Lukas Ammann

Lukas Ammann (29 September 1912 – 3 May 2017) was a Swiss actor who appeared mainly in German and Swiss films and television shows. He continued to work steadily for over 60 years. He is best known for his title role in the German television series Graf Yoster.

Lukas Ammann
Born(1912-09-29)29 September 1912
Basel, Switzerland
Died3 May 2017(2017-05-03) (aged 104)
Munich, Germany
OccupationFilm and television actor
Years active1939–2015

Early life

Lukas Amann's mother was a singer and his father a painter. After he saw Schiller's The Robbers at grammar school in Basel, he aspired to be an actor.[1] Starting in 1933 he attended the acting school of Max Reinhardt in Berlin. In 1934, he left Germany with Heinrich Gretler for Switzerland. Because of his Jewish mother, he was discriminated against even in Switzerland.[1] In the beginning he worked in St. Gallen and later at the Schauspielhaus Zürich with Therese Giehse. In 1948, he participated under Kurt Hirschfeld in the role of the attorney in the premiere of Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti. After World War II, Ammann belonged to the Ensemble of the theatre Kleine Freiheit in Munich. Guest performances and tours led him to stages in Austria, Scandinavia and the USA.

Cinematic career

Ammann began his film career in the 1939 Swiss movie Constable Studer after the novel of Friedrich Glauser, starring Heinrich Gretler. Beginning in the 1950s, he was successful especially on German Television. In 1961, he played in the series Gestatten, mein Name ist Cox with Günter Pfitzmann and Paul Edwin Roth. In 1963, he was one of the jurors in Die zwölf Geschworenen, which was a remake of the American film 12 Angry Men for German television.[2]

In 1966, Ammann played in the first color-TV series Adrian der Tulpendieb. On top of that he appeared in series like Das Kriminalmuseum, Die fünfte Kolonne, Der Forellenhof and Der Kommissar. In 1973, the horror movie Mark of the Devil Part II depicted him as tortured to death.

Between 1967 and 1977 he achieved great popularity in his most famous role in the German detective series Graf Yoster, where he played the main part of the same name.[3]

From 1994 to 2000, Ammann played a family patriarch in the television series Die Fallers. In 1998, he played a purported survivor of the Holocaust in Dani Levy's film Meschugge. In 2005, at age 92, he played Abi Golstein in Micha Lewinsky's Swiss short film Herr Goldstein. It won an award for best Swiss short film at the Locarno International Film Festival. Ammann lent his voice in German dubbing Peter Sellers (in John and Julie, 1955) and Lucky Luke (in the animated film Daisy Town, 1971).[4]

In 2013, he worked again, aged 101, with the director Ronnie R. Vogt on the movie Reunion Solitaire.[5]

Personal life

Lukas Ammann lived in Munich. After two failed marriages, he married German soprano Liselotte Ebnet in 1959; she died in 2009.[6] As of 2015, he still ran his household by himself and also drove his car.[7] He died in May 2017 at the age of 104 from complications from surgery.[8]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1939Constable Studer
1940Verena Stadler
1940DilemmaSterner
1941Bieder der FliegerDirektor der Gnomefabrik
1943Menschen, die vorüberziehenBlacky
1952Palace HotelDr. Suvalà
1955Bel AmiLe ministre Laroche-Mathieu
1957Weißer Holunder
1957The Devil Strikes at NightPflichtverteidiger von Keun
1958I Was All HisDessouki
1959Heiße WareErwin Wanka
1959The Ideal WomanButlerUncredited
1959Der Schatz vom ToplitzseeJugoslawischer Grenz-Leutnant
1959Hast noch der Söhne ja...?Coiffeur Mani
1963Der grüne KakaduFrançois, Vicomte von Nogeant
1963Ferien vom Ich
1963Die zwölf GeschworenenZwölfter GeschworenerTV movie
1966Congress of LoveVon Gentz
1967Day of AngerJudge Cutcher
1967-1977Graf YosterGraf Yoster62 episodes, leading role
1968Jet GenerationInspektor Arnold
1968The Killer Likes CandyFaoud
1970Dällebach KariBasler Nationalrat
1970Ein großer graublauer VogelCinque
1972Massagesalon der jungen MädchenMaurice
1973Mark of the Devil Part IIEminence
1988KlassezämekunftFritz Erne
1990Fuga dal paradisoMait
1990Der achte TagProf. Wagner
1994-2000Die Fallers – Eine SchwarzwaldfamilieWilhelm Faller170 episodes, leading role
1998MeschuggeMax Weiss
2015Reunion SolitaireDer ältere Herr(final film role)
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See also

References
  1. Lukas Ammann 100 Jahre alt: Über der Rolle stehen
  2. IMDB: "Die zwölf Geschworenen" (1963)
  3. "Ich habe hemmungslos gelebt!". BLICK. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. Lukas Ammann at Synchronkartei
  5. Cinzia Venafro (14 February 2014). "Neuer Film mit 'Graf Yoster' Lukas Ammann: Comeback mit 101!". Blick (in German). Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  6. "Über der Rolle stehen". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. Aargauerzeitung
  8. "Er war 104 Jahre alt: Schauspieler Lukas Ammann ist tot". T Online (in German). 3 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
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