Johannes Heesters facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johannes Heesters
Heesters in 1964
Born	(1903-12-05)5 December 1903 Amersfoort, Netherlands
Died	24 December 2011(2011-12-24) (aged 108) Starnberg, Germany
Resting place	Nordfriedhof, Munich, Germany
Occupation	Actor singer
Years active	1921–2011
Spouse(s)	Louisa Ghijs ​ ​ (m. 1930; died 1985)​ Simone Rethel ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	Wiesje Heesters (born 1931) Nicole Heesters (born 1937)

Johannes Heesters (born Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters; December 5, 1903 – December 24, 2011) was a famous Dutch actor and singer. He worked on stage, in movies, and on TV for a very long time, starting in the 1920s. Heesters was one of the oldest performers ever, still acting shortly before he passed away at 108 years old.

From the mid-1930s, Heesters mostly worked in German-speaking countries. He became a big movie star in Nazi Germany. This later caused some arguments and made him a controversial person in his home country, the Netherlands. Despite this, he remained very popular in Germany for many decades until his death.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Record of Heesters' birth

Heesters in 1919

Johannes Heesters was born in Amersfoort, Netherlands. He was the youngest of four brothers. His father, Jacobus Heesters, was a salesman, and his mother, Geertruida Jacoba van den Heuvel, was a homemaker.

Heesters learned to speak German very well from a young age. He lived for several years with a German relative from Bavaria. When he was 16, Heesters decided he wanted to be an actor and a singer. He started taking singing lessons. Early in his career, he focused on operetta, which is a type of light opera. His first big performance in Vienna was in 1934, in a show called Der Bettelstudent (The Beggar Student).

Life During Nazi Germany

In 1935, when he was 31, Heesters moved to Germany permanently with his wife and daughters. His most famous role was Count Danilo in the operetta The Merry Widow. His song from that show, "Da geh' ich ins Maxim", became very well known.

During his time in Germany, Heesters performed for Adolf Hitler. He also visited the Dachau concentration camp. These actions made him a controversial figure for many people in the Netherlands. Joseph Goebbels, a powerful Nazi official, put Heesters on a special list of artists. This list included artists considered very important to Nazi culture. Heesters was the only non-German on this list.

Heesters also gave money to support the German war effort. This added to the controversy around him later on. He always said these accusations were not true, even though some evidence suggested otherwise. He also became friends with some high-ranking Nazi and SS officers. Hitler himself was known to really admire Heesters' acting.

Interestingly, Heesters was also admired by a youth group called the Swingboys. They liked his pale face and slick black hair, and tried to dress like him. His style was very different from what the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) promoted.

Heesters met Hitler several times, especially when playing Count Danilo. Throughout World War II, Heesters kept performing for German soldiers in camps and barracks. Some people, like German author Volker Kühn, claimed Heesters performed for the SS at the Dachau concentration camp in 1941. This claim came from a former Dachau prisoner. However, another writer, Jürgen Trimborn, said this memory might not be completely accurate because it was recalled 50 years later.

In 2009, Heesters lost a lawsuit against Kühn. Heesters admitted visiting the camp but denied performing there for the SS. The court did not decide if Kühn's claims were true. Instead, it ruled that too much time had passed to know for sure.

Career After the War

Heesters with his future wife, Louisa Ghijs, in 1928

Heesters continued to work for a major German film studio, UFA, until almost the end of World War II. He easily continued his career in Germany and Austria after the war. He appeared in several more films, like Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach and the 1957 version of Viktor und Viktoria. Around 1960, he stopped making movies to focus on stage and TV shows, and on making music records.

In his later years, Heesters spoke kindly of Hitler as a person, but he disagreed with Hitler's political ideas. In the 1990s, he and his wife toured Germany and Austria with a play called Ein gesegnetes Alter (A Blessed Age). This play was also shown on TV in 1996.

On December 5, 2003, Heesters celebrated his 100th birthday. A TV special called Eine Legende wird 100 (A Legend Turns 100) was broadcast. He received the special title "Kammersänger". He continued to perform even at a very old age. In 2005, at 102, he was a soloist in a big concert tour. He celebrated his 103rd and 104th birthdays with concerts. In February 2008, he performed in his home country, the Netherlands, for the first time in 40 years. There were some protests because of his past connections to the Nazis.

