Peter Kraus (born 18 March 1939) is an Austrian-German singer and actor. Born Peter Siegfried Krausenecker 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Kraus was popular especially in the 1950s, notably in those

musical comedy 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, ...

films where he played opposite Cornelia Froboess.

Early life and family

Kraus is the son of Austrian-born director and comedian Fred Krausnecker, and spent his youth alternating in Munich, Vienna and Salzburg where his father owned a small theatre. During his school years he took singing and acting lessons as well as step dancing classes. His first acting role was the part of Johnny in '' The Flying Classroom'' (1954) after the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...

. In 1969 Kraus married the photo model Ingrid. Kraus adopted Ingrid's daughter Gaby. A few years later their son Mike was born. Gaby died in her late thirties from breast cancer.

Rock'n'Roll-Star

When the West German music industry discovered that

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

was a big seller even with German lyrics, they marketed Kraus as an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

copy. He soon became, like his colleague Ted Herold, one of West Germany's most popular singers and teen idols, the lanky figure and nonchalant attitude of the young man was a big hit with teens. In the first four years after his debut he recorded 36 hits and sold more than twelve million records. Kraus's first disc in 1956 was a German version of

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

's " Tutti Frutti". In mid-1957 his first hit "Susi Rock“ followed and made it to number 8 in the charts. From then until 1964 Kraus was regularly in the West German charts. 1958 he recorded "Wenn Teenager träumen" ( A Teenager's Romance), " Hula Baby" and "Sugar Baby", used in the 1985

Percy Adlon Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; 1 June 1935 – 10 March 2024) was a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and is known for his strong female characters and po ...

film '' Sugarbaby''. This was followed in 1959 by his version of Fabian's "

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

". At first Kraus was heavily influenced by Presley, but soon he managed to find his own style. As the "nice boy from next door" he sang with his female counterpart, teen idol Conny Froboess and appeared with her in the 1958 movie "Wenn die Conny mit dem Peter" and (1960) "Conny und Peter machen Musik". They became the most popular film stars of West German teenagers in the late fifties. In 1959 Kraus appeared with his father Fred Kraus, playing the role of his father, in "Melodie und Rhythmus". Kraus also published some songs with Jörg Maria Berg; under the pseudonym The James Brothers; the two played German cover versions "Wenn" ( When) in 1958, "Cowboy Billy" (" Don't Take Your Guns to Town") in 1959, "Rote Rosen" ( Pretty Blue Eyes) in 1960, "Die jungen Jahre" ( Endless Sleep) and "Hätt' ich einen Hammer" ( If I Had a Hammer) in 1964, to name a few.Günter Ehnert (ed.): ''Hit Balance. Deutsche Chart-Singles 1956-1980'' Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 106 He also sang duets with

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

Lill Babs Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers ...

, Danny Mann, Alice and Ellen Kessler, Gus Backus and Gina Dobra.

Selected filmography

* '' The Flying Classroom'' (1954), as Johnny Trotz * '' Precocious Youth'' (1957), as Günther * '' Immer die Radfahrer'' (1958), as Robby Eilers * '' The Crammer'' (1958), as Achim Bork * ' (1958), as Peter * '' Conny and Peter Make Music'' (1960), as Peter * '' What Is Father Doing in Italy?'' (1961), as Klaus Stumpf * ' (1961), as Gustl Zwanzger * ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology series, anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onwa ...

: '' (1963, TV), as Josef Strauss * '' If You Go Swimming in Tenerife'' (1964), as Tom * ' (1969), as Hans * ' (1973, TV film), as Pimpinelli * ' (1984), as Schirmer * ' (1986), as Schirmer * ' (1987), as Schirmer * ''Die fabelhaften Schwestern'' (2002, TV film), as Jonas King * ' (2013), as Uncle Herb

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraus, Peter 1939 births Living people 20th-century Austrian male singers Austrian male stage actors Rock and roll musicians Male actors from Munich