Fritz Muliar, born as Friedrich Ludwig Stand (December 12, 1919 – May 4, 2009), was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n actor who, due to his huge popularity, is often referred to by his countrymen as ''Volksschauspieler''.

Biography

Born in

Neubau Neubau (; ; "New Build") is the seventh district of Vienna (). It is located near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Neubau is a heavily populated urban area, with a major shopping area and ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

as the stepson of a

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

, Muliar became a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

artist in the late 1930s. He was a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

in his youth. After serving in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was imprisoned by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in 1942 and spent seven months in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

for ''Betätigung zur Wiederherstellung eines freien Österreich'' (activities to restore Austrian independence—see

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

). After the war, Muliar started his career as a stage actor. Of small build, he once said that his ambitions had never included playing parts such as that of

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

. Rather, he had always preferred comic roles and traditional Austrian fare (

Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and ...

Ferdinand Raimund Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Austria, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and playwright. Life and work Raimund was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturn ...

). Muliar also excelled in imitating various accents, in particular those used by

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

speakers of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. In 1990, he had enormous success in Felix Mitterer's play for one person, ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

'' (televised in 1991), a study in

ageism Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against Old age, elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this ...

about an old man who has been abandoned by his family in a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...

and his struggle for

dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...

. While he also performed regularly at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

in the play '' Jedermann'' (a version of ''

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

''), Muliar was associated with two Viennese theatres in particular: the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

(whose

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

d member he was until his retirement), and the

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

, where he worked until his death in 2009. He was one of the severest critics of

Claus Peymann Claus (sometimes Clas) is both a given name and a German, Danish, and Dutch surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Claus von Amsberg, Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg (1926–2002) * Claus-Casimir of Orange ...

(born 1937), director of the Burgtheater between 1986 and 1999 whose leadership polarized Austrian theatregoers by its focus on controversial playwrights such as

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, poet and polemicist who is considered one of the most important German-language authors of the postwar era. He explored themes of death, iso ...

and

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors to write in German and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices ...

Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

saw Muliar in the non-singing role of Frosch in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''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 literary source for ' was ...

''. At Theater in der Josefstadt, Muliar was perhaps best known for the role of Mr. Green in Jeff Baron's Visiting Mr. Green (Besuch bei Mr Green). Muliar, Michael Dangl the theater and Jeff Baron were awarded the 2001 Kulturpreis Europa for this production, which ran for several seasons and was nationally telecast. Muliar appeared in numerous films and in some television series such as '' Kir Royal'' (alongside

Franz Xaver Kroetz Franz Xaver Kroetz (; born 25 February 1946) is a German author, playwright, actor and film director. He achieved great success beginning in the early 1970s. ''Persistent'', '' Farmyard'', and '' Request Concert'', all written in 1971, are some ...

) and ''

Kommissar Rex ''Inspector Rex'' (German: ''Kommissar Rex''; Italian: ''Il commissario Rex'') is an Austrian-Italian police procedural television series created by Peter Hajek and Peter Moser. Originally an Austrian series aired from 1994 to 2004 on ORF 1, in ...

''. He is best remembered beyond the boundaries of his native Vienna for playing the title role in the 13-part TV series, ''

Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk ''Die Abenteuer des braven Soldaten Schwejk '' (Translated to The adventures of the good soldier Schwejk) is a television series produced by the ORF and ZDF and directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner. It is based on the novel '' Der brave Soldat Schwejk ...

'', which was filmed in

and broadcast by the

n state TV (

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...

) in 1972. Muliar was a committed

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

who publicly supported various Austrian

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

politicians during their

election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

s. He was married from 1955 to Franziska Kalmar, Austria's first

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

. In January 2006 he was elected to the position of a public advisor in the Austrian state TV (ORF). He died in Vienna, aged 89.

Awards

Decoration for Services to the Liberation of Austria The Decoration for Services to the Liberation of Austria () was created by federal law on 27 January 1976. It is a special distinction for men and women who actively resisted the Nazi regime contributing to Austria’s liberation from Nazi rule. T ...

* Gold Medal for services to the City of Vienna * Medal of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation *

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

by the Republic of Austria (1975) * Merit Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1977) * Kainz Medal for Peachum in

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's ''

Three Penny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, ...

'' (1978) * Nestroy Ring (1984) *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

(1984) * Gold Medal of Styria (1985) * Kammerschauspieler ("Chamber actor") (1985) * Gold Medal of Salzburg (1989) * Naming of a street in Grossenzersdorf after Fritz Muliar in 1994 * Honorary member of the

(1995) * Honorary member of the

(1996) * Ring of Honour of the City of Vienna (1999) * European Culture Prize (2001) *

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...

(2002) * Grand Golden Decoration for services to the province of Lower Austria (2002) * Platinum

Romy Romy is a given name, often a diminutive form of names such as Rosemary or Roman or Romeo. https://nameberry.com/babyname/romy/boy People with the name include: Men * Romy Cachola, nickname of Romeo Munoz Cachola, Philippines-born Hawaiian poli ...

for lifetime achievement (2004) * Ferdinand Raimund-Ring 2008 * Ring of honour of Grossenzersdorf

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muliar, Fritz 1919 births 2009 deaths Austrian male stage actors Austrian male film actors Austrian male television actors Kabarettists Jews and Judaism in Vienna People from Neubau Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Liberation of Austria Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Romy (TV award) 20th-century Austrian male actors Male actors from Vienna