Fritz Eckhardt

After school, he attended the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, which he successfully completed. In 1924, Fritz Eckhardt had his first engagement at the Wilhelma Theater in Stuttgart, where his father was director. Just two years later he made his screen debut in the silent film "Rosenkavalier". A few roles at smaller theaters followed until he came to "Lieber Augustin" in 1936. In addition to his work as an actor, Eckhardt began writing and directing plays. During the war years of the Second World War from 1939 onward, Fritz Eckhardt anonymously wrote pieces for the "Wiener Werkel", the only cabaret in Vienna during the time of the Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler. Banned from working because of his half-Jewish descent, he fled to America for a while, where he mainly wrote radio plays. After the end of the war in June 1945, Eckhardt, together with Carl Merz and Kurt Nachtmann, managed to reopen the "Lieber Augustin". Carl Merz took over management in the following years. From 1946 to 1948, Fritz Eckhardt directed the Vienna "Kunsttheater". He also took part in the "Kleine Brettl" in 1947 and wrote some pieces for cabarets in German-speaking countries. Fritz Eckhardt became a sought-after actor and author in post-war cinema. He became a popular series actor and therefore known to a wider audience through his role in "Hello... Hotel Sacher, Portier!". Eckhardt also wrote scripts, including for "The Leitner Family", for some of his "Tatort" episodes and for "Swabian Stories". One of his most successful films was "When the Father with the Son..." with Heinz Rühmann from 1955. This was later followed by the role of Inspector Marek in "Tatort", where he was very popular with his audience. During his life he wrote over 30 plays and more than 200 film and television scripts. In 1989, Eckhardt published his autobiography under the title "I like to remember". The book "An actor must be able to do everything" followed in 1992. In 1993 his wife died, whose death he was unable to overcome. This was followed by health problems, because of which he had to undergo several operations. Fritz Eckhardt died on December 31, 1995 in Klosterneuenburg near Vienna.