Lukas Ammann (29 September 1912 – 3 May 2017) was a Swiss actor who appeared mainly in German and Swiss films and television shows. He continued to work steadily for over 60 years. He is best known for his title role in the German television series ''

Graf Yoster ''Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre'' (French title: ''Le comte Yoster a bien l'honneur'') – which translates to English as ''Count Yoster has the Honour'' – was a television series produced between 1967 and 1976. Starring Lukas Ammann and Wolf ...

''.

Early life

Lukas Amann's mother was a singer and his father a painter. After he saw Schiller's ''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It ...

'' at grammar school in Basel, he aspired to be an actor.Lukas Ammann 100 Jahre alt: Über der Rolle stehen
/ref> Starting in 1933 he attended the acting school of

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

in Berlin. In 1934, he left Germany with

Heinrich Gretler Heinrich Gretler (1897–1977) was a Swiss film and television actor, who also starred on stage at the Bernhard-Theater in Zurich. Selected filmography * '' The Mysterious Mirror'' (1928) * '' Struggle for the Matterhorn'' (1928) * ''The Man ...

for Switzerland. Because of his Jewish mother, he was discriminated against even in Switzerland. In the beginning he worked in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

and later at the

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three s ...

with

Therese Giehse Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In t ...

. In 1948, he participated under Kurt Hirschfeld in the role of the attorney in the premiere of ''Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti''. After World War II, Ammann belonged to the Ensemble of the theatre Kleine Freiheit in Munich. Guest performances and tours led him to stages in Austria, Scandinavia and the USA.

Cinematic career

Ammann began his film career in the 1939 Swiss movie ''

Constable Studer ''Constable Studer'' (German: ''Wachtmeister Studer'') is a 1939 Swiss crime film directed by Leopold Lindtberg and starring Heinrich Gretler, Adolf Manz and Anne-Marie Blanc.Bock & Bergfelder p.169 The film is based on a novel by Friedrich Glaus ...

'' after the novel of

Friedrich Glauser Friedrich Glauser (4 February 1896 in Vienna – 8 December 1938 in Nervi) was a German-language Swiss writer. He was a morphine and opium addict for most of his life. In his first novel ''Gourrama'', written between 1928 and 1930, he treated his ...

, starring Heinrich Gretler. Beginning in the 1950s, he was successful especially on German Television. In 1961, he played in the series '' Gestatten, mein Name ist Cox'' with Günter Pfitzmann and

Paul Edwin Roth Paul Edwin Roth (1918–1985) was a German stage, television and film actor. Roth made his screen debut in the rubble film ''And the Heavens Above Us'' (1947).Shandley p.211 He was a regular in West Germany films and television during the post-war ...

. In 1963, he was one of the jurors in ', which was a remake of the American film ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

'' for German television. In 1966, Ammann played in the first color-TV series '' Adrian der Tulpendieb''. On top of that he appeared in series like '' Das Kriminalmuseum'', ', ''

Der Forellenhof ''Der Forellenhof'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * ''Alarm für Cobra 11 ...

'' and '' Der Kommissar''. In 1973, the horror movie ''

Mark of the Devil Part II ''Mark of the Devil Part II'', or in original German ''Hexen geschändet und zu Tode gequält'' (lit. "Witches Are Violated and Tortured to Death"), is a German horror film released in 1973. It is a sequel to '' Mark of the Devil''. Plot Young n ...

'' depicted him as tortured to death. Between 1967 and 1977 he achieved great popularity in his most famous role in the German detective series ''

'', where he played the main part of the same name. From 1994 to 2000, Ammann played a family patriarch in the television series ''Die Fallers''. In 1998, he played a purported survivor of the Holocaust in

Dani Levy Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Levy was born to a Jewish family in Switzerland in 1957.

's film '' Meschugge''. In 2005, at age 92, he played Abi Golstein in Micha Lewinsky's Swiss short film ''Herr Goldstein''. It won an award for best Swiss short film at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

. Ammann lent his voice in German

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

(in ''

John and Julie ''John and Julie'' (1955) is a British comedy film, starring Colin Gibson, Lesley Dudley, Noelle Middleton and Moira Lister, and featuring Peter Sellers and Sid James in early screen roles. Plot The film is set in 1953 in the week leading up ...

'', 1955) and

Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western '' bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their ...

(in the animated film '' Daisy Town'', 1971). In 2013, he worked again, aged 101, with the director Ronnie R. Vogt on the movie ''Reunion Solitaire''.

Personal life

Lukas Ammann lived in Munich. After two failed marriages, he married German soprano Liselotte Ebnet in 1959; she died in 2009. As of 2015, he still ran his household by himself and also drove his car. He died in May 2017 at the age of 104 from complications from surgery.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ammann, Lukas 1912 births 2017 deaths Swiss Jews Swiss male film actors Swiss centenarians Swiss male television actors 20th-century Swiss male actors 21st-century Swiss male actors Jewish male actors Men centenarians Swiss expatriates in Germany