At the age of 72

Great sadness: Artist Hermes Phettberg passes away

The former ORF talk show host, columnist and artist Hermes Phettberg is dead. He passed away on Wednesday at the age of 72.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

The Austrian artist Hermes Phettberg passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 72. Phettberg was a unique and versatile figure in the Austrian art and culture scene. The artist was best known for his role as presenter of the "Nette Leit Show".

Ex-ORF talk show host Hermes Phettberg has died at the age of 72. This was announced on Facebook on Wednesday evening by his carer Hannes Moser. 

Leaves behind a legacy as a Viennese original
"Frucade, or eggnog?" Cult and cheeky, but always very clever and reflective, was actor, author and presenter Hermes Phettberg. With "Phettberg's Nette Leit Show", the Hollabrunn native, whose real name was Josef Fenz, became known to a wider audience from the mid-1990s. It was not only for "FAZ" that he was seen as a pioneer for people who had a hard time. In 2003 and 2004, ATV broadcast the program "Beichtphater Phettberg".

Remained creative and committed to the end
Despite health challenges, Phettberg remained creative and committed to the end. At the beginning of the 2000s, things became quieter around him in the media before he suffered another stroke in 2007. He then lost 100 kilos of body weight and was considered penniless. On Wednesday, it was announced that he died in Vienna at the age of 72.

On Wednesday, Culture Minister Werner Kogler (Greens) also bid farewell to the distinctive voice of the subculture via "X": "Radical and ruthless, with his body and his entire life, suffering and despairing and yet full of humor and with the indomitable curiosity of a child, he made the dark sides of our country vibrate. Rest in peace, Hermes Phettberg."