Home > Willy Millowitsch

Millowitsch was born in Cologne. His parents were Peter and Käthe Millowitsch and came from a long family tradition of engagement with the theater which can be traced back to 1792. It was not until 1895 however, that Millowitsch's grandfather stopped using puppets and resorted to real actors instead.

Millowitsch was interested in theater at an early age and took to the stage for the first time in 1922 at just 13. He quit school without a degree to pursue his acting career fulltime. At first he worked under the auspices of his father who had to give up his theater after the inflation hit. This forced them to go on tour in and around Cologne until they got a permanent theater in 1936, the now famous Volkstheater Millowitsch, which Willy took over from his father in 1940. In 1939 he married his first wife Lini Lüttgen , but they got divorced soon after.

During World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough the theater was damaged, but not severely, and by October 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II: it was fully restored, owing to the support of mayor and later German chancellor, Konrad AdenauerKonrad Adenauer ( January 5, 1876 April 19, 1967) was a German statesman. Adenauer, a Centre Party politician, was Mayor of Cologne from 1917 to 1933, and as such, flirted with Rhenish separatism in the early 1920s. From 1922 to 1933 he was chancellor of, who proclaimed that the people need something to laugh about again. Consequently, in the time from 1945Events January January 5 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland. January 7 British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge. January 12 World War II: to 19491949 is the common year starting on Saturday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 4 RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage January 4 February 22 Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming, there were daily performances in the theater. It was during this time that he met his second wife, Gerda Millowitsch , formerly Feldhoff.

In 19491949 is the common year starting on Saturday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 4 RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage January 4 February 22 Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming,, when the postwar theater euphoria died down, Millowitsch focussed on his televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p career and in 1949 his first television film ( Gesucht wird Majora , directed by Hermann Pfeiffer ) was released. Many more were to follow. But he did not content himself just transferring from one medium to the other, but brought the theater with him. On October 27October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. Events 625 Honorius I becomes Pope. 1644 Second Battle of Newbury in the English Civil War. 1795 The United States and Spain sign the Treaty o, 1953, the Kölsch dialect play Der Etappenhase was broadcast on the Western regional channel WDR, the first live broadcast of a theatrical performance with real audience in German television history. Despite bitter criticism of the entry of low 'folk culture' into television by the director of the Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk , Adolf Grimme , it was an instant success. This remains one of Millowitsch's most popular plays and has been performed more than 1,000 times. Der Etappenhase was so popular that just six weeks later it was broadcast again, live from the Volkstheater.

He continued to put on television plays that were instant successes, gaining national popularity. It is in great part Millowitsch's achievement to have popularized Kölsch throughout Germany. People were now associating the Rhineländer with a relaxed lifestyle and genial humor. Theaters from other dialectal areas scrambled to catch up with him and soon the dialect theater became an important part of the German television landscape.

With the success of these plays on television, interest in theater gradually increased and by the sixties flocks of people took to the theater again to witness performance of Millowitsch's popular plays first hand. Until the beginning of the 1960s Millowitsch had to rent out his theater now and again, but with the arrival of the new crowds Millowitsch could afford to concentrate his career on theater from then on. He renovated the theater in 1967 and the Volkstheater once again became a focal point of local culture, and many young dialect artists started their careers there.

Throughout the 1970s Millowitsch stuck to the folk theater, and it wasn't until the end of the 1980s that he also turned back to television and took the title role in a detective series as Kommissar Klefisch , whom he played until 1996. Aside from his theatrical merits, he also wrote classic popular folk songs, such as Schnaps, das war sein letztes Wort and Wir sind alle kleine Sünderlein. He also embraced political causes and in 1992 he participated in the major anti- Nazi campaign, Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander! ( Kölsch, literally: Ass up, teeth apart!), which culminated in a major concert by local acts attended by 100,000 people.

In 1989, the city of Cologne conferred honorary citizenship on to Millowitsch, which is a very exclusive honor in Germany. He celebrated his 90th birthday on January 8, 1999, with 18,000 fans at a sold-out event at the Cologne Arena and told people all he wanted for his birthday was to stay healthy. Unfortunately this wish was not to be fulfilled and he died just a couple of months later, on September 20, due to heart failure.

Two of his four children, Peter Millowitsch , who is now the director of the Volkstheater, and Mariele Millowitsch have continued the family tradition and have all become successful actors. The city of Cologne has named a square near the Millowitsch theater Willy-Millowitsch-Platz in his honor.