Schleyer's life was shaped by german-German history. Born on March 1, 1940 in Dresden, he studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig and played his first roles at the Maxim-Gorki-Theater in East Berlin. In 1968 he fled to the West and worked with Karlheinz Stroux in Düsseldorf and under the direction of Boy Gobert at the Thalia Theater Hamburg. It was already then that Schleyer discovered his special talent for making programmes for children.
In addition to his stage work and over 350 television and film roles, he therefore devoted a large part of his work to the young audience. The TV children's series "Das feuerrote Spielmobil" made him immensely popular in West Germany, later he continued his television work for children in Austria with the programs "Erichs Chaos" and "Der schiefe Turm" on ORF. As a children's book author, Schleyer stood out with his "Spirello" stories, as well as the "Cat Nora" (1987) and "Verschleyerte Geschichten" (1998).
Children today "sometimes smarter"
Schleyer discovered his artistic heart for children at an early age: "Already at the age of six or seven, I made puppets and entertained children. On my first engagement we played the 'Bremen Town Musicians', I was the rooster. I grew up in the village and knew every movement, and people were shouting after me. That's where the kids started," he said in an interview with the APA on the occasion of his 80th birthday in 2020.
However, children have also changed as an audience over the decades, schleyer said: "Children are taken more seriously today, and they are expected to deal with different topics than in the past. But I was never 'eididei', I talked to children as much as I did to adults." The children themselves today are "sometimes smarter, but also more inattentive, and you have to use more pawn catcher methods to keep them".
Success in the Viennese theatre scene of the 1980s
In Vienna at the beginning of the 1980s, the theater actor had a great introduction at the Volkstheater in "Einer flog über das Kuckucksnest". He enjoyed further success in Hans Gratzer's Schauspielhaus, among others in the "Rocky Horror Show" in the role of Frank N. Furter and in "Angels in America". Under the direction of George Tabori he played at the Burg- and Akademietheater "Die Massenmörderin und ihre Freunde", "Die Ballade vom Wiener Schnitzel" and "Babylon Blues".
At the Theater in der Josefstadt he appeared in Nestroy's "Mann, Frau, Kind", as Peachum in the "Dreigroschenoper" and in Peter Turrini's "C'est la vie – Eine Revue". At the Volkstheater, for example, he was at the head of the ensemble in Tony Kushner's "Guidebook for the Intelligent Homosexual on Capitalism and Socialism with the Keys to the Holy Scriptures".
"I was always free"
Schleyer never had and never wanted a firm commitment to one of the houses. "That wouldn't have been possible," he said in the 2020 interview: "I was always free. The fact that it's on the plan what I have to play didn't work from a certain point on." In any case, he was proud of the fact that he "imposed a children's program on every theater where I played."
His appearances on television were also wide-ranging: Schleyer appeared in guest roles such as "Kommissar Rex", "Der Alte" and "Tatort". Schleyer was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art and the Golden Decoration of Honour for Services to the State of Vienna. In 2011, he was awarded the professional title of professor. At MuTh last year, he celebrated his 80th birthday with a gala evening under the title "At 80, nothing is wasted anymore!"
Will be remembered "appreciative"
"Erich Schleyer will be remembered by many generations in appreciation – and always with a smile on his lips," said Andrea Mayer, State Secretary for The Greens for Art and Culture, in a press release. "He impressed the children of the 1980s and 1990s as a large, friendly giant with a colorful fairytale case." In addition, Mayer paid tribute to Schleyers' extraordinary achievements as an actor, author and photographer. For his artistic work he deserves "our great recognition".
Schleyer's unique pedagogical impact was also highlighted by Vienna's mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ): "For Erich Schleyer, children were never the audience of the future, but the audience of the present." Vienna's city councillor for culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ) described it as a "stroke of luck" for the "theatre city of Vienna" that Schleyer had worked on the various stages of the city.
Dismayed by Schleyer's death, SPÖ culture spokeswoman Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek was. "Generations of children have grown up with his stories. He has always been able to address his youthful audience at eye level and enchant them with his fairy tales and his humor," said the SPÖ culture spokeswoman, who expressed her condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased. Her regret was also expressed by bernadette Arnoldner, managing director of the ÖVP Vienna. With Schleyer, "we not only lose a great stage actor, but also a great childhood friend".
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.