Peter Kraus (born 18 March 1939) is an Austrian-German [1] singer and actor. [2]
Born Peter Siegfried Krausenecker in Munich, Germany, Kraus was popular especially in the 1950s, notably in those musical comedy films where he played opposite Cornelia Froboess.
Kraus is the son of Austrian-born director and comedian Fred Krausnecker, and spent his youth alternating in Munich, Vienna and Salzburg where his father owned a small theatre. During his school years he took singing and acting lessons as well as step dancing classes. His first acting role was the part of Johnny in The Flying Classroom (1954) after the novel by Erich Kästner.
In 1969 Kraus married the photo model Ingrid. Kraus adopted Ingrid's daughter Gaby. A few years later their son Mike was born. Gaby died in her late thirties from breast cancer.
When the West German music industry discovered that rock 'n' roll was a big seller even with German lyrics, they marketed Kraus as an Elvis Presley copy. He soon became, like his colleague Ted Herold, one of West Germany's most popular singers and teen idols, the lanky figure and nonchalant attitude of the young man was a big hit with teens. [3] In the first four years after his debut he recorded 36 hits and sold more than twelve million records. [4]
Kraus's first disc in 1956 was a German version of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti". In mid-1957 his first hit "Susi Rock“ followed and made it to number 8 in the charts. From then until 1964 Kraus was regularly in the West German charts. 1958 he recorded "Wenn Teenager träumen" (A Teenager's Romance), "Hula Baby" and "Sugar Baby", used in the 1985 Percy Adlon film Sugarbaby . This was followed in 1959 by his version of Fabian's "Tiger". At first Kraus was heavily influenced by Presley, but soon he managed to find his own style. As the "nice boy from next door" he sang with his female counterpart, teen idol Conny Froboess and appeared with her in the 1958 movie "Wenn die Conny mit dem Peter" and (1960) "Conny und Peter machen Musik". They became the most popular film stars of West German teenagers in the late fifties. In 1959 Kraus appeared with his father Fred Kraus, playing the role of his father, in "Melodie und Rhythmus".
Kraus also published some songs with Jörg Maria Berg; under the pseudonym The James Brothers; the two played German cover versions "Wenn" (When) in 1958, "Cowboy Billy" ("Don't Take Your Guns to Town") in 1959, "Rote Rosen" (Pretty Blue Eyes) in 1960, "Die jungen Jahre" (Endless Sleep) and "Hätt' ich einen Hammer" (If I Had a Hammer) in 1964, to name a few. [5] He also sang duets with Connie Francis, Lill Babs, Danny Mann, Alice and Ellen Kessler, Gus Backus and Gina Dobra.
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a German film legend. Rühmann is best known for playing the part of a comic ordinary citizen in film comedies such as Three from the Filling Station and The Punch Bowl. During his later years, he was also a respected character actor in films such as The Captain from Köpenick and It Happened in Broad Daylight. His only English-speaking movie was the 1965 Ship of Fools.
Rex Gildo was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and starring in film and television roles.
Cornelia Froboess is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germany. In those comedy films, she would often portray the typical Berliner Göre who craves independence from her strict parents.
Elsbeth Johanna Irma Baltuttis was a German singer and entertainer based in Leipzig, Germany.
Drafi Franz Richard Deutscher was a German singer and songwriter of Sinti origin.
Katja Ebstein is a German singer. She was born in Girlachsdorf. She achieved success with songs such as "Theater" and "Es war einmal ein Jäger". She was married to Christian Bruhn, who wrote many of her songs.
Margot Eskens was a German Schlager singer, most popular in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1956 and 1957 she had two #1 hits, "Tiritomba" and "Cindy, oh Cindy", which was her biggest hit, which stayed for 25 weeks in the German Singles Top 10. Several duets with Silvio Francesco, the brother of Caterina Valente, also ensued.
Peter Vogel was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1954 and 1978. He was born in Munich, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria, after committing suicide. His father was the actor Rudolf Vogel. He was married to the Austrian actress Gertraud Jesserer and is the father of actor-journalist Nikolas Vogel. was interred next to his father at Bogenhausener Friedhof, Germany.
William McCreery Ramsey was an American-German jazz and pop singer, journalist and actor famous for his German-language hits. He returned to Germany a year after he had served compulsory military service with the U.S. Air Force there. Active as a singer of jazz and pop already as a soldier, he made a career in different fields of musical entertainment. He sang and recorded German schlager, also German-language cover versions of English hits, jazz and swing. He appeared in films and television series, and ran popular series on radio and television as presenter.
Conny and Peter Make Music is a 1960 West German musical comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and starring Cornelia Froboess, Peter Kraus and Gustav Knuth.
Ralf Wolter was a German stage and screen actor. Wolter appeared in nearly 220 films and television series in his over 60 years as a character actor.
The Bravo Otto is a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music. Established in 1957, the award is presented annually, with winners selected by the readers of Bravo magazine. The award is presented in gold, silver and bronze and, since 1996, an honorary platinum statuette presented for lifetime achievement.
Paul Karl Heinrich Klinksik was a German stage and film actor who also worked in radio drama and soundtrack dubbing.
Rudolf Vogel was a German film and television actor.
Captain Cook und seine singenden Saxophone are a German schlager instrumental group founded in 1993. The band covers German pop songs and German language versions of English hits, such as "Rote Lippen Soll Man Küssen", originally by Cliff Richard.
Karl Heinz Schwab, known professionally as Ralf Bendix, was a German Schlager singer, music producer, composer and songwriter.
Ingrid Pan was a German stage and film actress who was active in German cinema during the 1950s in prominent supporting roles. She later worked frequently in radio.
Max Greger was a German jazz musician, saxophonist, big band bandleader and conductor. He recorded over 150 records in jazz and pop music.
Tina York née Monika Schwab is a German pop singer. She had her greatest success in 1974 with Wir lassen uns das Singen nicht verbieten.
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