Glück ''Wege zum Glück'' (English: ''Ways to Happiness'') is a German telenovela. The show was starting on October 6, 2005 on ZDF and originally was planned to have 250 chapters. Later the concept was changed and the title became a label to tell differ ...

'' (TV series episode) - Arbeitgeber Johannes Heesters

References

External links

*
Postcards and tobacco cards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heesters, Johannes 1903 births 2011 deaths Collaboration with the Axis Powers Collaborators with Nazi Germany Dutch centenarians Dutch male film actors 20th-century Dutch male singers Dutch expatriates in Germany Dutch male musical theatre actors Dutch male silent film actors Dutch male stage actors Dutch male television actors Dutch tenors German-language singers People from Amersfoort People of Nazi Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Controversies in Germany Controversies in the Netherlands Film controversies in Germany Film controversies in the Netherlands Theatre controversies Men centenarians