Karl Merkatz

Karl Merkatz
Merkatz en 2013
Born	17 November 1930  Wiener Neustadt
Died	4 December 2022  (aged 92) Irrsdorf
Alma mater	Mozarteum University Salzburg
Occupation	Television actor, joiner, actor, writer, editor

Irrsdorf near Straßwalchen: Karl Merkatz grave

Karl Merkatz (17 November 1930 – 4 December 2022) was an Austrian actor.

Merkatz was born on 17 November 1930 in Wiener Neustadt, the son of a toolmaker. He first wanted to become a carpenter. After World War II he was an active Boy Scout in Wiener Neustadt.[1][2][3][4][5] However, later he started to enroll in acting lessons in Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich. Then he found employment in theatres, most notably in Munich, Salzburg, Hamburg and Vienna (Theater in der Josefstadt).

During his later career he starred in several roles in television and motion pictures. In the role of Edmund Sackbauer (Mundl) in the 1970s, he became famous as the typical Viennese (Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter). Another big success came with the films "Bockerer" starring as a naive Viennese during the Second World War in Vienna (the later films are set in the subsequent years to 1945).

From 1999, Merkatz was chairman of the human rights group SOS Mitmensch.

Merkatz died in Straßwalchen on 4 December 2022, at the age of 92.[6][7]

Major roles

• Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter: literally, A Genuine Viennese Does Not Go Down: In this 1975-1979 television series, which is about the life of a Viennese working-class family, he played Edmund "Mundl" Sackbauer, for which he is most known.
• Der Bockerer I-IV:, Merkatz plays the role of the Viennese butcher Karl Bockerer, who as a social democrat is shown during the time of the Anschluss and in the struggle against national socialism, during the post-war occupation of Austria by Allied forces, during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 and the Prague Spring of 1968. He won the award for Best Actor at the 12th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in the first film.[8]
• Der Mann von La Mancha: Merkatz played the roles of Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote in this 1994 German-language television adaptation of the classic musical Man of La Mancha.[9]

Decorations and awards

• Best Actor (1981) and Film Award (1982) for The Bockerer (Part 1)
• German Film Awards: Best Actor (1982) for The Bockerer (Part 1)
• Honorary Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna in Gold (1995) for his services to theaters in Vienna and as an excellent performer of Viennese Types
• Honorary Ring of Wiener Neustadt (1995)
• Golden Romy as the most popular actor (1996)
• Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art (1999)[10]
• Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the province of Lower Austria (2002)

References

1. Philipp Pertl; Karl Merkatz (2010). "Alter Meister mit kleinen Fehlern". Skills-Pfadfinderinnen und Aussen.Magazin zum Abenteuer des Lebens. (in German). Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs und Monopol Verlag: 68–69.
2. Kati Kieser; Lisa Niederdorfer (2010). "Dabei gewesen". Skills-Pfadfinderinnen und Aussen.Magazin zum Abenteuer des Lebens. (in German). Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs und Monopol Verlag: 66.
3. "Dietmarpreisverleihung 2007" (in German). Pfadfindergruppe Ried im Innkreis. 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
4. Emanuel Riedmann (2009). "Die Werte des ewigen Geburtstagskindes" (in German). economy austria-Unabhängige Plattform für Wirtschaft und Bildung. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
5. "Eingeschlagene Pfade". Skills-100 Jahre Pfadfinder.Magazin zum Abenteuer des Lebens. (in German). Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs und Monopol Verlag: 104. 2007.
6. "Karl Merkatz verstorben". ORF.at. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
7. "Volksschauspieler Karl Merkatz 92-jährig gestorben". Austria Presse Agentur. APA-Gruppe. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.^[dead link‍]
8. "12th Moscow International Film Festival (1981)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
9. "Der Mann von la Mancha (TV Movie 1994) - IMDb".
10. "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 1264. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

External links

• Karl Merkatz at IMDb