Norbert Grupe (born August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German boxer, actor, and professional wrestler known for his villainous supporting roles in various high-profile films of the 1980s and 1990s, including

Vigo the Carpathian ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and A ...

in '' Ghostbusters II'', the henchman James in ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Al ...

,'' and Souteneur in

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

's '' Stroszek.''

Early life

Norbert Grupe was born in Berlin on August 25, 1940. He was the son of Richard Grupe (1915 - August 5, 1988), who worked as a baker in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and later become both a championship-winning boxer and a local policeman who worked at the Buchenwald concentration camp. Richard would later say of this period, "I was never a Nazi. I never joined the party. I was not in the Hitler Youth...I was a pastryman...I have no much luck with the Jewish people. But I never hated them. Never hated them. I'm very sorry for what Hitler did to the Jewish people." After the war, Richard boxed professionally from 1946 to 1952, earning a record of 26 wins (20 by knockout), 8 losses, and 6 draws. He then toured Europe as a wrestler. Later, Richard's first wife gave birth to Grupe's brother Winfried. Richard's second wife Ursula, much younger and closer in age to Grupe himself, gave birth to Grupe's sister, Rona. Ursula left the family five years later. According to Rona, Grupe exhibited a bitter jealousy toward Winfried, because Winfried's mother was a daily presence for him, whereas Grupe's absent mother would not even speak to him.

Career

Early work and professional wrestling

In his youth, Grupe worked as a meatpacker,

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

, butcher,

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

, and a waiter. By the time he finished school, Grupe, who had begun trainining in boxing at age 10, had won several amateur boxing matches. Around 1960, Richard emigrated to the United States to further wrestling career, and Grupe, who stood at 6'3" and 227 pounds by this time, would soon follow, spending time at California's notable Venice weight pen, where he became acquainted with future film star Arnold Schwarzenegger. The father and son duo would don Viking costumes, with which they were billed as the tag-team by the name of The Vikings, wrestling at the

Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...

and Madison Square Garden. They subsequently changed their name to the Von Homburg Brothers, under which they performed as

heels The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exert ...

for less than a hundred dollars a night in total. Grupe thought his last name sounded too much like the word ''

groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is us ...

'', and changed it to Prince Wilhelm von Homburg. He sometimes wore a monocle and

German eagle The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: ''Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules''. This is the (German for "Federal Eagle"), for ...

. He would later regret using it in Hollywood, saying, "In an industry that was ruled by the Jews, it was really dumb to call myself 'von Homburg.' Who do they think that is? A Nazi nobleman." After their wrestling partnership ended, the father and son grew estranged.

Boxing career and early acting roles

Von Homburg switched careers to boxing in 1962, employing the showmanship and the boastful, cocky persona he had developed as a wrestler. He won 16 of 21 professional fights in the U.S., fighting throughout California as a light heavyweight before traveling across the U.S. and then his native Germany where his he wore fur coats, smoked cigars, and taunted referees and crowds in a way that stunned the normally sedate German boxing world. One reporter for '' Der Spiegel'' ranked Von Homburg as seventh in the world. He grew his blonde hair over his ears, for which he was nicknamed the "Beatle Boxer." Von Homburg got his first championship match in 1966 against Piero del Papa for the EBU Regional Light Heavyweight title in Berlin. Homburg was disqualified in the eleventh round, after having knocked out Del Papa, because the referee declared a subtle head movement by Von Homburg to have been an illegal

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

. The match would haunt Von Homburg for the rest of his life, and he was blame it on bias on the part of the referee, saying, "I was the best thing German boxing had back then, and then I had a 70-year-old Frenchman as the referee. We all know what the Germans did to his parents and his sister." Throughout his boxing career, von Homburg appeared in bit roles in various films and television shows, usually billed as Wilhelm von Homburg. In "The Promoter", the April 25, 1964 episode of '' Gunsmoke'' for example, he played a boxer named Otto who is offered a large bribe to throw a fight. After losing his next three fights, von Homburg retired from boxing in 1970 at age 30, and went to live in

St. Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...

