Sometimes Lotti Krekel was incredibly lucky – for example when she was discovered on the street at the age of five. But those who listened to the native of Cologne for a longer time learned above all how uncertain such a long life as an actress is. “It requires a lot of discipline,” she told the German Press Agency in 2016. “And you always have to be willing to try new things, even if you think at first, ‘I’ll never make it!'”. Lotti Krekel has now died at the age of 81.
Marius Müller-Westernhagen’s father, the actor Hans Müller-Westernhagen, saw her when she was five years old holding her mother’s hand in downtown Cologne. “My mother knew him briefly, and then he said to her: ‘Oh, she’s cute, take her to children’s radio!'” That’s how it all started.
“I’m not Millowitsch’s daughter”
At some point a telegram fluttered into the school: Willy Millowitsch wanted to hire her for the role of a young girl. The television broadcasts of his Rhenish farces reached ratings of up to 85 percent in the post-war period. This is how Krekel became the best-known Cologne resident of the post-war period. However, most thought she was Millowitch’s daughter. “I talked my mouth off because I kept saying: ‘No, I’m not Millowitsch’s daughter. He has three daughters of his own.'”
Then one day a journalist broke the news: pretty Lotti, 17 years old, longs for a child – and is looking for a man for one night. “Of course he did it on his own without discussing it with me!” The phone didn’t stop ringing.
And from then on Millowitsch treated her like air. “He always looked past me, he cut me. I endured it for three days and then I said: That doesn’t make any sense. I left him after eleven years. I went home and had nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Reboot with hits
It was one of those situations where she had to embrace something new. She started singing hits – “Ne Visit to the Zoo” and “I’ll give you a couple of flowers” were her big hits. This made her even better known – and this time under her real name. There were offers from television and film, so she played alongside Horst Buchholz and under director Wolfgang Staudte. Even Millowitsch got in touch again.
At a theater production she met her husband, the actor Ernst Hilbich. “In hindsight,” she said, “this terrible article was a blessing, because otherwise I would certainly have stayed with Millowitsch forever.”
Close relationship with sister
Just as she was often mistaken for a Millowitsch daughter in the early years, she was later sometimes confused with her sister Hildegard Krekel, who was eleven years her junior. This happened, for example, when she was involved in the WDR series “Die Anrheiner” – one actually wanted Hildegard. Ultimately, both sisters played side by side for more than ten years.
Hildegard Krekel died of cancer in 2013. After that, life for Lotti Krekel was no longer the same as before. “I miss you like the air to breathe,” she often said. “We had no secrets from each other, we discussed everything. Every day. Sometimes I still think I can hear her laughing.” For Lotti Krekel, a slim and quiet woman, the lively sister was always the antithesis. “She was a whirlwind, a sunny nature. She always cheered me up and that was good for me.” The theater never let her go. “Stop?” she asked indignantly shortly before her 75th birthday. “You can never do that as an actress!”
