Television: The little cheeky woman: actress Anita Kupsch is dead

Anita Kupsch did not like to stay with cumanity. The actress could be direct, quick-witted and resolutely, as was one of her best-known roles: that of the office hours aid Gabi Köhler in the ARD evening series “Practice Bülowbogen” (1987–1996). Now the popular theater and TV actress has died. She fell asleep peacefully at the age of 85, as her husband Klaus-Detlef Krahn confirmed to the German Press Agency. The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported on her death.

Krahn and Kupsch – that was obviously the great love. They have been married since 1986, almost 40 years. When the 79-year-old reports on his wife’s death, he briefly wrestles. But he is also somehow relieved, because she has not been doing well for a long time. Most recently, Anita Kupsch lived in a care facility in Berlin. “I am satisfied, she is finally redeemed,” says Krahn. “She was only in bed, no longer understood me and could no longer comment.”

Petite woman with a big flap

A piece of television history dies with Kupsch. “Practice Bülowbogen” – started in the divided Berlin – had many fans in the 1980s and 1990s. The actress was popular, precisely because she couldn’t say anything in the role of Gabi Köhler. Not even from her boss Dr. Peter Brockmann (Günter Pfitzmann), with whom she even had an affair. When asked how much medical assistant Gabi Köhler is in her, Kupsch told the dpa: “Actually none at all. Except that she has a flap. And I also have the flap.”

Working with her colleague Pfitzmann enjoyed Kupsch very much. “Günter and me, we were an egg and a crack,” she revealed. “We both have the same snout. He was also such an honest person. He never razeded off or said:” You have to do it that way. “”

They liked to call newspapers a “Kesse Berliner Göre”. She was honest, Kupsch then liked to answer. “And sometimes people are shocked, I can’t change that either.” Even from the theater stage, she did not put a leaf out of her mouth. Once one of the spectators complained and called: “Lauter!”. Kupsch did not torch for long and browse a new line into her text. “Well, there are already very cheap hearing aids”.

Kupsch was a little woman, petite and funny. In photos of the past you can see them with long blond hair, later with a short haircut. She was born on May 18, 1940 in Berlin. As a child, she took ballet lessons and also danced at the famous choreographer Tatjana Gsovsky. As a profession, she learned a visagist. But then she discovered her love for acting. Her career, theater, film and television began in the 1960s. In 1998 she received her own comedy show with “Anitas Welt” on ZDF.

In more than 50 years by career, she took over almost 100 roles in front of the camera alone, plus many, many theater appearances, for example with Claus Biederstaedt in the comedy on Kurfürstendamm.

Their quick-wittedness was also necessary, and the men had the say in the film and TV industry at the time. Long before the Me-Too debate for sexual harassment, Kupsch countered as a young woman with an audition of an outrageous request: she should get up, turn around and take your skirt up. “And then I just said:” I have no talent on my ass “.”