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
![Young Heesters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Young_Heesters.png)
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 second- ...
, 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 lan ...
. Heesters decided to become an actor and a singer at the age of 16 and began vocal training. He specialized in Viennese
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
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, h ...
's ''
Der Bettelstudent
''Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel (under the pseudonym of F. Zell) and Richard Genée, based on ''Les noces de Fernande'' by Victorien Sardou a ...
'' (''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 t ...
''). 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
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
, 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 19 ...
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 Na ...
; 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 totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
-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
The Swing Youth (german: Swingjugend) were a group of jazz and swing lovers in Germany formed in Hamburg in 1939. Primarily active in Hamburg and Berlin, they were composed of 14- to 21-year-old Germans, mostly middle or upper-class students, ...
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, 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
Viktor Matejka (4 December 1901 – 2 April 1993) was a Viennese politician and writer.
He spent most of the Hitler years as a detainee at one of two concentration camps. In the summer of 1943 inmates at Dachau presented a satirical focusing o ...
, 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 defini ...
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
![JopieundWiske](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/JopieundWiske.jpg)
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(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 ...
'', 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. One ...
'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
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
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
The Admiralspalast (German for ''admiral palace'') is a 1,756-seat theatre on Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1910, it is one of the few preserved variety venues of the pre-World War II era in the city.
As a ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. 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)
, occupation ...
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 States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
Personal life
![Simone Rethel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Simone_Rethel.jpg)
Heesters had two daughters by his first wife
Louisa Ghijs
Ludovica "Louisa" Ghijs (19 March 1902 – 18 July 1985) was a Belgian Stage (theatre), 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 (19 ...
, whom he married in 1930. After her death in 1985, he remarried in 1992. His second wife,
Simone Rethel (born 1949), was a German actress, painter, and photographer. His younger daughter
Nicole Heesters
Nicole Heesters (born 14 February 1937) is a German actress. She was born in Potsdam and comes from a family of actors; her parents are Johannes Heesters, a Dutch-German actor, and Louise Ghijs, a Belgian stage actress. Her husband was film ...
is a well-known actress in the German-speaking world, as is his granddaughter
Saskia Fischer
Saskia Fischer (born 1966) is a German actress who began her career in 1991.
She is the daughter of Nicole Heesters and the granddaughter of famous actors Johannes Heesters and Louisa Ghijs. Fischer has lived since 2002 with actor Mario Ramos i ...
.
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
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. 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
![Johannes Heesters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Johannes_Heesters.jpg)
Albums
*1965: '
*2003: '
Singles
*1937: ""
*1939: "" (featuring
Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in German films in the Nazi era. She resumed her career in 1947 and was one of ...
)
*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 Bavaria ...
*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 Salten. ...
in 1967, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
*2001: Platinum
Romy (TV award)
The Romy television award in honor of the German-born and naturalized French actress Romy Schneider, born in Vienna, was created in 1990 by the Austrian newspaper ''Kurier'' – or rather their movie reviewer Rudolf John, who also designed th ...
*2003:
*2004:
Filmography
![Herr Heesters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Herr_Heesters.png)
*1924: ''
Cirque hollandais
''Cirque hollandais'' is a 1924 Dutch silent film directed by Theo Frenkel.
Cast
* Louis Bouwmeester - circus owner Hendrik van Dalen / cattle farmer Willem van Dalen
* Esther De Boer-van Rijk - Willem van Dalens' wife
* Kitty Kluppell - Wille ...
''
*1934: ''
Bleeke Bet'' - Ko Monje
*1935: ''
De Vier Mullers'' - Otto Muller, hun zoon
*1935: ''Alles für die Firma''
*1936: ''
The Emperor's Candlesticks
''The Emperor's Candlesticks'' is an 1899 historical novel by Baroness Orczy. Written soon after the birth of her son John, it is her first book as an author rather than translator and was a commercial failure. As in the Scarlet Pimpernel, the ...
'' - Grossfürst Peter Alexandrowitsch
*1936: ''
The Beggar Student
''Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel (under the pseudonym of F. Zell) and Richard Genée, based on ''Les noces de Fernande'' by Victorien Sar ...
'' - Simon Rymanowics
*1936: ''
The Court Concert
''The Court Concert'' (german: Das Hofkonzert) is a 1936 German historical romantic comedy film directed by Detlef Sierck (later known as Douglas Sirk), and starring Mártha Eggerth, Johannes Heesters, and Kurt Meisel.Hake p. 142 It was made b ...
