The cabaret artist and doctor Eckart von Hirschhausen ended his stage career to have more time for his foundation and for climate protection.
“I’m not the same as it was ten years ago and the world isn’t the same as it was ten years ago either,” von Hirschhausen told the German Press Agency. He keeps shifting accents in his creative work and is a curious person. “I want to make the most relevant contribution to keeping people and the planet healthy. I would like to have more time for this with my “Healthy Earth – Healthy People” foundation.”
It’s easy to think that an artist’s life is pure freedom, said the 55-year-old. “But de facto you’re scheduled two or three years in advance. If I’m doing stage shows, I can’t take special leave.” He is currently not in Egypt at the world climate conference because he has appointments on his tour. “At the moment I can’t take part in a lot of things that I’m really interested in and where I could make a contribution because I’m scheduled to do so.”
Last chance to see Hirschhausen live
His fans will have the last opportunity to see von Hirschhausen live on stage on March 29, 2023 in Dreieich near Frankfurt. After that, 35 years of stage life are history. “That means I’ve spent more life on stage than with other things,” said the moderator. Overall, he appeared in more than 1000 shows for more than a million people. “This time on stage, I love it. There’s nothing where I’m more free or happier,” he said. “I also think it’s the best I can do. But I’ve achieved everything you could wish for there.”
Von Hirschhausen, who was born in Frankfurt and grew up in Berlin, discovered his entertainment talent early on. “I started as a teenager with magic shows at children’s birthday parties, and when I was 17 I helped finance my studies by doing pantomime in pedestrian zones,” he recalls. “Fortunately there are no videos from that time. Today that would be 30 seconds later on the Internet. I was able to try out a lot of things that later helped me to face people without fear.”
He would now like to use this talent to do more for climate protection. “We humans are very fond of being distracted from reality and outdoing each other in not looking,” he said. Climate protection is health protection. We don’t have to save the climate – we have to save ourselves. “When someone comes to the emergency room after a serious accident, the first thing they look for is their cardiovascular system and brain, not athlete’s foot. And we’re having a planetary emergency right now.”
