Emil Steinberger received an honorary prize for his body of work on Thursday evening at the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF). The 91-year-old German-speaking comedian also attended the premiere of the documentary film which traces his life, “Typisch Emil” (“Typically Emil”).
Aged 91, Emil Steinberger came Thursday evening to the Zurich Film Festival to receive an honorary prize for his entire body of work and attend the premiere of the documentary film which retraces his life, “Typisch Emil ” (“Typically Emil”).
In the documentary which pays tribute to his career, Emil Steinberger also evokes his second wife Niccel (left in the photo) and the creative tandem that the duo has formed for a quarter of a century.
Emil honored in Zurich for his entire body of work – Gallery
Aged 91, Emil Steinberger came Thursday evening to the Zurich Film Festival to receive an honorary prize for his entire body of work and attend the premiere of the documentary film which retraces his life, “Typisch Emil ” (“Typically Emil”).
In the documentary which pays tribute to his career, Emil Steinberger also evokes his second wife Niccel (left in the photo) and the creative tandem that the duo has formed for a quarter of a century.
In the portrait by Phil Meyer, the Lucerne artist known beyond linguistic borders recounts his childhood in a narrow-minded environment, his great successes and the price of fame. Interview scenes alternate with his legendary sketches, never-before-seen images or extracts from the cult film “The Swiss Makers” (1978), in which he plays the main role.
Uninterrupted success or almost
In 1968, the actor and former postal employee founded the Kleintheater cabaret in Lucerne with his first wife Maja. A year later, Emil, then aged 36, broke through with his first major program. By dint of “crunching” the average Swiss, successes also followed in Germany, Austria, even in French-speaking Switzerland, where he performed in “federal French”.
The Lucerne resident retired from the stage for the first time in 1987, aged 54. He did not return until the early 2000s, as a young septuagenarian. He then toured for fifteen years with a new program and public readings.
The role of his second wife Niccel
In the documentary which pays tribute to him, Emil also evokes his love story with his second wife Niccel, a German 32 years younger than him, met in New York while he was staying there in the 1990s for six years.
For around twenty years, this very creative soul has worked in particular as her husband’s manager. She co-produced the documentary “Typisch Emil”. The couple has lived in Basel for ten years after living in Montreux (VD) for fifteen years upon their return from New York.
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