Kiez, a red-light district of Hamburg, developing a reputation in that area's underground, where he associated with pimps and

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...

, and had engaged in a number of affairs with both men and women. He also used drugs and alcohol to excess.

Acting

After spending some years in prison, von Homburg attempted to pursue an acting career in earnest. German director

, who had seen him box in his youth, cast him as a bullying pimp in his 1977 film '' Stroszek''. Herzog commented, "The Prince was so clear and intelligent and radiated, at the same time, a feeling of danger that absolutely terrified me. He was almost like a German Mike Tyson." A decade later, Von Homburg was cast as James, one of

Hans Gruber Hans Gruber is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1988 action film ''Die Hard'' portrayed by Alan Rickman. Gruber is a cunning thief and criminal mastermind from East Germany who holds the Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $640 ...

's henchmen in the 1988 action thriller ''

'', who dies after

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

' character detonates plastic explosives down an elevator shaft. Von Homburg's biggest role came at age 50, when he was cast as the primary villain in the 1989 comedy sequel '' Ghostbusters II'', playing

, a despotic sorcerer whose soul is released from a medieval painting. The character's full name was Vigo Von Homburg Deutschendorf, which paid homage to the name he had chosen as a performer. The film was released less than a year after Von Homburg's father Richard died, though he had not reconciled with his father or sister. His last major role was as Charles Macum Diggs, a vegetative ex-boxer in ''

Diggstown ''Diggstown'' (known as ''Midnight Sting'' in the UK), is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Steven McKay, based on the 1978 novel ''The Diggstown Ringers'' by Leonard Wise. It stars James Woods ...

'', which was a commercial flop.

Later life and death

Von Homburg spent the last years of his life effectively homeless, alternating between sleeping at a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

, in the homes of friends, or in his van. He developed prostate cancer, and following its

metastasis Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then ...

to his pelvis, spine, and brain, he went to the home of his friend Walter Staudinger, where he spent his final days.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 30 Wins (24 knockouts, 6 decisions), 11 Losses (2 knockouts, 8 decisions, 1 DQ), 6 Draws , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , , align=left, Rüdiger Schmidtke , PTS , 10 , December 11, 1970 , align=left, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

Jürgen Blin Jürgen Blin (24 April 1943 – 7 May 2022) was a mid-20th century German boxer, who was the Heavyweight Champion of Germany, and European Heavyweight Champion in 1972, and internationally represented the state of West Germany. Early life Bli ...

, PTS , 10 , December 12, 1969 , align=left, Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Rüdiger Schmidtke , PTS , 10 , November 14, 1969 , align=left,

Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering by a variable grandstand system space for up t ...

, Frankfurt, Hesse , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Oscar Bonavena , TKO , 3 , June 20, 1969 , align=left, Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Giulio Rinaldi Giulio Rinaldi (13 February 1935 – 18 July 2011) was an Italian boxer. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics where he was eliminated in the first bout. Pro career During his thirteen and-a-half-year professional career from 1957 to 19 ...

, TKO , 7 , April 2, 1969 , align=left, Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Giulio Rinaldi , PTS , 10 , February 14, 1969 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Giulio Rinaldi , TKO , 5 , January 3, 1969 , align=left, Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 10 , November 8, 1968 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Franklin Arrindel , KO , 3 , September 18, 1968 , align=left,

Hohe Warte Stadium Hohe Warte Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Vienna, Austria. It is located on the Hohe Warte hill in Heiligenstadt, a northern suburb in the 19th Viennese district of Döbling. Primarily a football venue and the home of First Vienna FC, it ...

, Vienna , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Rudolf Nehring , TKO , 8 , August 30, 1968 , align=left, Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, David E. Bailey , PTS , 10 , April 11, 1968 , align=left, Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Paul Roux , KO , 5 , December 15, 1967 , align=left,

Circus Krone Building Circus Krone Building refers to three circus buildings that have, and currently exist at the same location on the Marsstraße in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, Germany. These buildings consist of the original Circus Krone Building, its tempor ...

