Jonny Buchardt

Jonny Buchardt (born 16 September 1925 in Wuppertal, died 8 October 2001 in Bensberg) was a German actor, comedian and MC.

Life

Born Herbert Günther Schlichting, he was the son of Claire Schlichting, a well-known German comedian at the time, and Herbert Schlichting. His half-sister is the actress Monika Hansen. Called Jonny by his parents, he adopted the name Buchardt as his stage name. This was the surname of the partner of Claire Schlichting's second husband's mother. With his stepfather, the dancer Erik Hansen, Buchardt also performed together under this name.

Buchardt's most famous sketch, the "gin number", was a pretend advertisement for Gordon's Gin. This sketch showed a very formal and smooth-talking presenter, who promoted Gordon's Gin as "sooo gentle". However, over several commercial breaks, the spokesman became increasingly drunk and lost control over his body and pronunciation.

Jonny Buchardt was a notable figure at the Cologne Carnival. In one appearance as MC in 1973, he after priming the audience to answer his calls of "Zicke zacke zicke zacke hoi hoi hoi" and "Hip hip... hurray", he got them to shout "Sieg heil". Buchardt reacted to this with a gesture of mock horror and an exclamation: "That mustn't be true, man! What? So many old comrades here tonight?!" This received renewed attention in 2013.

Buchardt was married to the German actress Barbara Schöne for several years and had a son from this marriage. He was married to Blanka Schlichting (née Jakob) until his death in 2001.

Selected filmography

Theatre

• 1958: And in the evening in the Scala (Und abends in die Scala)
• 1960: Marina
• 1962: Café Oriental

TV

• 1961: "The first all-German Crazy Show - you are spared nothing"
• 1970: Berlin Whisperer (Berlin-Geflüster) (ZDF) with Hildegard Knef
• 1984: Berliner Weisse with a shot (Berliner Weisse mit Schuß) (Fernsehserie)

Radio

• Have a laugh with Jonny Buchardt, LP, (P) 1973 EMI-Electrola / COLUMBIA, STEREO 1C 062-29 496