Willy Millowitsch (, ; 8 January 1909 – 20 September 1999) was a German stage and TV actor and the director of the ''Volkstheater Millowitsch'' in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
.
Early life
Millowitsch was born in Cologne,
Rhine Province. His parents were
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Käthe Millowitsch and came from a long family tradition of engagement with the theater which can be traced back to 1792. It was not until 1895 however, that Millowitsch's grandfather stopped using
puppets
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...
and resorted to real actors instead.
Millowitsch was interested in
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
at an early age and took to the stage for the first time in 1922 at just 13. He quit school without a degree to pursue his acting career full-time. At first he worked under the auspices of his father who had to give up his theater after the
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
hit. This forced them to go on tour in and around Cologne until they got a permanent theater in 1936, the now famous ''
Volkstheater Millowitsch
The ''Volkstheater Millowitsch'', also known as the ''Millowitsch-Theater'', was a medium-sized theatre in Cologne, Germany where popular, low-brow comedies were performed.
History
The Millowitsch family had been active in theatre before owner ...
'', which Willy took over from his father in 1940. In 1939 he married his first wife
Lini Lüttgen, but they got divorced soon after.
During
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 ...
the theater was damaged, but not severely, and by October 1945 it was fully restored, owing to the support of mayor and later
German chancellor
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
,
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
, who proclaimed that the people need something to laugh about again. Consequently, in the time from 1945 to 1949 there were daily performances in the theater. It was during this time that he met his second wife,
Gerda Millowitsch, formerly Feldhoff.
Career
In 1949, when the postwar theater euphoria died down, Millowitsch focused on his film and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
career and in 1949 his first film (''
Search for Majora
''Search for Majora'' (german: Gesucht wird Majora) is a 1949 West German crime film directed by Hermann Pfeiffer and starring Lotte Koch, Hermann Speelmans and Camilla Horn.Davidson & Hake p. 60
The film's sets were designed by the art direct ...
'', directed by
Hermann Pfeiffer
''Leutnant'' Hermann Pfeiffer (24 July 1890 – 20 May 1917) IC was a German World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/pfeiffer.php Retrieved on 15 April 2010.
Wor ...
) was released. Many more were to follow. He did not content himself just transferring from one medium to the other, but brought the theater with him. On 27 October 1953 the
Kölsch dialect play ''
Der Etappenhase'' was broadcast on the Western regional channel
WDR, the first live broadcast of a theatrical performance with real audience in German television history. Despite bitter criticism of the entry of low 'folk
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
' into television by the director of the
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; ''Northwest German Broadcasting'') was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 to ...
,
Adolf Grimme
Adolf Berthold Ludwig Grimme (31 December 1889 – 27 August 1963) was a German politician, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was Cultural Minister during the later years of the Weimar Republic and after World War II, during the ...
, it was an instant success. This remains one of Millowitsch's most popular plays and has been performed more than 1,000 times. ''Der Etappenhase'' was so popular that just six weeks later it was broadcast again, live from the ''Volkstheater''.
He continued to put on television plays that were instant successes, gaining national popularity. It is in great part Millowitsch's achievement to have popularized Kölsch throughout Germany. People were now associating the ''
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
er'' with a relaxed lifestyle and genial humor. Theaters from other dialectal areas scrambled to catch up with him and soon the
dialect theater became an important part of the German television landscape.
With the success of these plays on television, interest in theater gradually increased and by the 1960s flocks of people took to the theater again to witness performance of Millowitsch's popular plays first hand. Until the beginning of the 1960s Millowitsch had to rent out his theater now and again, but with the arrival of the new crowds Millowitsch could afford to concentrate his career on theater from then on. He renovated the theater in 1967 and the ''Volkstheater'' once again became a focal point of local culture, and many young dialect artists started their careers there.
Throughout the 1970s, Millowitsch stuck to the folk theater, and it wasn't until the end of the 1980s that he also turned back to television and took the title role in a
detective series as
Kommissar Klefisch, whom he played until 1996. He played a small part in the Hollywood comedy ''
National Lampoon's European Vacation
''National Lampoon's European Vacation'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane. The second film in National Lampoon's ''Vacation'' film series, it stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, ...
'' with
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
(1985). Aside from his theatrical merits, he also wrote classic popular folk songs, such as ''Schnaps, das war sein letztes Wort'' and ''Wir sind alle kleine Sünderlein''. He also embraced political causes and in 1992 he participated in the important anti-
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
campaign, ''
Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander
is the motto and name of a campaign against right-wing violence in Cologne, Germany. The colloquial slogan in the local dialect Kölsch (language), Kölsch literally means "Ass up, teeth apart", encouraging people to not look away but to stand up ...
'' (
Kölsch, meaning: Move your butts and pipe up!), which culminated in a major concert by local acts attended by 100,000 people at Cologne's
Chlodwigplatz.
