Joachim Fuchsberger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joachim Fuchsberger
Fuchsberger in 2008
Born	(1927-03-11)11 March 1927 Zuffenhausen, Württemberg, Germany
Died	11 September 2014(2014-09-11) (aged 87) Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany
Other names	"Blacky" Fuchsberger
Occupation	Actor, television host
Years active	1953–2013
Spouse(s)	Gitta Lind (1951–1953) (divorced) Gundula Korte (1954–his death) (1 son)

Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger (born March 11, 1927 – died September 11, 2014) was a famous German actor and TV host. Many people in Germany knew him from the Edgar Wallace movies, where he often played a detective. In English-speaking countries, he was sometimes called Akim Berg or Berger.

Life and Career

Joachim Fuchsberger was born in Zuffenhausen, which is now part of Stuttgart. When he was 16, during World War II, he was trained as a paratrooper. He was sent to the war front where he was injured. He was captured by different armies during the war. Because of these difficult times, he never finished school. In 1946, he worked as a coal miner. This is where he got his nickname "Blacky."

After the war, he worked in his family's business, which made printing machines. Later, he worked for a newspaper in Düsseldorf. In 1949, he managed advertising for a big building exhibition. From 1950 to 1952, he was a radio announcer in Munich and read the news for films. In 1951, he married singer Gitta Lind, but they divorced two years later. In 1954, he married Gundula Korte, an actress and radio technician. They had one son together. That same year, he became very famous for his role as "Gunner Asch" in the war film series 08/15.

After making several war films, he starred in the 1959 movie Der Frosch mit der Maske (The Frog with the Mask). He played an amateur detective named Richard Gordon. This movie was a huge hit, with over 3.2 million people watching it in cinemas. Its success led to many more movies based on books by Edgar Wallace.

He played a detective in 12 more Edgar Wallace films. Some of these roles included:

• Chief Inspector Long in The Terrible People (1960)
• Inspector Larry Holt in The Dead Eyes of London (1961)
• Inspector Mike Dorn in The Strange Countess (1961)
• Inspector Wade in The Inn on the River (1962)
• Inspector Higgins in Der Hexer (The Warlock) (1964)
• Inspector Barth in What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)

Joachim Fuchsberger was the stadium announcer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. During the closing ceremony, there was a false alarm about a hijacked plane. Fuchsberger decided not to evacuate the stadium to prevent panic, and his decision was proven right.

In the late 1960s, Fuchsberger started a real estate company that quickly failed. He lost all his money and had many debts. But with the help of his wife, Gundula, and good friends, he worked hard to pay off his debts and start fresh.

In 1978, he was bitten by a chimpanzee during a TV show. He became very sick with hepatitis B and spent four months recovering. He also struggled with depression but got better. After this, he took a break from film and TV to focus on acting in plays. In the late 1990s, he started appearing in TV movies again, and continued until he passed away.

In 1984, he became the first German ambassador for UNICEF, an organization that helps children worldwide. He received an award for his social work in 2006. He also helped with the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

His son, Thomas, who was a composer, sadly drowned in 2010. Later in his life, Fuchsberger lived in Grünwald near Munich and in Sandy Bay, Australia. He was a citizen of both Germany and Australia. He passed away at his home in Germany on September 11, 2014, due to organ failure.

Awards

• 1942 – War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords
• 1961 – Bravo Otto
• 1961 – Goldener Bildschirm [de]
• 1969 – Bambi Award
• 1970 – International Film Ribbon (Italy)
• 1970 – Bravo Otto
• 1971 – Bravo Otto
• 1972 – Bravo Otto
• 1979 – Bavarian Order of Merit
• 1982 – Goldene Kamera
• 1982 – Bambi Award
• 1983 – Federal Cross of Merit
• 1985 – Der liebe Augustin (Austria)
• 1986 – Goldene Europa
• 1983 – Pipe smoker of the year (Germany) [de]
• 1994 – Grand Federal Cross of Merit
• 1999 – Honorary Ambassador of Tourism (Tasmania)
• 2005 – Bavarian TV Awards
• 2006 – Bavarian State Medal for social services [de]
• 2007 – Brisant Brillant [de]
• 2007 – DVD Champion [de] in the category Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2008 – Platin Kurier Romy
• 2009 – Sächsischer Dankesorden [de]
• 2010 – Goldene Kamera for Lifetime Achievement
• 2011 – Deutscher Fernsehpreis for Lifetime Achievement
• 2011 – German Sustainability Award
• 2012 – Bambi Award for his life's work

Selected Filmography

TV Shows

• 1960–1961: Nur nicht nervös werden (ARD)
• 1973–1975: Der heiße Draht (SWF)
• 1975–1976: Spiel mit mir (SWF)
• 1977–1986: Auf Los geht's los [de] (SWF)
• 1980–1991: Heut' abend (ARD)
• 1990–1994: Ja oder Nein (ARD)

Documentaries

• 1988–2003: Terra Australis (20 films by Fuchsberger about people and landscapes of his adopted country)
• 2011: Germaine Damar – Der tanzende Stern (TV) – Regie: Michael Wenk (Fuchsberger as interviewee commemorating his former film partner Germaine Damar)

Audiobooks

• 2011: Altwerden ist nichts für Feiglinge. [Growing old is not for cowards] Publisher: Gütersloher Verlagshaus (Biography, read by Joachim Fuchsberger), ISBN: 978-3-579-07634-8.

See also

In Spanish: Joachim Fuchsberger para niños