Peter Alexander, Austrian actor and singer died he was , 84.

Peter Alexander Ferdinand Maximilian Neumayer , commonly known as Peter Alexander, was an Austrian actor, singer and entertainer died he was , 84.. His fame emerged in the 1950s and 1960s through popular film comedies and successful recordings, predominantly of Schlager and operetta repertory. Later, Alexander established himself as the acclaimed host of television shows. His career as a live singer touring the German language countries lasted until 1991, while he continued his television work until 1996.

(30 June 1926 – 12 February 2011)

Life and career

During World War II, Alexander was a teenaged Luftwaffenhelfer and member of the Reichsarbeitsdienst before finally being conscripted into the Navy. He was captured by the British in early 1945 and held as a POW.
After WWII, he attended Vienna's Max Reinhardt Seminary for actors until 1948 and then began his career in acting. He starred in several musical comedies, including Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager and Peter schießt den Vogel ab. He recorded Ralph Benatzky's operetta Im weißen Rößl, singing the lead role of Leopold Brandmeyer. He then performed in the 1960 movie version of the operetta.^[1] He later starred in the Count Bobby movies and the Lümmel-series. In the 1970s, Alexander started a second career as a TV host and entertainer. His music show, Die Peter Alexander Show, was shown on black and white TV from 1963 until 1966. From 1969, the German TV station ZDF started to air a new colour version which was broadcast until 1996. The Peter Alexander Show has been seen by more than 38 million viewers and has averaged a 71% viewing rate.^{[citation needed]}
After his death, Media Control named him the biggest singles artist ever with 459 songs having charted on the German Singles Chart. The single "Und manchmal weinst du sicher ein paar Tränen" had the longest run with 34 weeks on that chart, while 2 other songs, "Der letzte Walzer" and "Liebesleid", were able to reach the #1 position.^[2] Further information: Peter Alexander discography (German)
Alexander married Hilde Haagen in 1952; they had two children, Susanne Neumayer-Haidinger (1958–2009),^[3][4] an artist, and Michael Neumayer (born 1963). He was widowed in 2003.^[5][6]
Peter Alexander died on 12 February 2011, aged 84, in his native Vienna. He is survived by his son and two grandchildren.

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Role
1948	Der Engel mit der Posaune	Karl Hartl	Visitor
1952	Verlorene Melodie	Eduard von Borsody	Piano player
1952	Königin der Arena	Rolf Meyer	Singer
1953	Salto Mortale	Viktor Tourjansky	Singer
1953	Die süßesten Früchte	Franz Antel	Singer
1953	Drei von denen man spricht	Axel von Ambesser
1954	Rosen aus dem Süden	Franz Antel	Singer[N 1]
1954	Verliebte Leute	Franz Antel	Musician Karl Munk
1954	Große Starparade	Paul Martin	Singer
1955	Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager	Paul Martin	Singer Peter Alexander
1956	Musikparade	Géza von Cziffra	Singer Peter Martin
1956	Bonjour Kathrin	Karl Anton	Music student Pierre
1956	Ein Mann muß nicht immer schön sein	Hans Quest	Jazz singer Peter Moll
1956	Kirschen in Nachbars Garten	Erich Engels	Singer[N 1]
1957	Liebe, Jazz und Übermut	Erik Ode	Jazz singer Peter Hagen
1957	Das haut hin	Géza von Cziffra	Student, artist and singer Toni Matthis
1957	Die Beine von Dolores	Géza von Cziffra	Singer
1958	Münchhausen in Afrika	Werner Jacobs	Music teacher Peter von Münchhausen
1958	Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen	Géza von Cziffra	Jazz musician Peter Holunder
1958	So ein Millionär hat’s schwer	Géza von Cziffra	Millionaire's Heir Edward Collins
1959	Peter schießt den Vogel ab	Géza von Cziffra	Porter Peter Schatz
1959	Schlag auf Schlag	Géza von Cziffra	Registrar Hugo Bartels
1959	Ich bin kein Casanova	Géza von Cziffra	Student and Butler Peter Keller
1959	Salem Aleikum aka: Mein ganzes Leben ist Musik	Géza von Cziffra	Techer and Amateur Musician Peter Karmann
1960	Kriminaltango	Géza von Cziffra	Houseowner Peter Martens
1960	Ich zähle täglich meine Sorgen	Paul Martin	Fashion designer Peter Hollmann
1960	Im weißen Rößl	Werner Jacobs	Head waiter Leopold Brandmeyer
1961	Season in Salzburg aka: Wenn der Toni mit der Vroni	Franz Josef Gottlieb	Waiter Heinz Doll
1961	Die Abenteuer des Grafen Bobby	Géza von Cziffra	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1962	Die Fledermaus	Géza von Cziffra	Dr. Gabriel Eisenstein
1962	The Merry Widow	Werner Jacobs	Danilo
1962	Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies	Paul Martin	Operetta star Dr. Ulrich Hansen
1962	Das süße Leben des Grafen Bobby	Géza von Cziffra	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1963	Charleys Tante	Géza von Cziffra	Diplomat Dr. Otto Wilder
1963	Der Musterknabe	Werner Jacobs	CEO Dr. Fritz Geyer
1963	Schwejks Flegeljahre	Wolfgang Liebeneiner	Josef Schwejk
1964	Hilfe, meine Braut klaut	Werner Jacobs	Commercial artist Valentin Haase
1964	Und sowas muß um 8 ins Bett	Werner Jacobs	Teacher Dr. Eduard Frank
1965	Das Liebeskarussell	Axel von Ambesser Rolf Thiele Alfred Weidenmann	Peter Sommer
1965	Graf Bobby, der Schrecken des Wilden Westens	Paul Martin	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1966	Bel Ami 2000 oder Wie verführt man einen Playboy?	Michael Pfleghar	Peter Knolle
1968	Zum Teufel mit der Penne Part #2 of the series: Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank	Werner Jacobs	TV reporter Dr. Peter Roland, Substitute teacher Dr. Wilhelm-Maria Tell
1969	Hurra, die Schule brennt! Part #4 of the series: Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank	Werner Jacobs	Teacher Dr. Peter Bach
1972	Hauptsache Ferien	Peter Weck	Teacher Dr. Peter Markus

1. ^ ^{a b} Scene(s) not included in the final cut of the film.

Bibliography

• Michael Wenk & Barbara Loehr: Peter Alexander – Das tat ich alles aus Liebe. Wien: Ueberreuter, 2006 (ISBN 978-3800071814)
• "Peter Alexander" entry, German version of Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005.

To see more of who died in 2010 click here