Franz Xaver Kroetz

Franz Xaver Kroetz in 2006

Franz Xaver Kroetz (born February 25, 1946 in Munich) is a German author, playwright, actor and film director.

He is also known for his role as the gossip columnist Baby Schimmerlos (roughly - Dull Baby) in the television series Kir Royal.

1 Life
2 Stage plays
3 Films
4 Awards

Life

Kroetz attended an acting school in Munich and the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar (acting and directing department of the University of Vienna). He worked as a day-laborer and was active in the German political party DKP, Germany Communist Party, from 1971 to 1980.

He became famous when in 1971 the premiere of his plays "Heimarbeit" (Home-work) and "Hartnäckig" (Persistent) were disrupted by neo-fascists. His plays in the 1970's portrayed people who had been rendered speechless by their own social misery. In the play "Das Nest" (The Nest), the protagonist is a truck driver. His boss orders him to dump toxic waste into a lake, thus soiling his "nest."

On March 5, 1992, Kroetz married the actress Marie-Theres Relin. They have three children and live in Altenmarkt in Chiemgau.

Stage plays

"Der Drang"
"Heimarbeit", 1971
"Hartnäckig", 1971
"Wildwechsel", 1971
"Lieber Fritz", 1972
"Männersache", 1972
"Stallerhof", 1972
"Oberösterreich", 1972
"Globales Interesse", 1972
"Maria Magdalena", 1972
"Münchner Kindl", 1973
"Geisterbahn", 1975
"Das Nest", 1975
"Agnes Bernauer", 1977
"Mensch Meier", 1978
"Der stramme Max", 1980
"Nicht Fisch nicht Fleisch", 1981

Films

Series "Kir Royal"; this series was produced by WDR from 1984/85 but first appeared in 1986.

TRANSLATIONS into American: Stallerhof = Farmyard ;Michies Blut = Michi's Blood, Maennersache = Men's Business; Ein Mann ein Woerterbuch = A Man a Dictionary all translated by Michael Roloff, Urizen Books 1976 Request Concert Durch die Blaetter = Through the Leaves [the finall version of what started out as "Men's Business"] translated by Roger Downey; as was Das Nest = The Nest; there are also British translation of some of these and other Kroetz plays.