Herricht graduated from school in 1943 after passing a 'War Abitur', a form of an Abitur designated to free school pupils to be mobilized. In 1945, he was drafted to the Volkssturm and assigned as an anti-aircraft battery assistant.[1]
After the war's end, he began working as property master and stage manager in a theater in his native Magdeburg, while studying acting in a local studio. After completion, he went to appear on the stages of theaters in Salzwedel, Stendal, Staßfurt, Güstrow and also in the Kleist Theater in Frankfurt am Oder.[2]
Breakthrough
Herricht first met fellow actor Hans-Joachim Preil in 1951, while they both worked in Bernburg. The two formed the 'Herricht and Preil' comedy duo, 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.[3]
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 and the drunkard from Auerbach's Cellar in Faust I.[4]
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 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's most celebrated comedians.[3][5][6][7]
Herricht made his film debut in DEFA's 1959 comedy Before the Lightning Strikes, 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.[8]
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.[3] 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 reserve soldier Ralf Horricht in the 1965 Der Reserveheld and the last-minute-travel-guide Hurtig in the 1967 Meine Freundin 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 and only released in 2009, 28 years after his death.[4][9][10]
He died of a heart attack at the age of 53, while performing the role of one of the gangsters in Kiss Me, Kate on the stage of the Metropol.[4] He is buried in Berlin's I Französischer Friedhof.
A collection of 'Herricht & Preil' sketches on MDR.de.
December 26, 2022
rolf, herricht, rolf, oskar, ewald, günter, herricht, october, 1927, august, 1981, east, german, comedian, herricht, tavern, 1977, bornrolf, oskar, ewald, günter, herricht, 1927, october, 1927magdeburg, weimar, republicdiedaugust, 1981, 1981, aged, east, berli. Rolf Oskar Ewald Gunter Herricht October 5 1927 August 23 1981 was an East German comedian Rolf HerrichtHerricht in a tavern 1977 BornRolf Oskar Ewald Gunter Herricht 1927 10 05 October 5 1927Magdeburg Weimar RepublicDiedAugust 23 1981 1981 08 23 aged 53 East Berlin German Democratic RepublicOccupation s comedian actorYears active1946 1981SpouseChrista Herricht 1937 2001 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Breakthrough 1 3 Height of career 2 Filmography 2 1 Cinema 2 2 Television 3 Singles 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditEarly life Edit Herricht graduated from school in 1943 after passing a War Abitur a form of an Abitur designated to free school pupils to be mobilized In 1945 he was drafted to the Volkssturm and assigned as an anti aircraft battery assistant 1 After the war s end he began working as property master and stage manager in a theater in his native Magdeburg while studying acting in a local studio After completion he went to appear on the stages of theaters in Salzwedel Stendal Stassfurt Gustrow and also in the Kleist Theater in Frankfurt am Oder 2 Breakthrough Edit Herricht first met fellow actor Hans Joachim Preil in 1951 while they both worked in Bernburg The two formed the Herricht and Preil comedy duo 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 3 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 and the drunkard from Auerbach s Cellar in Faust I 4 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 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 s most celebrated comedians 3 5 6 7 Height of career Edit Herricht back to camera with Manfred Krug during the filming of Hauptmann Florian von der Muhle 12 August 1967 Herricht made his film debut in DEFA s 1959 comedy Before the Lightning Strikes 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 8 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 3 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 reserve soldier Ralf Horricht in the 1965 Der Reserveheld and the last minute travel guide Hurtig in the 1967 Meine Freundin Sybille His 1965 Hande 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 and only released in 2009 28 years after his death 4 9 10 Herricht was twice awarded the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic on 17 May 1973 and on 13 May 1977 11 He died of a heart attack at the age of 53 while performing the role of one of the gangsters in Kiss Me Kate on the stage of the Metropol 4 He is buried in Berlin s I Franzosischer Friedhof Filmography EditCinema Edit 1959 Bevor der Blitz einschlagt 1959 Musterknaben 1960 Seilergasse 8 1961 For Eyes Only 1962 Auf der Sonnenseite 1964 Geliebte weisse Maus 1965 Der Reserveheld 1965 Nichts als Sunde 1966 2009 Hande hoch oder ich schiesse 1967 Meine Freundin Sybille 1968 Hauptmann Florian von der Muhle 1968 12 Uhr mittags kommt der Boss 1969 Mit mir nicht Madam 1969 Der Weihnachtsmann heisst Willi 1969 Seine Hoheit Genosse Prinz 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 BauloweTelevision Edit 1959 Wie die Wilden 1960 Zweimal Madeleine 1961 Gastspiele im Dschungel 1961 Kater Lampe 1961 Bodo Baddy s bunte Buhne 1962 Was halten Sie von Musik 1963 Komm mit mir nach Montevideo 1965 Muss das sein 1966 Drei leichte Falle 1969 Tolle Tage 1970 Der Schein trugt 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 Furs ganze Leben 1976 Heute Ruhetag 1976 Frauen sind Mannersache 1976 Maxe Baumann Ferien ohne Ende 1977 Umwege ins Gluck 1977 Der rasende Roland 1977 Ehe man Ehefrau bleibt 1977 Urlaub nach Prospekt 1977 Du und icke und Berlin 1977 Maxe Baumann Keine Ferien fur Max 1978 Ein Hahn im Korb 1978 Maxe Baumann Max auf Reisen 1979 Maxe Baumann Uberraschung fur Max 1980 Maxe Baumann Max in MoritzhagenSingles EditAusgerechnet 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 Arger mit den Kleinen Klamotten Rag Laubenpiepergartenhundefest Mein gruner Papagei Oh dieser Jazz Wenn Sie mich so anseh nReferences Edit Rolf Herricht English Language Biography defa de Elke Schneider The Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon Rolf Herrich t uni magdeburg de a b c Ralf Schenk The Man who Made Everyone Laugh Archived 2013 01 06 at archive today Superillu 6 June 2007 a b c Ines Walk Rolf Herricht film zeit de Rolf Herricht filmmuseum potsdam de Das Geheimnis eines grosses Erfolges MDR de Gestorben Hans Joachim Preil Der Spiegel 8 November 1999 Rolf Herricht defa sternstunden Rolf Herricht filmportal de Rolf Herricht im Portrat der Komiker der ernst genommen werden wollte Archived 2012 04 02 at the Wayback Machine MDR de Erika Tschernig Monika Kollega Gudrun Muller Unsere Kultur DDR Zeittafel 1945 1987 Dietz Verlag 1989 ISBN 978 3 320 01132 1 Pages 218 259 External links EditRolf Herricht at IMDb A collection of Herricht amp Preil sketches on MDR de Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rolf Herricht amp oldid 1121631125, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
