- Actor Michael Schacht, voice of legendary private investigator Philip Maloney, has died.
- This was announced by the author of the radio play series, Roger Graf.
- Schacht died on Saturday at the age of 81 after a long illness.
Michael Schacht shaped the radio play series on SRF 3 with his unmistakable voice for more than 30 years. As Philip Maloney, Schacht appeared in more than 400 episodes of the radio play. Michael Schacht also toured the theaters of Switzerland for many years with the “hair-raising cases of Philip Maloney”.
The smoky soul of the private detective
“Philip Maloney, as he liked to say, was not a character, not a role for him, but a condition,” writes Maloney author Roger Graf about Schacht on his website. “He gave the private detective an expression, a smoky soul, he who never smoked and who passed the whiskey that was occasionally given to me,” Graf continued.
The former SRF presenter Heinz Margot also knew Michael Schacht well. Until 2019 he was seen with Schacht on the “Philip Maloney Reading Tour” on Swiss stages. “Sometimes I had the feeling: Maloney was definitely 100% Michael Schacht,” says Margot. But Michael Schacht was probably a little more Maloney than he was willing or willing to admit. “As is often the case when a character accompanies you for so long, it’s also a bit of a love-hate relationship.” According to Margot, on tour he enjoyed it all the more, being able to slip into other roles and being able to live out his love for dialects.
For Philip Maloney, as he liked to say, he was not a character, not a role, but a condition
“Michael, like his listeners, was always a fan,” Graf recalls. “One who asked me anxiously how long I would still be writing new cases and who sometimes called me suddenly on Sundays, enthusiastic about a dialogue from an older episode.”
The “hair-raising cases of Philip Maloney” are a success story, confirms Wolfram Höll, Editor-in-Chief of Radio Plays at SRF: “Maloney is SRF’s most successful radio play series ever. You can see that in the streaming numbers. Along with Echo der Zeit, it is the most successful audio product that we offer.» In fact, the basic structure of the series hasn’t really changed in 30 years and it’s still popular because it’s so surprising and lively, Höll continues.
Does the death of Michael Schacht mean the end of the Maloney cases? “We express our condolences to Michael Schacht’s family. Nothing changes for Maloney fans. Maloney is investigating further!”, says Head of Radio SRF 3 Alexander Blunschi.