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Freddy Quinn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Quinn in 1977 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Franz Eugen Helmut Manfred Nidl |
| Born | (1931-09-27)27 September 1931 (age 93) Niederfladnitz, Austria |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocalist,guitar |
| Years active | 1953–2009 |
| Website | Freddy Quinn Archive (in German) |
Freddy Quinn (bornFranz Eugen Helmut Manfred Nidl; 27 September 1931)[1] is anAustrian singer and actor whose popularity in theGerman-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. AsHans Albers had done two generations before him, Quinn adopted thepersona of the rootless wanderer who goes tosea but longs for a home, family and friends. Quinn's Irish family name comes from his Irish-born salesman father, Johann Quinn. His mother, Edith Henriette Nidl, was an Austrian journalist. He is often associated with theSchlager scene.
Quinn was born inNiederfladnitz,Lower Austria, and grew up inVienna.[1] As a child he lived inMorgantown, West Virginia, with his father, but moved back to live with his mother in Vienna.[1] Through his mother's second marriage to Rudolf Anatol Freiherr von Petz, Quinn adopted the name Nidl-Petz.
At the end ofWorld War II, as part of a refugee group, Quinn encountered American troops inBohemia. Due to his fluent English, the 14-year-old succeeded in pretending to be of American nationality.[citation needed] He was subsequently sent to the US in May 1945 with a military transport. OnEllis Island, he learned that his father had already died in 1943 in a car accident. The boy was immediately sent back to Europe and, before returning to his mother in Vienna, was stranded for a whole year in Antwerp in a children's home, where he learned to speak French and Dutch.[citation needed]
Upon moving to Germany, he was "discovered" inSt. Pauli,Hamburg, and was offered his firstrecording contract in 1954.[2] He represented Germany at theEurovision Song Contest 1956 inLugano, Switzerland, with the atypical song, "So geht das jede Nacht", about an unfaithful girlfriend who dates many men. He did not win, and the full results of the contest were never released so his placement is not known. Most of his other songs areabout Hamburg, the endless sea and the solitary life in faraway lands.[1] His firsthit record was "Heimweh" ("Homesickness", a.k.a. "Brennend heisser Wüstensand", "Dort wo die Blumen blüh'n" and "Schön war die Zeit", (1956), a German version ofDean Martin's "Memories Are Made of This".[3] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[4]
Other hits, often with him simply billed asFreddy, followed: "Die Gitarre und das Meer" (1959), "Unter fremden Sternen" (1959), "Irgendwann gibt's ein Wiedersehn" (1960), "La Paloma" (1961),[3] "Junge, komm bald wieder" (1962). His 1964 offering "Vergangen, vergessen, vorüber" was another million-selling release.[4]
His popularity waned in the 1970s, but Quinn continued performing.[1] "Junge, komm bald wieder" was sung byAlpay on7 Dilde Alpay (Turkish for "Alpay in Seven Languages")album, which was released in 1973.
Starting in the late 1950s, Quinn also acted in several movies, again frequently cast as the seafaring loner.[1] Titles includeFreddy, the Guitar and the Sea (1959),Freddy unter fremden Sternen (1959),Freddy and the Song of the South Pacific (1962), andHomesick for St. Pauli (1963).[3] Subsequently, Quinn also performed on the stage in such diverse roles as Prince Orlofsky inDie Fledermaus, the king inThe King and I, and Lord Fancourt Babberly inCharley's Aunt.
Quinn was also an accomplishedcircus performer who stunned television audiences as atightrope walker,[1] performing live and without a safety net.[citation needed]
| Preceded by N/A | Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 (andWalter Andreas Schwarz withIm Wartesaal zum großen Glück) | Succeeded by |
