Mirco Nontschew (29 October 1969 – 3 December 2021) was a German comedian. He gained recognition for his role in the German comedy television series '' RTL Samstag Nacht'' (1993–1998).

Early life

Nontschew was born in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, on 29 October 1969. His father Vasko Nontschew was a musician who had emigrated to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

from

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and his mother was a journalist. Following his parents' wishes, he learned to be a mechanic in the VEB Medizinische Geräte Berlin. On 28 July 1989, he first appeared on stage as a

beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

and

breakdancer Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

with his group "Downtown Lyrics" in

Radebeul Radebeul ( hsb, Radobyle) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen (district), Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May ...

near

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. He also played piano and drums. Shortly afterwards, he emigrated to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Career

In 1993, he was approached by

Hugo Egon Balder Hugo Egon Balder (born Egon Hugo Balder; 22 March 1950) is a German television presenter, producer, and comedian. Early life Balder was born in West Berlin to Egon Friedrich Balder (1904–1970) and Gerda Balder (née Schure; 1910–1997). Ger ...

, who was then looking for comedians for his new comedy television series '' RTL Samstag Nacht''. Nontschew was the first person cast, mainly due to his talent of imitating sounds. He was a member of the sketch show for its entire run from 1993 to 1998. In 2001, Nontschew was given his own show ''Mircomania'' alongside

Janine Kunze Janine Kunze (born 20 March 1974 in Cologne) is a German actress and television presenter. She is best known for her roles in the comedy series ''Hausmeister Krause – Ordnung muss sein'' and sketch comedy show ''Die Dreisten Drei,'' in which she ...

Sat.1 Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesellschaf ...

. He later appeared in the German comedy films ''

7 Dwarves – Men Alone in the Wood ''7 Dwarves – Men Alone In the Woods'' (german: 7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald), is a German comedy film, created in 2004 by Otto Waalkes, which follows the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by the Brothers Grimm. The film, crea ...

'' (2004) and '' 7 Dwarves: The Forest Is Not Enough'' (2006) as well as other films. From 2005, he was a frequent guest in the

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

show ' and in 2012, he partnered up with

Sophia Thomalla Sophia Thomalla (born 6 October 1989) is a German actress, model, and television presenter. Early life Thomalla was born in East Berlin, East Germany on 6 October 1989, the daughter of actors Simone Thomalla and André Vetters. She grew up i ...

as well as fellow comedian for a reboot of the

show ''Die Dreisten Drei''. His last appearances were in 2021 as a contestant on two seasons of the Bully Herbig show '' LOL: Last One Laughing''. He also appeared in the third season released four months after his death. The season was dedicated to him.

Personal life

Nontschew had two daughters, one with his ex-wife Melanie Nontschew and one with his girlfriend Monique Bredow. He died on, or shortly before, 3 December 2021, at the age of 52.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nontschew, Mirco 1969 births 2021 deaths German male comedians 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors German people of Bulgarian descent Male actors from Berlin