Röbi Rapp (27 May 1930 – 26 August 2018) was a Swiss actor influential in the European LGBT social movement. He was a female impersonator and cabaret star as well as a member of '' Der Kreis'' (''The Circle'').

Biography

Rapp was born in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. At a young age he became a Swiss child actor, including starring in the lead role in the 1941 film '' Das Menschlein Matthias''. As an adult, Rapp performed as a female impersonator and was a personal friend of

Karl Meier Karl Meier (16 March 1897, St. Gallen – 29 March 1974, Zurich) was a Swiss actor influential in the European LGBT social movement. He was a member of the socially active Cabaret Cornichon company, and editor for the gay magazine ''Der Kre ...

. Rapp worked as a hairdresser and later was a teacher at the hairdressing school of Jonny Fahrny. In 2003, Rapp and his longtime partner Ernst Ostertag became the first gay men to register a domestic partnership in Switzerland. They first met at the Barfüsser-Bar in 1956. Rapp came out officially to friends and family, alongside his partner, at their joint 70th birthday party in 2000. In 2018, Rapp chose to end his life by

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

after a battle with kidney disease.

In popular culture

Rapp was depicted as a central character in the 2014 film ''The Circle'', in which he is played by Sven Schelker and appears in documentary footage. The film won four Swiss film prizes and was a candidate for an Oscar nomination.

References

Swiss male actors Swiss LGBT rights activists Swiss LGBT actors {{authority control 2018 deaths 1930 births