Karl Merkatz (17 November 1930 – 4 December 2022) was an Austrian actor. Merkatz was born on 17 November 1930 in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

, the son of a firefighter. He first wanted to become a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. After World War II he was an active Boy Scout in Wiener Neustadt. However, later he started to enroll in acting lessons in Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich. Then he found employment in theatres, most notably in Munich, Salzburg, Hamburg and Vienna (

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

). During his later career he starred in several roles in television and motion pictures. In the role of Edmund Sackbauer (Mundl) in the 1970s, he became famous as the typical Viennese (''

Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter ''Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter'' (German; literally: A real Viennese does not go under. Free translation: A real/proud Viennese never gives up) is a classic Austrian television series. It was produced by Österreichischer Rundfunk, Austrian T ...

''). Another big success came with the films "Bockerer" starring as a naive Viennese during the Second World War in Vienna (the later films are set in the subsequent years to 1945). From 1999, Merkatz was chairman of the

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

group ''SOS Mitmensch''. Merkatz died in Straßwalchen on 4 December 2022, at the age of 92.

Major roles

* ''

'': literally, ''A Genuine Viennese Does Not Go Down'': In this 1975-1979 television series, which is about the life of a

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

working-class family, he played ''Edmund " Mundl" Sackbauer'', for which he is most known. * '' Der Bockerer I-IV'':, Merkatz plays the role of the Viennese

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

''Karl Bockerer'', who as a

social democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

is shown during the time of the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

'' and in the struggle against

national socialism 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 ...

, during the post-war occupation of Austria by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces, during the

Hungarian Uprising of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

and the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

of 1968. He won the award for Best Actor at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in the first film. *'' Der Mann von La Mancha'': Merkatz played the roles of Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote in this 1994 German-language television adaptation of the classic musical ''Man of La Mancha''.

Decorations and awards

* Best Actor (1981) and Film Award (1982) for ''The Bockerer (Part 1)'' *

German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: Best Actor (1982) for ''The Bockerer (Part 1)'' * Honorary Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna in Gold (1995) for his services to theaters in Vienna and as an excellent performer of Viennese Types * Honorary Ring of

(1995) * Golden Romy as the most popular actor (1996) *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

(1999) * Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the province of Lower Austria (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merkatz, Karl 1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors 21st-century Austrian male actors Austrian male stage actors People from Wiener Neustadt Recipients of the Romy (TV award) Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Austrian male film actors Austrian male television actors German Film Award winners