, Munich, Bavaria , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Ray Patterson , PTS , 10 , May 3, 1967 , align=left,

Westfalenhallen Westfalenhallen (English: Halls of Westphalia) is a commercial complex composed of conference (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition centers (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle), located in Dortmund, Germany. It is surroun ...

, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Archie McBride , KO , 9 , December 9, 1966 , align=left,

, Frankfurt, Hesse , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Piero Del Papa , DQ , 11 , November 19, 1966 , align=left,

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend (Berlin), Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 20 ...

, Charlottenburg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Erich Schöppner , PTS , 10 , May 14, 1966 , align=left, Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Archie McBride , PTS , 10 , May 28, 1965 , align=left, Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bas van Duivenbode , KO , 4 , April 29, 1965 , align=left, Neue Sporthalle, Hannover, Lower Saxony , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Jose Angel Manzur , TKO , 8 , April 2, 1965 , align=left, Stadthalle, Vienna , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ulli Ritter , TKO , 6 , February 20, 1965 , align=left, Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Piero Tomasoni , PTS , 10 , January 16, 1965 , align=left, Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Joseph Syoz , TKO , 10 , December 5, 1964 , align=left, Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Paul Kraus , KO , 3 , November 27, 1964 , align=left, Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lars Olaf Norling , TKO , 9 , November 6, 1964 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Jean Huiban , KO , 6 , May 29, 1964 , align=left, Weser-Ems Halle, Oldenburg, Lower Saxony , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Ulli Ritter , PTS , 10 , May 8, 1964 , align=left, Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Roy Crear , KO , 5 , April 7, 1964 , align=left, Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bob McKinney , TKO , 9 , January 6, 1964 , align=left,

New York Coliseum The New York Coliseum was a convention center that stood at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon Levy and Lionel Levy in a modified International Style, and included both a low bui ...

, Bronx, New York , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Monroe Ratliff , SD , 10 , November 18, 1963 , align=left, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Billy Stephan , PTS , 10 , September 19, 1963 , align=left,

Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...

, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Chuck Leslie , PTS , 10 , July 23, 1963 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bobby Sand , TKO , 9 , June 24, 1963 , align=left, Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Tommy Merrill , PTS , 6 , June 1, 1963 , align=left,

Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it h ...

, Las Vegas, Nevada , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bobby Sand , TKO , 9 , May 20, 1963 , align=left, Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Pete Gonzales , KO , 3 , March 25, 1963 , align=left, Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gus Calf Robe , KO , 6 , February 25, 1963 , align=left, Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Clifford Gray , TKO , 1 , February 19, 1963 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bob Mumford , KO , 6 , February 15, 1963 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Yancy D Smith , UD , 8 , January 22, 1963 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Yancy D Smith , PTS , 8 , January 15, 1963 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Clifford Gray , PTS , 6 , December 18, 1962 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, John L Davey , PTS , 6 , December 14, 1962 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Freeman Hardin , KO , 3 , October 25, 1962 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Al Cummings , KO , 3 , September 21, 1962 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Tony Fern , KO , 3 , August 24, 1962 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California , align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Bob Brown , KO , 2 , August 16, 1962 , align=left, San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California , align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Sam Wyatt , PTS , 4 , July 20, 1962 , align=left,

Los Angeles Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...

, Los Angeles, California , align=left,

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Homburg, Wilhelm von 1940 births 2004 deaths 20th-century German male actors Bisexual men Bisexual sportspeople Deaths from cancer in Mexico Deaths from prostate cancer German male boxers German male film actors German male professional wrestlers German male television actors LGBT boxers LGBT professional wrestlers German LGBT sportspeople Male actors from Berlin Sportspeople from Berlin Heavyweight boxers 20th-century LGBT people