RIP Karl Spiehs

 Film producer Karl Spiehs died at the age of 90 – Austria

 

News in 24

1/27/2022

The Austrian film and television producer Karl Spiehs has died. He died on Thursday at the age of 90, according to his production company Lisa Film.

Born in Lower Austria, Spiehs shaped the domestic TV landscape for more than five decades and celebrated great success beyond the borders of the country with films such as “Die Supernasen” or series such as “Ein Schloss am Wörthersee”.

Karl Spiehs died at the age of 90

Karl Spiehs was born on February 20, 1931. He came into contact with the world of the stage at a young age. As a teenager, he organized smaller concerts and readings in his parents’ inn in the municipality of Ternitz, for which he was able to engage Paul Hörbiger and Hans Moser, among others. The young Spiehs gained further experience in the Renaissance theater for the Löwingerbühne and in the music recording department of the Wiener Stadthalle. In the 1950s he worked as an assistant to Franz Antel.

Spiehs as founder of Intercontinental Film

In the mid-1960s, Spiehs first founded his own production company, Intercontinental Film, before his final career advancement began when he joined the production company Lisa Film, founded by Paul Löwinger in Munich and still in existence today, and of which he later became the sole owner. Film and series hits such as “Always Trouble with the Paukern”, “The Super Noses”, “When the Great Aunts Come”, “A Castle on Lake Wörthersee”, “Clinic under Palm Trees” or “The Pound Boy” were created. The star parade that appeared in it ranged from Roy Black and Uschi Glas to Thomas Gottschalk and Mike Krüger to Ottfried Fischer.

Games without an educational mission?

Spiehs, who was responsible for more than 300 cinema and TV productions, hardly ever made a secret of the fact that harmless slapstick with a penchant for trash was his profession for the most part. In an interview, he once said that he had “no educational mission” but wanted to “produce entertainment”. Or as Thomas Gottschalk, one of the “Supernasen” main actors, once said during a laudatory speech: “He made the critics cry and the audience laugh.”

Nevertheless, or precisely because of this, the celebrant was honored with a number of prizes, including the Golden Medal of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna in 2002, the Platinum Romy for his life’s work in 2015 and the Great Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria in 2018.

“Good entertainment was Karl Spiehs’ destiny”

“Good entertainment was Karl Spiehs’ determination, passion and elixir of life. Many of his films and TV series are unforgettable parts of our popular culture,” said Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) in a broadcast. According to Mayer, he deserves “great respect” for bringing Austrian film and Austria into the world as a film backdrop. “Karl Spiehs has succeeded with his productions in inspiring the audience and at the same time conveying the beauty of Carinthia. We will always remember his films and series,” said the Carinthian governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) in a broadcast.

“Karl Spiehs knew what people wanted to see and had an unerring eye for talent,” Vienna’s City Councilor for Culture, Veronica Kaup-Hasler, honored the successful producer in a broadcast. At a time when there were no streaming services, his films and series “made for full cinemas and family evenings in front of the television”. ORF Director General Roland Weißmann described many of Spieh’s productions as “legendary TV hits”. These would have made him a legend himself. Working with him has always had the goal of “carefree and top-class film enjoyment”.

The ORF not only thanked for many TV episodes, but also changed its program in memory of Karl Spieh: Today, Thursday, the “Page Views” (8:05 p.m., ORF 2) will show an obituary and also look at “Culture Today” (7:45 p.m., ORF III ) back to his life. Tomorrow, Friday, ORF III will show the crime thriller “Maigret and his biggest case” at 8:15 p.m., followed by “Reverend inherits paradise”. On Saturday there will be a reunion with successes such as “A Castle on Lake Wörthersee” and “When my darling hits the drum” from 1.30 p.m. on ORF 2, in the evening the portrait “Everyone loves Karli Spiehs – On the trail of a legend” (22.05 Clock). Immediately afterwards, the “super noses” Thomas Gottschalk and Mike Krüger are in action. And on Sunday (January 30) it continues with “Das Traumhotel”, before “The Return of the Dance Teacher” offers crime food again on February 5.

SPIEHS, Karl

Born: 2/20/1931, Ternitz, Lower Austria, Austria

Died: 1/27/2022, Vienna, Austria

 

Karl Spiehs’s westerns – production supervisor, production manager, producer:

The Last Ride to Santa Cruz – 1964 [production supervisor.

Legend of a Gunfighter – 1964 [production manager]

Blood at Sundown – 1966 [producer]

Cry of the Black Wolves – 1972 [producer]

Hellhounds of Alaska – 1973 [producer]