Maria Hellwig (22 February 1920 – 26 November 2010) was a German

yodeler Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from ...

, popular performer of

volkstümliche Musik Volkstümliche Musik (German for "folksy/traditional/popular music") is a modern popular derivation of the traditional ''Volksmusik'' genre of German-speaking regions. Though it is often marketed as ''Volksmusik'', it differs from traditional f ...

(

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

), and television presenter.

Life

Maria Neumaier was born in 1920 to Heinrich Neumaier, an electrician, and his wife, Maria, in

Reit im Winkl Reit im Winkl is a small village (locally known as a snow-magnet ) located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point (prior t ...

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. At the age of five, she performed for the first time at Bauer Theatre in Reit im Winkl. After leaving school, she took an apprenticeship as a shop assistant. In her spare time, she acted in the theatre and took voice lessons. She married her first husband, Joseph Fischer, a fellow amateur actor, and had their only child,

Margot Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following: People with the given name Margot * Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith * Marguerite ...

, on 5 July 1941. Fischer died shortly afterwards while fighting in

World War II 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 ...

. She hosted several music TV-shows in the 1980s and 1990s. Maria became almost blind in 1996. On 26 November 2010, she died in

Ruhpolding Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border. Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. ...

, Bavaria, Germany.

References

External links

Official website
* 1920 births 2010 deaths Yodelers German folk singers People from Traunstein (district) Blind musicians 20th-century German musicians Musicians from Bavaria {{Germany-singer-stub