Death and legacy
In 1989, the city of Cologne conferred honorary citizenship on to Millowitsch, which is a very exclusive honor in Germany. He celebrated his 90th birthday on 8 January 1999, with 18,000 fans at a sold-out event at the
Kölnarena and told people all he wanted for his birthday was to stay healthy. However, he died of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
on 20 September that year.
Two of his four children,
Peter Millowitsch
Peter Millowitsch is a German film and television actor. He is the director of the Volkstheater Millowitsch which he took over in 1999 following the death of his father Willy Millowitsch
Willy Millowitsch (, ; 8 January 1909 – 20 Septemb ...
, who is now the director of the ''Volkstheater'', and
Mariele Millowitsch
Marie-Luise Millowitsch (born 23 November 1955) is a German actress.
Life
Millowitsch was born on 23 November 1955 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westfalia. She is the daughter of Willy Millowitsch and one of the three sisters of Peter Millowitsch.
...
have continued the family tradition and have both become successful actors. The city of Cologne has named a square near the Millowitsch theater ''Willy-Millowitsch-Platz'' in his honor.
Selected filmography
* ''
Search for Majora
''Search for Majora'' (german: Gesucht wird Majora) is a 1949 West German crime film directed by Hermann Pfeiffer and starring Lotte Koch, Hermann Speelmans and Camilla Horn.Davidson & Hake p. 60
The film's sets were designed by the art direct ...
'' (1949)
* ''
Madonna in Chains
''Madonna in Chains'' (german: Madonna in Ketten) is a 1949 West German drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Lotte Koch, Karin Hardt and Elisabeth Flickenschildt.
It was shot in studios in Düsseldorf with location shooting took ...
'' (1949)
* ''
The Tiger Akbar
''The Tiger Akbar'' (german: Der Tiger Akbar) is a 1951 West German thriller film directed by Harry Piel and starring Piel, Friedl Hardt and Hilde Hildebrand
Emma Minna Hilde Hildebrand (10 September 1897 – 12 May 1976) was a German actress ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Operation Sleeping Bag
''Operation Sleeping Bag'' (German: ''Unternehmen Schlafsack'') is a 1955 West German comedy war film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Eva Ingeborg Scholz, Paul Klinger and Karlheinz Böhm.
It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios in H ...
'' (1955)
* ''
Love, Girls and Soldiers
''Love, Girls and Soldiers'' (German: ''Liebe, Mädchen und Soldaten'') is a 1958 Austrian musical comedy film directed by Franz Antel and starring Renate Holm, Willy Hagara and Carla Hagen.Bock & Bergfelder p.175
The film's sets were designed b ...
'' (1958)
* ''
Father, Mother and Nine Children
'' Father, Mother and Nine Children'' (german: Vater, Mutter und neun Kinder) is a 1958 West German comedy film directed by Erich Engels and starring Heinz Erhardt, Camilla Spira and Corny Collins.Bock & Bergfelder p.113
The film's sets were de ...
'' (1958)
* ''
Every Day Isn't Sunday'' (1959)
* ''
Two Hearts in May'' (1958)
* ''
The True Jacob'' (1960)
* ''
Robert and Bertram'' (1961)
* ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original ...
'' (1962)
* ''
The Gypsy Baron
''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...
'' (1962)
* ' (1965–1970, TV series, 26 episodes)
* ''
Charley's Uncle
''Charley's Uncle'' (german: Charleys Onkel) is a 1969 West German comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and starring Gila von Weitershausen, Karl Michael Vogler and Heidy Bohlen.Bock & Bergfelder, p. 252. The film was a loose adaptation of Br ...
'' (1969)
* ''
Old Barge, Young Love'' (1973)
* ''
The Secret Carrier
''The Secret Carrier'' (German: ''Der Geheimnisträger'') is a 1975 West German comedy film directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb and starring Willy Millowitsch, Brigitte Mira and Sybil Danning.Bock & Bergfelder p.291
Location shooting took place in Rh ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Oh, This Father
''Oh, This Father'' (German: ''Oh, dieser Vater'') is a West German comedy television series which aired on ARD between 1978 and 1981.Evermann p.257 It was inspired by the British television series ''Father, Dear Father''. Willy Millowitsch
Wil ...
'' (1978–1981, TV series, 26 episodes)
* ''
National Lampoon's European Vacation
''National Lampoon's European Vacation'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane. The second film in National Lampoon's ''Vacation'' film series, it stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill, ...
'' (1985)
* ' (1991)
External links
*
Millowitsch Theatre Homepage(in German)
Internet Log ''in Memoriam'' Willy Millowitsch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millowitsch, Willy
1909 births
1999 deaths
German male stage actors
German male television actors
German male film actors
German theatre directors
Actors from Cologne
People from the Rhine Province
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
20th-century German male actors