Shortly before his 80th birthday, Fritz Wepper published his autobiography. In it he also unpacks about his love life – and confesses an affair with Iris Berben.
He is one of the most famous actors in Germany. Fritz Wepper has been an integral part of German television for decades. And he still doesn’t think about retirement. The native of Munich will be 80 in a few days – and has written down his life story for the occasion. “An Eternal Moment”, the title of the autobiography that will be published on Monday, is intended to show the readers “the real Fritz”. Not the one that has occasionally made the headlines of the tabloids with scandalous stories over the past few decades.
Anyone who thought they knew everything about Wepper so far will be surprised. In the 300-page book, the actor chats freely about his life so far. He reveals that in 1968 he had a love affair with his colleague Iris Berben, who was nine years his junior. Berben was just 18 at the time and was at the beginning of her career. The two got to know each other while filming the Edgar Wallace crime thriller “The Man with the Glass Eye”.
Suddenly they were “more than just colleagues”, recalls Wepper in his autobiography. The affair lasted almost a year. “We weren’t really together, it wasn’t an exposed love,” says the actor, describing their relationship. Wepper admits that he was pretty much in love back then. He doesn’t say a lot about the ending. “She finally met another man,” it says in a nutshell. Iris Berben has not yet commented on Wepper’s revelation upon request.
Fritz Wepper became famous at a young age
Fritz Wepper had his first film roles as a teenager. He was only 17 when he was in front of the camera for Bernhard Wicki’s legendary anti-war film “Die Brücke”. From 1974 he became known to millions of television viewers as Harry Klein, the devoted assistant to Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick. He played this character in the crime series “Der Kommissar” from 1969 to 1974 – which he embodied for almost 30 years.
The last episode of “Derrick” in October 1998 did not mean the end of Wepper’s television career. On the contrary: In January 2002 he was Mayor Wolfgang Wöller for the first time in the ARD series “Um Himmels Willen” – a role which he played for almost 20 years and which earned him great sympathy from the audience. On June 15 of this year, the 260th and final episode of the popular series aired.
But it has not yet become quiet about the actor. In a week, on August 17th, Wepper will celebrate his 80th birthday. Just in time for the occasion, he brought himself back into conversation with his autobiography.
is published by Heyne Verlag and costs 20 euros.
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