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Werner Finck (Werner Paul Walther Finck) was born on 2 May, 1902 in Görlitz, Germany, is a German comedian, actor and author. Discover Werner Finck's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 76 years old?

Popular As Werner Paul Walther Finck
Occupation actor,writer,miscellaneous
Age 76 years old
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Born 2 May 1902
Birthday 2 May
Birthplace Görlitz, Germany
Date of death 31 July, 1978
Died Place Munich, Germany
Nationality Germany

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 2 May. He is a member of famous Actor with the age 76 years old group.

Werner Finck Height, Weight & Measurements

At 76 years old, Werner Finck height not available right now. We will update Werner Finck's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
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Who Is Werner Finck's Wife?

His wife is Eva Finck (m. ?–1978)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Eva Finck (m. ?–1978)
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Werner Finck Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Werner Finck worth at the age of 76 years old? Werner Finck’s income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. He is from Germany. We have estimated Werner Finck's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Actor

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Timeline

1902

Werner Finck (2 May 1902 – 31 July 1978) was a German Kabarett comedian, actor and author.

1920

Born in Görlitz in Prussian Silesia, the son of a pharmacist, Finck attended an art school in Dresden and began his career as an itinerant storyteller of fairy tales in the 1920s.

He took acting lessons and began a mediocre tenure in the theatre, making his debut in Silesian Bunzlau (present-day Bolesławiec, Poland).

However, it became obvious that he had "comic bones" and when he met a friend who had contacts in the Berlin Kabarett scene, he found his true calling.

1923

A member of the 23rd Infantry Division, he was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class and the Eastern Front Medal, which he called "Frozen Meat Medal" (Gefrierfleischorden).

He temporarily served as a troop entertainer and later used his World War II exploits in a cabaret programme entitled Der brave Soldat schweigt ("The Good Soldier Shuts Up" – a pun on Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk).

He witnessed the German surrender as a POW of the U.S. Army in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.

1929

Together with artists like Hans Deppe, Rudolf Platte and Robert A. Stemmle he founded the cabaret Die Katakombe with some friends in 1929.

Finck acted as conferencier, and the cabaret became successful because of his critical and subtly impudent remarks against the Nazis, proving to be an early thorn in their side.

Finck had an ability to be seemingly lost for words when saying something and the audience, playing along, finished his sentences.

He often defied authority by daring Gestapo informers in the audience to write down every word he said.

According to an anecdote, Finck once confronted an officer asking with seeming innocence, "Am I talking too fast? Can you follow me or shall I follow you?"

According to his later accounts, Finck was confronted with politics for the very first time: "If only I had known that all these people were just Mitläufer. Some even camouflaged as Gauleiter. (...) So quite a few people claim I had disapproved of the Nazis. I would like to point out that these are defamations. You never know. (...) I must admit though that the Nazis disapproved of me."

The way Finck presented his jokes made it very difficult for authorities to nail him down.

His exploits made him a legend in his lifetime, to such an extent that when he introduced himself to British and American journalists after the war, he was met with disbelief as they believed that the "Werner Finck" who joked against the Nazis was a fairy-tale figure.

1933

Not politically motivated by his own admission but just a "convinced individualist", he became one of Germany's leading cabaret artists under the conditions of the Nazi suppression after 1933.

1935

However, the Katakombe was closed on 10 May 1935 on the orders of Minister Joseph Goebbels.

Finck and his colleagues were interned for six weeks in Esterwegen concentration camp, where he met Carl von Ossietzky and Julius Leber.

The Katakombe ensemble took their arrest in good stride, because they still performed despite their imprisonment.

They reasoned that before the cabaret closed down they had performed with anxiety due to the fear of incarceration; now they did not need to fear because they were already in prison!

It was due to the intervention of his friend, actress Käthe Dorsch, who talked to Goebbels' rival Hermann Göring, that Finck was released on 1 July on condition that he not work in public for a year.

1937

Despite this he continued performing before live audiences from 1937 onwards, as well as in film, where he had a successful, if undistinguished, career from 1931.

1939

However, he was banned from the Reichskulturkammer in 1939 and, threatened with arrest again, he joined the Wehrmacht armed forces in the rank of a private radiotelephone operator to avoid imprisonment.

1945

From 1945-49, Finck, with Hans Bayer ("Thaddäus Troll"), issued the journal Das Wespennest ("The Hornets' Nest"), the first German satirical magazine after the war.

1947

He resumed his career in cabaret, performing at the Schmunzelkolleg ("Chuckle College") in Munich and founding the Nebelhorn ("Foghorn") cabaret in Zürich (1947), as well as the Mausefalle ("Mousetrap") in Stuttgart (1948).

1950

In 1950 he established the joke political party of the "Radical Centre" in West Berlin.

1968

He remained active in live performances, notably going on tour in the United States in 1968.

Finck died in Munich, aged 76, where he is buried in the Waldfriedhof cemetery.

The inscription on his tombstone reads: "You are still here and I passed away, soon you are there where I am today."

Werner Finck made many film and TV appearances in a career spanning about forty years, many of which are but brief appearances that showcased his talent:

1972

Finck was able to continue his film career, including the role for which he is most known today, in Fassbinder's TV series Eight Hours Don't Make a Day in 1972; he played Gregor, the doddering but gentle old lover of the miniseries protagonist's grandmother.

1982

In the 1982 TV movie Inside the Third Reich, he was portrayed by American comedian Mort Sahl.