'' - Lt. Walter van Arnegg
*1936: ''Die Weltmeisterin''
*1937: ''
When Women Keep Silent
''When Women Keep Silent'' (German: ''Wenn Frauen schweigen'') is a 1937 German comedy film directed by Fritz Kirchhoff and starring Johannes Heesters, Hansi Knoteck
Johanna Knoteck, known as Hansi Knoteck (2 March 1914 – 23 February 2014) ...
'' - Curt van Doeren
*1937: ''
Gasparone
''Gasparone'' is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The libretto was later revised by and . An amusing feature of the work is that the title character never appears and acts ...
'' - Erminio Bondo
*1938: ''
Nanon'' - Marquis Charles d'Aubigne
*1938: ''Immer wenn ich glücklich bin''
*1939: ' - Heinz van Zeelen
*1939: ''
Hello Janine!
''Hello Janine!'' (german: Hallo Janine!) is a 1939 German musical film directed by Carl Boese and starring Marika Rökk, Johannes Heesters and Rudi Godden. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam. The film's sets were designed by the ...
'' - Count Rene
*1939: ''
My Aunt, Your Aunt'' - Peter Larisch
*1940: ' - Enrico Villanova, Tenor
*1940: ''Die lustigen Vagabunden'' - Werner Schratt, Schauspieler
*1940: ''
Roses in Tyrol
''Roses in Tyrol'' (german: Rosen in Tirol) is a 1940 German musical comedy film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Hans Moser, Marte Harell, and Johannes Heesters. It is based on the 1891 operetta '' The Bird Seller'' by Carl Zeller ...
'' - 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: ''
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 ...
'' - Herbert Eisenstein
*1946: ''
Renee XIV'' - (unfinished film)
*1947: ''Wiener Melodien'' - Ferry van der Heuvels
*1948: ''
Insolent and in Love
''Insolent and in Love'' (german: Frech und verliebt) is a 1948 German romantic comedy film directed by Hans Schweikart and starring Johannes Heesters, Gabriele Reismüller and Charlott Daudert.Rentschler p. 106 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios ...
'' - 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 M ...
'' - 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. The ...
'' - Professor Dr. Joachim Wendler
*1951: ''Tanz ins Glück'' - Pedro Domingo
*1951: ''
The Csardas Princess'' - Edwin von Weylersheim
*1952: ''
The White Horse Inn
''The White Horse Inn'' (or ''White Horse Inn'') (German title: ''Im weißen Rößl''
)
is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salz ...
'' - 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, 19 ...
'' - Tourist (uncredited)
*1953: ''
Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach'' - David Slader
*1953: ''
A Musical War of Love'' - Ralph Beyron
*1953: ''
The Divorcée'' - Karel
*1953: ''
Hit Parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...
'' - 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
''My Husband's Getting Married Today'' (german: Heute heiratet mein Mann) is a 1956 West German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Liselotte Pulver, Johannes Heesters and Paul Hubschmid.Reimer & Reimer p.233
It was shot at the Bav ...
'' - Robert Petersen
*1957: ''
Victor and Victoria
''Victor and Victoria'' (german: Viktor und Viktoria) is a 1933 German Musical film, musical comedy film written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, starring Renate Müller as a woman pretending to be a female impersonator. The following year, S ...
'' - 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
Otto – Der Film (German: ''Otto, the movie'') is a West German comedy film from 1985, starring Otto Waalkes. With 14.5 million sold tickets it's among the most successful German movies.''
It was shot at the Spandau Studios in West Berlin, wit ...
'' - 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'' (TV miniseries) - Graf Chiaroscuro
*1968: ''Unsere liebste Freundin'' (TV film) - Christian Bach-Nielsen
*1973: ' (TV film) - Prince
Felice Baciocchi
*1973: ''
Hallo – Hotel Sacher … Portier!: 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
''Beautiful Wilhelmine'' (German: ''Die schöne Wilhelmine'') is a West German historical television series broadcast on ZDF in four episodes in 1984. It is an adaptation of the novel '' Die schöne Wilhelmine'' by Ernst von Salomon.Klossner p.34 ...
'' (TV miniseries) - Marschall Keith
*1991: ''Altes Herz wird nochmal jung'' (TV film)
*1991-1993: ''
Zwei Münchner in Hamburg'' (TV series, 33 episodes) - Konsul Thaddäus van Daalen
*1995: ''
Zwei alte Hasen: 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
(''In all friendship'') is a German television soap opera that began airing in 1998 every Tuesday. The series follows the staff of the fictional Sachsenklinik hospital in the city of Leipzig.
The series is produced by Degeto (a subsidiary of ...
: 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 diffe ...
'' (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