Peter Fritz Willi Lustig (; 27 October 1937 – 23 February 2016) was a German

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 ...

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

who has become especially well known as leading actor in the weekly children's television show ''

Löwenzahn ''Löwenzahn'' (''Dandelion'') is a children's television series produced and aired by German public broadcaster ZDF on German television. Originally conceived and hosted by Peter Lustig, the first episode aired on 7 January 1979, then titled '' ...

'', which he hosted from 1979 up until 2006. During its first year the show was called ''Pusteblume''. He also hosted the show '' Mittendrin'' (1987–95), narrated the film ' (2007) and provided the German voice for the computer game character '' Gary Gadget.''

Biography

Lustig was not a trained actor or host. He originally qualified as a

broadcast engineer Broadcast engineering or radio engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering a ...

and an

electronics engineer Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flow ...

. Working for

American Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...

as a radio engineer in 1963, he was responsible for the recording of US President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

's speech ''

Ich bin ein Berliner "" (; "I am a Berliner") is a speech by United States President John F. Kennedy given on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin. It is one of the best-known speeches of the Cold War and among the most famous anti-communist speeches. Twenty-two months ...

'' held in Berlin. Starting in 1970, he began appearing in front of the camera. His first appearance was a short sketch in the popular German children's show '' Die Sendung mit der Mau'' s, where a raw egg was dropped onto his bald head, with him making a funny commentary about it. He went on to have small roles in ''Die Sendung mit der Maus'' and the German segments of ''

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 ...

''. His popularity increased, which led to him starring in his own show ''Löwenzahn'' from 1979 onwards, where he explained various phenomena of science and nature to children. He often ended an episode with a proposal to turn off the TV now with his famous hand turning gesture, as if he was turning off an old TV. His show persona always wore characteristic blue dungarees and lived in a wooden building site cabin in fictitious ''Bärstadt'' ("Beartown"). In 2006 he retired from his role as the host of the show mainly due to health issues - he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1984, but managed to overcome the disease after ten years, but had one of his lungs removed in the process, which made it difficult for him to breathe and forced him to use a

walking stick A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion acces ...

. Since the 1980s Lustig was a follower of

Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, philosopher, mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed ...

. Lustig's books include the science comic ''Wie funktioniert ein Auto?'' ("How does a car work?") (1983) on the working principles of automobiles, the two-volume handicraft book ''Peter Lustigs Bastelbuch'' ("Peter Lustig's Book of Handicraft") (1985 and 1987), and the children's cookbook ''Kochbuch für kleine Feinschmecker'' ("Cookbook for little gourmets") (1992). He also authored ''Vertonen: Der Ton zu den Bildern'' ("Set to music: The Soundtrack to the Images") (1987), a book on post-recording of soundtracks for films and slideshows, and ''Lieber Momme: Wunderliche Briefe'' ("Beloved Momme: Strange Letters") (1989), a book made up of letters he wrote to his young son from hospital, where Peter Lustig stayed many times throughout the 1980s due to lung cancer surgery. Lustig's second wife, British-Austrian children's author and fellow follower of Osho

Elfie Donnelly Elfie Donnelly (born 14 January 1950) is a British-Austrian author, who has written numerous books and radio dramas for children. Her major works are '' Bibi Blocksberg'' and '' Benjamin Blümchen''. Biography Donnelly spent her early childhood ...

, published the book ''Peters Flucht'' ("Peter's escape") (1986) about the 8-year-old Lustig's escape with his family from the city of Breslau (modern-day Wrocław) in 1945. He died on 23 February 2016 at the age of 78 at his home in Bohmstedt near

Husum Husum (, ) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of the annual i ...

surrounded by his family. He is survived by his four children and nine grandchildren. In May 2016, he was

buried at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different ...

, which was his last wish due to his love for nature and the sea.

Filmography

* 1979 – 1981: ''Pusteblume'' * 1981 – 2005: ''

'' (Children's TV show) * 1987 – 1995: ' * 2005: '' (''TV film based on the show) * 2007: ' (narrator)

Accolades

In addition to winning numerous prizes, including two of the renowned Adolf-Grimme-Preis for ''Löwenzahn'', Lustig was granted the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

for his effort for education in 2004. It was handed to him by then- German head of state

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lustig, Peter 1937 births 2016 deaths German television presenters German children's writers German male writers Male actors from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia ZDF people Writers from Wrocław Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany