“Elegance, depth and subtlety” – mourning for Ruth Maria Kubitschek
Published: Sunday, Jun 2nd 2024, 18:00
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Celebrities in Germany have reacted with great sadness to the death of actress Ruth Maria Kubitschek. She died in Switzerland on Saturday at the age of 92, a spokeswoman told the German Press Agency. "The grande dame of German film and television acting has quietly bid farewell to life in her adopted home of Switzerland after a short, serious illness," she announced on Sunday. The funeral service will take place in the closest family circle. Kubitschek has a son from her marriage to the opera director Götz Friedrich. She had lived in Switzerland for many years.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the actress as a star who was first celebrated on GDR television and then in West Germany. She played her roles with heart and humor and delighted millions of viewers of all ages, Steinmeier wrote: "With Ruth Maria Kubitschek, Germany is losing a great actress who made German television history."
Kubitschek appeared in films and series on German television for decades. She was on board the ZDF "Traumschiff", starred in the ARD "Tatort" and in the series "Das Erbe der Guldenburgs". Kubitschek achieved cult status alongside Helmut Fischer as Annette von Soettingen alias "Spatzl" in the TV series "Monaco Franze - Der ewige Stenz" by Bayerischer Rundfunk. She also shot the cult series "Kir Royal" with Helmut Dietl in 1985, in which the Munich chic crowd was made fun of. In 2013, she played her last role in the movie "Frau Ella".
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also paid tribute to the actress. "She was the grande dame of television and always remained modest herself," he said. "With her roles, Ruth Maria Kubitschek was also a role model and avant-garde." Bavaria will honor the memory of the recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit.
Kubitschek died in a hospital, her spokeswoman Yvonne von Stempel told dpa. Her last words were: "The earth gave me a wonderful home in this world. It is with deep gratitude that I move on to the other world. It exists, you can believe me." The actress was born in what is now the Czech Republic, then came to Saxony-Anhalt with her family and stayed in the West with her then young son after an engagement in 1959. She began her West German career at the Schlosstheater in Celle.
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth praised Kubitschek as "one of the most formative faces of the German film and television landscape". "She always managed to lend her characters elegance, depth and subtlety in a fascinating way," Roth said. "Ruth Maria Kubitschek will remain a part of our collective film memory."
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