With the question “Frucade or eggnog?” the native of Lower Austria, whose real name was Josef Fenz, became a cult figure on “Phettberg’s Nette Leit Show”. It was the decision-making question that he always asked the guests from science, culture and celebrities at the beginning. His inimitable style became apparent in the conversations – coupled with wit, irony and intelligence.
The TV career wasn’t that long: ORF and 3sat broadcast 19 episodes between 1995 and 1996. Despite health challenges, Phettberg remained creative and committed for many years later. At the beginning of the 2000s, he became quieter in the media before he suffered another stroke in 2007 and subsequently lived in seclusion for many years.
APA/Orf/Andreas Friess
Pastoral assistant in the Archdiocese of Vienna
Phettberg was born on October 5, 1952 in Hollabrunn. The son of wine growers initially worked as a bank clerk before, after further theological training, he became a pastoral assistant in the Archdiocese of Vienna. In the mid-80s he was a co-founder of the “Libertine Sadomasochism Initiative Vienna” association and the “Polymorph Perverse Clinic Vienna” project.
He became known to the public with sadomasochistic art actions (such as his “Permanent Orders”) together with Walter Reichl as part of “ErotiKreativ” at the WUK. From the beginning of the 1990s, he played various roles in the theater group “Sparverein Die Unz-Erwärtslichen” around his old friend and explorer Kurt Palm. In 1992, Phettberg began writing his weekly column for “Falter”.
Talk legend Hermes Phettberg dies
Talk show host and provocateur Hermes Phettberg died on Wednesday at the age of 72 as a result of pneumonia. With his “Nette Leit Show” the performance artist achieved cult status and was considered both an outsider and a crowd favorite.
Numerous awards
In “Phettberg’s Nette Leit Show” he welcomed various celebrities, including Marcel Prawy, Hermann Nitsch, Manfred Deix and Josef Hader. Together with Palm, he published the book “Frucade or Eggnog” in 1996 with interviews and monologues from the show. In 2003 and 2004, ATV broadcast the program “Beichtphater Phettberg”. But even before his TV career, he was recognized for his work.
Phettberg received the Franz Grillparzer Prize of the “Anonymous Actionists” in 1993 and the City of Vienna Prize for Journalism in 2002. The then city councilor for culture, Andreas Mailath-Pokorny (SPÖ), called Phettberg a “radical and subjective observer of everyday life in Vienna,” and he wrote cultural history with his “Nette Leit Show.”
“Hermes Phettberg, wretch.”
In 2007, Palm dedicated the documentary “Hermes Phettberg, Elender” to him, in which the two of them review the life of the former colorful Viennese scene figure in a dialogue. He caused a stir in 2012 with “Garden of Earthly Delights”, a public bondage campaign as part of the “Wienwoche”, and in the same year the artist book “Alles Schreckliche!” was published by Sensationsverlag. Selected texts”.
When Sobo Swobodnik’s black-and-white documentary “The Pope is not a Jeansboy” about Phettberg’s everyday life, which was awarded the 2012 Max Ophüls Prize in 2013, was shown on 28 evenings in the Vienna city cinema, the protagonist attended every single screening despite his mobility impairment .
APA/Herbert P. Oczeret
Walter Fröhlich made a graphic novel from the entries in his “gestion log” from that time: “Blue Jeans” was published in 2015. The Phettberg Comic” outside the book market, financed through a crowdfunding campaign. Also in 2015, Phettberg starred in the feature film “A Perception” by German director Daniel Pfander. In 2016 he began writing a column for the street newspaper “Augustin” – the “Fisimatenten”.
“Young bands seem to like me”
Phettberg was already in poor health at this time, and he also needed help in everyday life, due to the impairment of his fine motor skills and language skills, even when writing. In recent years, he has still had a presence in pop culture, with Phettberg being hired for music videos by young music acts such as Drangsal, Fäuulnis and Nancy Transit. “Young bands seem to like me,” he wondered at the time.
On Wednesday, Culture Minister Werner Kogler (Greens) also said goodbye to the distinctive voice of the subculture via brought to life the dark sides of our country. Rest in peace, Hermes Phettberg.”
