Berlin -- Dutch-born entertainer Johannes Heesters, who made his name performing in Adolf Hitler's Germany and was dogged later in his long career by controversy over his Nazi-era past, died Saturday, his agent said. He was 108.
The tenor Heesters made his debut on the big stage at the Volksoper in Vienna, Austria in 1934. His career took off in Berlin where, starting in 1935 – two years after the Nazis took power – he became a crowd favorite at the Komische Oper and Admiralspalast.
He gained fame by appearing in films such as "Die Leuchter des Kaisers" ("The Emperor's Candlesticks") and "Das Hofkonzert" ("The Court Concert").
Despite his popularity in the Third Reich, Heesters was never accused of being a propagandist or anything other than an artist willing to perform for the Nazis, and the Allies allowed him to continue his career after the war, when he took Austrian citizenship.
Heesters died early Saturday...
The tenor Heesters made his debut on the big stage at the Volksoper in Vienna, Austria in 1934. His career took off in Berlin where, starting in 1935 – two years after the Nazis took power – he became a crowd favorite at the Komische Oper and Admiralspalast.
He gained fame by appearing in films such as "Die Leuchter des Kaisers" ("The Emperor's Candlesticks") and "Das Hofkonzert" ("The Court Concert").
Despite his popularity in the Third Reich, Heesters was never accused of being a propagandist or anything other than an artist willing to perform for the Nazis, and the Allies allowed him to continue his career after the war, when he took Austrian citizenship.
Heesters died early Saturday...
- 12/25/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
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