On December 13, 2008, when he was 105, Heesters apologized for calling Adolf Hitler a "good chap" on a German TV show. He said he had said something "stupid and horrible" and asked for forgiveness. Some German media suggested he didn't understand the show was meant to be funny.

In his last years, Heesters took on smaller roles. His eyesight was getting worse due to a condition called macular degeneration. He couldn't perform on stage for long periods. He had to memorize his lines because he couldn't read them from a screen. His last stage performance was on October 31, 2011, in Munich. He also appeared in a short film called Ten in 2011.

Personal Life and Family

Heesters' second wife Simone Rethel

Johannes Heesters had two daughters with his first wife, Louisa Ghijs. They married in 1930. After Louisa passed away in 1985, he married again in 1992. His second wife, Simone Rethel (born 1949), is a German actress, painter, and photographer. His younger daughter, Nicole Heesters, is also a well-known actress in Germany. His granddaughter, Saskia Fischer, is an actress too.

On January 1, 2008, Heesters fell down some stairs at his holiday home and broke two ribs. In December 2010, when he was 107, Heesters announced he had quit smoking for his wife. He said, "She should have me as long as possible."

Heesters gave his last public performance on October 31, 2011. A few weeks later, on November 29, 2011, he got a fever and was taken to the hospital. He received a heart pacemaker and went home just before his 108th birthday. He wasn't strong enough to perform for his birthday or attend the premiere of his last film. He became sick again on December 17 and was readmitted to the hospital. He then had a stroke and passed away on Christmas Eve in 2011. He was survived by his two daughters, five grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

Discography

Heesters in 2006

Albums

• 1965: Jetzt geh' ich ins Maxim
• 2003: Ich werde 100 Jahre alt

Singles

• 1937: "Ich werde jede Nacht von ihnen träumen"
• 1939: "Musik, Musik, Musik" (featuring Marika Rökk)
• 1941: "Liebling, was wird nun aus uns beiden"
• 1941: "Man müßte Klavier spielen können"
• 1949: "Das kommt mir spanisch vor"
• 1949: "Tausendmal möchte' ich dich küssen"
• 1998: "Ich werde 100 Jahre alt"
• 2007: "Generationen" (featuring Claus Eisenmann)

Honours, Decorations, and Awards

• 1984: Bavarian Order of Merit
• 1993: Berlinian Order of Merit
• 2000: Ring of Honour of the City of Vienna
• Bambi in 1967, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• 2001: Platinum Romy (TV award)
• 2003: Goldene Kamera
• 2004: Kammersänger

Filmography

Heesters as Franz Joseph I of Austria (2008)

Television Appearances

• 1956: Meine Schwester und ich (TV film) - Dr. Roger Fleuriot
• 1960: Am grünen Strand der Spree (TV miniseries) - Graf Chiaroscuro
• 1968: Unsere liebste Freundin (TV film) - Christian Bach-Nielsen
• 1973: Paganini [de] (TV film) - Prince Felice Baciocchi
• 1973: Hallo – Hotel Sacher … Portier!: Opernball (TV series episode) - Marinus de Ryder
• 1974: Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies (TV film) - Dr. Hansen
• 1980: Liebe bleibt nicht ohne Schmerzen (TV film) - Narrator
• 1982: Sonny Boys (TV film) - Al Lewis
• 1984: Beautiful Wilhelmine (TV miniseries) - Marschall Keith
• 1991: Altes Herz wird nochmal jung (TV film)
• 1991-1993: Zwei Münchner in Hamburg (TV series, 33 episodes) - Konsul Thaddäus van Daalen
• 1995: Zwei alte Hasen: Grandhotel (TV series episode) - Jan van Houten
• 1996: Ein gesegnetes Alter (TV film)
• 1999: Theater: Momo (TV film) - Meister Hora
• 2001: Otto – Mein Ostfriesland und mehr
• 2003: In aller Freundschaft: Zurück ins Leben (TV series episode) - Prof. Dr. Junghans
• 2008: Wege zum Glück (TV series episode) - Arbeitgeber Johannes Heesters

See also

In Spanish: Johannes Heesters para niños