Mourning for star (82)
Fritz Wepper (82) “passed away peacefully”
Television legend Fritz Wepper, known from the series "Derrick", has died at the age of 82. Born in Munich, he died in a hospice at 9.45 a.m. on Monday.
This was reported by the German daily newspaper "Bild", citing Wepper's wife Susanne Kellermann (49). She had regularly visited her husband together with their daughter Filippa (12) in his "bright, friendly single room". He "fell asleep peacefully" on Monday morning.
The 82-year-old had been staying in a hospice in Bavaria with a "Buddhist approach" for around a month. This would have been very much in keeping with Wepper's way of life - the former acting star had previously received palliative treatment.
Pictures from Fritz Wepper's career:
Many strokes of fate
It was only in October that Wepper had to cope with the death of his beloved brother Elmar (79), who died of heart failure. He had made his cancer public in 2021 and was considered cured in February 2022.
Family gave him strength
"My wife and children have given me so much strength. Their love saved me. I'm still dependent on a wheelchair, but I'm trying to walk again myself," he said at the time. Shortly afterwards, the actor fell ill with coronavirus.
Two months after his brother's death, Wepper was taken to hospital with blood poisoning. At the time, he was confident that he would be able to spend Christmas at home - but that didn't happen. His death was announced on Monday.
"I learned to laugh from my mother"
Wepper's childhood was full of hardship. His father was reported missing in action in Russia in 1944 during the Second World War. His mother raised Fritz and his brother Elmar, who was almost three years younger, alone. But things were not sad. His mother was very cultured and taught them to laugh. "I learned from my mother and my grandmother not to take things so seriously," Wepper once said. One of her pleasures: Playing with Punch and Judy. He also liked to talk about adventures with other children in bombed-out Munich in the post-war period, where they climbed over rubble and explored everything.
Shared passion with brother Elmar
Acting - a passion that Wepper shared with his brother Elmar, who starred in Doris Dörrie's highly acclaimed film "Kirschblüten - Hanami". They were also enthusiastic about fishing, especially fly fishing. "A wonderful ritual has grown out of it," Elmar Wepper once told Bild am Sonntag. "If we lose sight of each other for a long time for professional reasons, we say: Let's go to the water." Then smoke the fresh catch for a quarter of an hour, with a very good wine, and then the conversation ends with "mmh, aah and cheers", said Wepper. But the older man had one thing over him: "I wish I had his spontaneity sometimes," Elmar once said about his older brother.
Affair scandal in 2009
Fritz Wepper preferred to shield his private life from the public eye. In 1979, he married his girlfriend Angela, who brought two daughters into the marriage. In 1981, Sophie was born, now a mother herself. Then, in 2009, a scandal broke: Wepper's relationship with Susanne Kellermann, who was more than 30 years his junior, became public. The two had a daughter, separated soon after the birth and Wepper returned to his wife. After Angela Wepper's death in 2019, the old love for Kellermann was rekindled, and in 2021 there was even a secret wedding.
"Der Kommissar", "For Heaven's Sake" & Co.
An actor who loved consistency, both privately and professionally. In 1968, he started out as a TV police officer on ZDF alongside Erik Ode in "Der Kommissar". In 1974, he left the role to his brother Elmar. He himself became an assistant on "Derrick" alongside Horst Tappert, a series that became famous worldwide. One phrase from the ZDF series, which was discontinued in 1998, remained inextricably linked with Wepper: "Harry, go get the car", even if it was never actually said. The original was: "Harry, we need the car - now."
In 2002, the series "Um Himmels Willen" (For Heaven's Sake) started on ARD, which was to take a special place in Wepper's heart. As Mayor Wolfgang Wöller, he made life difficult for the sisters of the fictional Kaltenthal convent. He was able to live out his comedic side to his heart's content, scheming and joking around. The end of the series in 2021 therefore disappointed him greatly. "It was a blow to the bottom line," Wepper told the German Press Agency at the time. He would have loved to continue, not least because he had grown so fond of the film team. It was sad at the end. "Tears flowed, even for me."
Wants to be buried with "symbols of letting go"
But Wepper was a fighter - also in terms of his health. He underwent heart surgery and fought back against cancer with all his might. He had to be treated in hospital time and again. In 2021, he revealed his thoughts on his own death in his autobiography "An Eternal Moment". "I have accepted that I will die at some point. But I'm worried about how. Nobody wants an agonizing end."
Wepper had made provisions for his end himself, with a will and wishes for the day of his burial in the family grave in Munich. "I want to be buried in my black kimono, which I wear for meditation," he wrote in his book. He also wanted to wear a Buddhist bracelet with wooden beads, "both symbols of letting go".
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