“Hello to Austria!” Arms open, broad Salzburg dialect, hat in hand: This is how Sepp Forcher greeted his audience in “Sounding Austria” for 24 years – and hundreds of thousands were there. In this way, the white-bearded mountain fanatic advanced to become a travel guide, local history teacher and cult moderator all in one. Now Sepp Forcher died on Sunday just two days after his 91st birthday. Forcher’s wife Helene, known as Helli, died at the end of November, with whom he had been married for 65 years. “My last longing is that Helli and I don’t have to be apart for too long. And that I can enjoy the days that I still have,” Forcher said in a recent interview. His last wish was granted.
The life of the presenter legend was a changeful one. He was born on December 17, 1930 as Giuseppe Forcher in the Italian capital. He spent his childhood in Sesto, South Tyrol, until he and his parents emigrated to Salzburg at the age of ten because of the Hitler-Mussolini Agreement. The family ran a mountain hut in Werfenweng. After school, Sepp worked as a cave guide and porter, later as a host in several mountain huts. After marrying Helli, he became the father of sons Peter and Karl. In 1971 he took over the “Platzlkeller” in Salzburg, while also moderating the first folk music programs such as “Ins Land einischaun” or “Mit ?? m Sepp into the weekend” on the radio.
- Video: Obituary for Sepp Forcher
“I’m proud of every broadcast”
In 1986 the company finally made the leap to television. With “Klingendes Österreich” he became known throughout Austria and became a synonym for the traditional, folk-cultural Alpine republic. In the program Forcher showed magnificent landscapes, talked about local peculiarities in a relaxed, conversational tone and had folk music groups play. Altogether around 2000 folk song and folk music groups could be experienced at “Klingendes Österreich”. It wasn’t until March 2020, after a total of 200 episodes, that it was over. “I’m proud of every single broadcast,” Forcher told the OÖN at the time. “That someone like me, who only attended elementary school, could get that far was not recorded in my book of life.”
In Memoriam Sepp Forcher
ORF 2 shows a cinematic obituary for Sepp Forcher on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Then the documentary “My mountain of life – Sepp Forcher and the Grossglockner” is on the program.
ORF III will pay tribute to the folk music legend on Wednesday from 8:15 pm with a total of five programs, including an edition of “André Hellers Menschenkinder” and the two-parter “Durchs Land mit Sepp Forcher”.
A detailed conversation with Sepp Forcher can be heard in the Ö1 series “In Conversation” on Thursday from 9 p.m.
Source: Nachrichten
