Rolf Oskar Ewald Günter Herricht (October 5, 1927 – August 23, 1981) was an
East German
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 ...
comedian.
Biography
Early life
Herricht graduated from school in 1943 after passing a '
War Abitur', a form of an
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
designated to free school pupils to be mobilized. In 1945, he was drafted to the
Volkssturm
The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
and assigned as an
anti-aircraft battery assistant.
After the war's end, he began working as property master and stage manager in a theater in his native
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
, while studying acting in a local studio. After completion, he went to appear on the stages of theaters in
Salzwedel
Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwe ...
,
Stendal
The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region.
Geography
Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...
,
Staßfurt
Staßfurt (Stassfurt) () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on both sides of the river Bode, approximately northeast of Aschersleben, and south of Magdeburg. Pop. (2005) 23,538.
It was one of th ...
,
Güstrow
Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis.
It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...
and also in the Kleist Theater in
Frankfurt am Oder.
Breakthrough
Herricht first met fellow actor
Hans-Joachim Preil in 1951, while they both worked in
Bernburg
Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle.
Geography
The town centre is situated ...
. The two formed the 'Herricht and Preil'
comedy duo
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...
, staging their first sketch, 'The Chess Match', in 1953. In the sketch, Preil vainly attempts to play chess with Herricht, who is completely oblivious to the rules of the game. In their act, Herricht played the 'funny man', while Preil served as the 'straight man'. The pair were active until Herricht's passing away.
[Ralf Schenk. ]
The Man who Made Everyone Laugh
''. ''Superillu
''SUPERillu'' is a weekly German yellow-press magazine from Berlin, which is well-read in Eastern Germany.
History and profile
''Superillu'' was founded in summer 1990 in East Berlin. The first edition appeared on 23 August 1990, six weeks before ...
'', 6 June 2007.
In 1957, Herricht returned to the Magdeburg Theater, where he remained until 1961. He mainly played comical characters, like the scribe in ''
The Beaver Coat
''The Beaver Coat'' (german: Der Biberpelz) is a satirical play by Gerhart Hauptmann premiered in Berlin in 1893.
The work is an example of a German naturalistic ''Diebskomödie'', or 'thief's comedy'. The drama takes place "somewhere in Berlin ...
'' and the drunkard from
Auerbach's Cellar in ''
Faust I
''Faust: A Tragedy'' (german: Faust. Eine Tragödie, links=no, , or aust. The tragedy's first part is the first part of the tragic play ''Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and is considered by many as the greatest work of German literature ...
''.
[Ines Walk]
"Rolf Herricht"
film-zeit.de.
During his time in Magdeburg, he also worked in the radio. He and Preil first performed on television when one of their sketches was broadcast by
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF; German for "German Television Broadcasting") was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) from 1952 to 1991.
DFF produced free-to-air terrestrial television programming ...
in 1959. The show was well received by the audience and the two began making regular appearances on TV. Herricht and Preil became the
German Democratic Republic
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 ...
's most celebrated comedians.
Height of career
Herricht made his film debut in
DEFA
DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence.
Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PRO ...
's 1959 comedy ''
Before the Lightning Strikes
''Before the Lightning Strikes'' (german: Bevor der Blitz einschlägt) is an East German comedy film directed by Richard Groschopp. It was released in 1959.
Plot
Heinz, an ambitious reporter of the ''Berlin am Morgen'' newspaper, had made a fata ...
'', playing a minor part of a locomotive constructor. Herricht later appeared in some twenty cinema productions, while also playing in many television films. In 1964, he joined the regular cast of the Metropol Theater in Berlin. He also had a career as a singer.
Herricht appeared on screen in relatively minor roles until writer Maurycy Janowski and director Gottfried Kolditz decided to create a film the plot of which would be based on his comical skill, the 1964 ''
Geliebte weiße Maus''.
Herricht portrayed a traffic policeman who falls in love with a woman and only dares speak to her when she makes an accident on the road. The picture met with considerable success. Herricht starred in several other popular DEFA comedies during the 1960s and the 1970s: among others, he played the erratic
National People's Army
The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...
reserve soldier Ralf Horricht in the 1965 ''
Der Reserveheld'' and the last-minute-travel-guide Hurtig in the 1967 ''
Meine Freundin Sybille
''Meine Freundin Sybille'' is an East German film. It was released in 1967.
Cast
* Rolf Herricht: Hurtig
* Hanns-Michael Schmidt: Ronny
* Evelyn Opoczynski: Sybille
* Eva-Maria Hagen: Helena
* Helga Göring: Mrs. Mücke
* Arthur Jopp: Sybille ...
''. His 1965 ''
Hände hoch oder ich schieße'', in which he again appeared as an eccentric policeman, was banned at the 11th plenary session of the
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...
and only released in 2009, 28 years after his death.
Herricht was twice awarded the
Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic
The Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Kunstpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art.
