Loriot

His parents, Johann-Albrecht Wilhelm von Bülow (1899–1972) and Charlotte (née von Roeder, 1899–1929), separated soon after he was born, and his mother died when he was six.

Von Bülow and his brother grew up in Berlin with their grandmother.

Von Bülow was still in school when World War II started.

After graduating early from secondary school, he followed the family's tradition and became a military officer.

He was deployed to the Eastern Front for three years, serving as Oberleutnant of Panzergrenadierregiment 3 in the 3rd Panzer Division.

He was decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd class and 1st class.

Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow (12 November 1923 – 22 August 2011), known as Vicco von Bülow or Loriot, was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer.

As an artist, he was almost exclusively known under his pen name Loriot, which is the french term for the bird oriole depicted as a crest in the coat of arms of the Bülow family.

Asked during an interview later in his life if he had been a good soldier he answered: "Not good enough, otherwise I would have been part of the resistance on 20 July 1944. But for the dreadful German contribution to world history, I will be ashamed for the rest of my life."

His younger brother, Johann-Albrecht Sigismund von Bülow, was killed on 21 March 1945, less than two months before the end of World War II.

Von Bülow completed his Abitur in 1946.

From 1950 onwards, he published cartoons under the pseudonym "Loriot", derived from the French word for oriole, his family's heraldic animal.

In 1951 he married Romi Schlumbom (born 1929), with whom he had two daughters.

Von Bülow's talent for drawing was eminent already during his school years.

After the war he studied graphic design and painting at the Landeskunstschule in Hamburg.

On the television series Unsere Besten (Our Best), Loriot was ranked the 54th best German ever.

In a special comedy episode of Unsere Besten, he was ranked as the most famous German comedian ever.

Vicco von Bülow was born in Brandenburg an der Havel in Prussia, today Brandenburg, in modern north-eastern Germany.

The von Bülow family belongs to German aristocracy.

In 1971, von Bülow created a cartoon dog named, which he voice acted himself.

Wum became the mascot of Aktion Sorgenkind, a German humanitarian organization.

During the Christmas season of 1972 Wum's song "Ich wünsch' mir 'ne kleine Miezekatze" ("I wish I had a little kittycat"), sung in sprechgesang style, became popular enough to remain in the top position of the German pop charts for nine weeks.

He was best known for his cartoons, the sketches from his 1976 television series Loriot, alongside Evelyn Hamann, and his two movies, Ödipussi (1988) and Pappa Ante Portas (1991).

The first episode of the German television comedy series Loriot was produced in 1976.

In six episodes, Loriot presented sketches, usually being the protagonist himself, and short cartoons that he had drawn.

Examples of sketches from the series include Der Lottogewinner ("The lottery winner"), Jodeldiplom ("yodeling diploma") and Englische Ansage ("English announcement").

Loriot had a love of classical music and opera.

In 1982, he conducted the humorous gala concert for the 100th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is also related to the orchestra's history by kinship (Hans von Bülow, the first chief conductor of the orchestra, was distantly related to Loriot).

His narrative version of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals was repeatedly performed by Loriot with the Scharoun Ensemble, a chamber music ensemble consisting of musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1983 Radio Bremen produced the broadcast "Loriot's 60th birthday" for the broadcast station ARD on the occasion of Loriot's 60th birthday.

As a director, Loriot staged the operas Martha (Staatsoper Stuttgart, 1986) and Der Freischütz (Ludwigsburg, 1988).

In 1988 he received the Bavarian Film Award, Special Prize, and in 1993 the Bavarian Film Award, Honorary Award.

Wum also appeared in the German show (The Big Prize), where he appeared during breaks until the 1990s.

Before long, Wum was accompanied by the elephant Wendelin, and later by Blauer Klaus (Blue Klaus), an alien hovering in with his flying saucer.

Loriot wrote, drew and dubbed all of these skits by himself.

Each cartoon ended with Loriot asking the viewers to take part in the TV-lottery, which supported the "Aktion Sorgenkind".

When the show was dropped, the adventures of Wum and Wendelin ended as well.

Today, Wum and Wendelin appear on the last page of the TV magazine Gong.

Loriot was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wuppertal in 2001.