Kurt Raab (20 July 1941 – 28 June 1988) was a West
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 ...
stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with German
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...
, with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.
Biography
Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, which is now
Kašperské Hory,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. He completed the
abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
at
Musische Gymnasium Straubing, and studied in Munich.
He made his cinema debut in Fassbinder's ''Liebe ist kälter als der Tod'' (''
Love Is Colder than Death'') in
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
. Over the next few years, he made numerous films with Fassbinder, including ''Warum läuft Herr R. Amok?'' (''
Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?'') and ''Der Amerikanische Soldat'' (''
The American Soldier'') in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, ''Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte'' (''
Beware of a Holy Whore
''Beware of a Holy Whore'' () is a 1971 West German drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features Lou Castel, Eddie Constantine, Hanna Schygulla and Fassbinder himself. Fassbinder considered this to be his favorite of hi ...
'') in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
, and ''Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten'' (''
The Merchant of Four Seasons'') in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
.
He also worked as a
production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...
,
assistant director
The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
, producer, and a
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
.
Raab was friends with
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...
of
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, and appears as a ballerina in the band's music video for "
It's a Hard Life". He is also seen in Mercury's "
Living on My Own" video, dressed in drag as
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
.
On 28 June 1988, at age 46, Raab died of
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
-related complications. Before Raab died, he worked to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in West Germany. In 1987, he discussed his illness in Herbert Achternbusch's ''
Wohin?'', a film about AIDS hysteria. In 1988, he made ''Mitten im Leben'', a documentary about AIDS, for
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen.
However, the illness remained poorly understood and Raab was placed in quarantine-like conditions in the
Hamburg Tropical Institute. While confined to a hospital bed, Raab and his friend Hans Hirschmüller compiled the documentary ''Sehnsucht Nach Sodom'', in which they explored "subjects as taboo as AIDS, death and the Catholicism of a gay person." ''Sehnsucht'' was released posthumously in 1989.
Prejudice about AIDS was also evident when Raab's body was refused burial in Steinbeißen, the
Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. It consists of nine districts and 258 municipalities (including three cities).
Geography
Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two ...
n town in which his family had settled in 1945.
He is buried in
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery ( or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf, Hamburg, Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemetery are c ...
in Hamburg.
[
]
Filmography
References
External links
*
Kurt Raab
at Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raab, Kurt
1941 births
1988 deaths
People from Kašperské Hory
People from Sudetenland
Sudeten German people
AIDS-related deaths in Germany
German male stage actors
German male film actors
German male television actors
German autobiographers
20th-century German male actors
German male non-fiction writers
20th-century German screenwriters
German male screenwriters