History
The Art Prize was annually a ...
: on 17 May 1973 and on 13 May 1977.
[Erika Tschernig, Monika Kollega, Gudrun Müller. ''Unsere Kultur: DDR-Zeittafel, 1945-1987''. Dietz Verlag (1989). . Pages 218, 259.]
He died of a heart attack at the age of 53, while performing the role of one of the gangsters in ''
Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-s ...
'' on the stage of the Metropol.
He is buried in Berlin's
I Französischer Friedhof.
Filmography
Cinema
* 1959:
Bevor der Blitz einschlägt
* 1959:
Musterknaben
* 1960: Seilergasse 8
* 1961:
For Eyes Only
* 1962:
Auf der Sonnenseite
* 1964:
Geliebte weiße Maus
* 1965:
Der Reserveheld
* 1965: Nichts als Sünde
* 1966/2009:
Hände hoch oder ich schieße
* 1967:
Meine Freundin Sybille
''Meine Freundin Sybille'' is an East German film. It was released in 1967.
Cast
* Rolf Herricht: Hurtig
* Hanns-Michael Schmidt: Ronny
* Evelyn Opoczynski: Sybille
* Eva-Maria Hagen: Helena
* Helga Göring: Mrs. Mücke
* Arthur Jopp: Sybille ...
* 1968:
Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle
''Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle'' is an East German film. It was released in 1968.
Cast
* Manfred Krug: Florian
* Regina Beyer: Duchess Guastalla
* Rolf Herricht: Amadeus
* Gisela Bestehorn: Baroness Colloredo
* Jutta Klöppel: Fanny Schaue ...
* 1968: 12 Uhr mittags kommt der Boß
* 1969: Mit mir nicht, Madam!
* 1969: Der Weihnachtsmann heißt Willi
* 1969:
Seine Hoheit – Genosse Prinz
''Seine Hoheit – Genosse Prinz'' is an East German film. It was released in 1969.
Cast
* Rolf Ludwig: Kaspar Mai / Eitel Friedrich Prince of Hohenlohe-Liebenstein
* Regina Beyer: Angelika Engel
* Jutta Wachowiak: Princess Diana
* Ilse Voigt: ...
* 1970: Husaren in Berlin
* 1971: Chyornye sukhari
* 1972: Der Mann, der nach der Oma kam
* 1972: Nicht schummeln, Liebling!
* 1977: DEFA Disko 77
* 1979: Der Baulöwe
Television
* 1959: Wie die Wilden
* 1960: Zweimal Madeleine
* 1961: Gastspiele im Dschungel
* 1961: Kater Lampe
* 1961: Bodo Baddy's bunte Bühne
* 1962: Was halten Sie von Musik?
* 1963: Komm mit mir nach Montevideo
* 1965: Muss das sein?
* 1966: Drei leichte Fälle
* 1969: Tolle Tage
* 1970: Der Schein trügt
* 1972: Der Mann seiner Frau
* 1973: Ein gewisser Katulla
* 1974: Schultze mit "tz"
* 1974: So eine Frau...
* 1974: Alle Haare wieder
* 1975: Mein lieber Kokoschinsky
* 1976: Keine Hochzeit ohne Ernst (Bunbury)
* 1976: Fürs ganze Leben
* 1976: Heute Ruhetag
* 1976: Frauen sind Männersache
* 1976: Maxe Baumann - Ferien ohne Ende
* 1977: Umwege ins Glück
* 1977: Der rasende Roland
* 1977: Ehe man Ehefrau bleibt
* 1977: Urlaub nach Prospekt
* 1977: Du und icke und Berlin
* 1977: Maxe Baumann - Keine Ferien für Max
* 1978: Ein Hahn im Korb
* 1978: Maxe Baumann - Max auf Reisen
* 1979: Maxe Baumann - Überraschung für Max
* 1980: Maxe Baumann - Max in Moritzhagen
Singles
*Ausgerechnet Blechmusik
*Die Eiszeit Kommt Wieder
*Die Vielweiberei
*Gelber Mond
*Ich bin auf den Hund gekommen
*Ich bin ein Star des Fußballplatzgesangsvereins
*Ich soll stets die Leute nur zum Lachen bringen
*Immer dieser Ärger mit den Kleinen )
*Klamotten-Rag
*Laubenpiepergartenhundefest
*Mein grüner Papagei
*Oh, dieser Jazz
*Wenn Sie mich so anseh'n
References
External links
*
A collection of 'Herricht & Preil' sketcheson MDR.de.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herricht, Rolf
1927 births
1981 deaths
People from Magdeburg
People from the Province of Saxony
German male stage actors
German male film actors
German male television actors
German male comedians
20th-century German male actors
20th-century German male singers
Volkssturm personnel
Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic
Deaths onstage
20th-century comedians
Luftwaffenhelfer