Lukas Ammann

{{Infobox person

| name = Lukas Ammann

| image = Lukas Ammann 1.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1912|9|29}}

| birth_place = Basel, Switzerland

|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|5|3|1912|9|29}}

| death_place = Munich, Germany

| occupation = Film and television actor

| years_active = 1939–2015 }}

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.

Early life

Lukas Ammann'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.[http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buehne/zum-hundertsten-geburtstag-des-schauspielers-lukas-ammann-1.17652476 Lukas Ammann 100 Jahre alt: Über der Rolle stehen] 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. 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 {{Interlanguage link multi|12 Angry Men (1963 film)|de|3=Die zwölf Geschworenen (1963)|lt=12 Angry Men}}, which was a remake of the American film 12 Angry Men for German television.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057723/ IMDB: "Die zwölf Geschworenen" (1963)]

In 1966, Ammann played in the first color-TV series Adrian der Tulpendieb. On top of that he appeared in series like Das Kriminalmuseum, {{ill|Die fünfte Kolonne|de|Die fünfte Kolonne (Fernsehserie)}}, Der Forellenhof and Der Kommissar. In 1973, the horror movie Mark of the Devil Part II depicted him as tortured to death.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.blick.ch/people-tv/schweiz/ich-habe-hemmungslos-gelebt-id1961996.html|title=Ich habe hemmungslos gelebt!|publisher=BLICK| accessdate=2 February 2014}}

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 Goldstein 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).[https://www.synchronkartei.de/?action=show&type=talker&id=2292 Lukas Ammann at Synchronkartei]

In 2013, he worked again, aged 101, with the director Ronnie R. Vogt on the movie Reunion Solitaire.{{cite news|last=Cinzia Venafro|language=German|title=Neuer Film mit 'Graf Yoster' Lukas Ammann: Comeback mit 101!|url=http://www.blick.ch/people-tv/schweiz/comeback-mit-101-id2662451.html|accessdate=27 April 2014|newspaper=Blick|date=14 February 2014}}

Personal life

Lukas Ammann lived in Munich. After two failed marriages, he married German soprano Liselotte Ebnet in 1959; she died in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne_konzert/zum-hundertsten-geburtstag-des-schauspielers-lukas-ammann-1.17652476|title=Über der Rolle stehen|publisher=Neue Zürcher Zeitung|accessdate=2 February 2014}} As of 2015, he still ran his household by himself and also drove his car.[http://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/kultur/film/basler-schauspieler-lukas-ammann-macht-auch-mit-102-den-haushalt-128770116 Aargauerzeitung] He died in May 2017 at the age of 104 from complications from surgery.{{cite web|title=Er war 104 Jahre alt: Schauspieler Lukas Ammann ist tot|url=http://www.t-online.de/unterhaltung/stars/id_81066998/er-wurde-104-jahre-alt-schauspieler-lukas-ammann-ist-tot.html|website=T Online|accessdate=4 May 2017|language=de|date=3 May 2017}}

Filmography

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable"
1939	Constable Studer
1940	Verena Stadler
1940	Dilemma	Sterner
1941	Bieder der Flieger	Direktor der Gnomefabrik
1943	Menschen, die vorüberziehen	Blacky
1952	Palace Hotel	Dr. Suvalà
1955	Bel Ami	Le ministre Laroche-Mathieu
1957	Weißer Holunder
1957	The Devil Strikes at Night	Pflichtverteidiger von Keun
1958	I Was All His	Dessouki
1959	Heiße Ware	Erwin Wanka
1959	The Ideal Woman	Butler	Uncredited
1959	Der Schatz vom Toplitzsee	Jugoslawischer Grenz-Leutnant
1959	Hast noch der Söhne ja...?	Coiffeur Mani
1963	Der grüne Kakadu	François, Vicomte von Nogeant
1963	Ferien vom Ich
1963	{{Interlanguage link multi\|12 Angry Men (1963 film)\|de\|3=Die zwölf Geschworenen (1963)\|lt=12 Angry Men}}	Juror 12	TV movie
1966	{{Interlanguage link multi\|Congress of Love\|de\|3=Der Kongreß amüsiert sich}}	Von Gentz
1967	Day of Anger	Judge Cutcher
1967-1977	Graf Yoster	Graf Yoster	62 episodes, leading role
1968	{{Interlanguage link multi\|Jet Generation (film)\|de\|3=Jet Generation\|lt=Jet Generation}}	Inspektor Arnold
1968	The Killer Likes Candy	Faoud
1970	Dällebach Kari	Basler Nationalrat
1970	{{Interlanguage link multi\|A Big Grey-Blue Bird\|de\|Ein großer graublauer Vogel}}	Cinque
1972	Massagesalon der jungen Mädchen	Maurice
1973	Mark of the Devil Part II	Eminence
1988	{{Interlanguage link multi\|Klassezämekunft\|de}}	Fritz Erne
1990	Fuga dal paradiso	Mait
1990	{{Ill\|The Eighth Day (1990 film)\|de\|3=Der achte Tag\|lt=The Eighth Day}}	Prof. Wagner
1994-2000	Die Fallers – Eine Schwarzwaldfamilie	Wilhelm Faller	170 episodes, leading role
1998	Meschugge	Max Weiss
2015	Reunion Solitaire	Der ältere Herr	(final film role)