Michael Habeck (23 April 1944 – 4 February 2011) was a German actor, best known in Germany as the German voice of

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

and

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

Life

Habeck was born in

Bad Grönenbach Bad Grönenbach is a market town in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. It belongs to the region of Upper Swabia and the headquarters of the Gemeindeverband of the same name. Transport Bad Grönenbach is located on the county roa ...

. "After his training at the Ruth von Zerboni acting school in Munich, Michael Habeck had engagements at various German stages, including the

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstraße (Munich), Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three ...

, the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and at the Munich Volkstheater." As part of the Ruhr Festival in 1974, Habeck appeared as Lennox in Shakespeare's tragedy

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

, which was recorded by ARD and broadcast on television. For years, Michael Habeck was present in television productions for children through the characters Oswin in the German preschool series '' Rappelkiste'' (1973–1984) and dubbing

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...

in ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'],

Barney Rubble Barney Rubble is a fictional character who appears in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. He is the diminutive, blond-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and adoptive father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. His best friend is his next ...

in ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', Baby Fozzie in '' Muppet Babies'' (1984–1991) or as Mr. Rabbit in '' The Animals of Farthing Wood'' (1993–1996). In the animated series

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

from 1991 to 1993. he dubbed the roles of

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sa ...

in seasons two and three, Dr. Nick in season two and

Groundskeeper Willie Dr. William MacDougal, better known as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the head groundskeeper and Janitor at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is almost feral in nature and ...

in season three. He was heard in the German dub of ''

Asterix Conquers America ''Asterix Conquers America'' (in France as ''Astérix et les Indiens''; in Germany as ''Asterix in Amerika'') is a 1994 English-language German animated film, directed by , and co-produced by Hahn and . The film is a loose adaptation of the ''As ...

''. He played in a considerable number of German series, including ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

'' and ''

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

'', and films. In 1984 Habeck received the Grimm Award for his role in the children's series '' Rappelkiste'' He also appeared in international productions, such as ''

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical fiction, historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...

,'' where he played "the striking role of the corpulent bald monk Berengar", and ''

Lexx ''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul Donovan (writer), Paul and Michael Donovan (producer), Michael Dono ...

'', in which he played the role of Feppo. Habeck was known for providing the German dubbing for

after Bruno W. Pantel died, and Danny De Vito. He also dubbed several characters in the German version of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

.'' He died in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on 4 February 2011 after a short time of severe illness, aged 66.

Filmography

German-language voice acting

References

External links

*
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habeck, Michael 1944 births 2011 deaths German male film actors German male television actors German male voice actors People from Unterallgäu 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Male actors from Bavaria