The funeral for the late actor Joseph Hannesschläger (1962-2020) took place in Munich on Monday in bright sunshine. Family, friends and colleagues as well as fans said goodbye to the popular star of the TV series "Die Rosenheim-Cops" at Munich's Ostfriedhof.
Hannesschläger died of cancer on January 20 at the age of 57. He is said to have expressly wished for the public funeral service, in order to give his fans the opportunity to say goodbye to him, as his PR company announced. Instead of flowers and wreaths, however, he asked for donations to the cystic fibrosis association. The burial of the urn will take place at a later date and in camera.
A final greeting
In addition to hundreds of fans and numerous police officers, celebrities and companions also came to the cemetery, including actresses Michaela May (67, "Heidi") and Katerina Jacob (61, "Der Bulle von Tölz"), vocal duo Marianne (66) and Michael ( 70) Hartl, his "Rosenheim-Cops" colleagues such as Karin Thaler (54) and Igor Jeftic (48), musician Heinz-Josef Braun (62) with Johanna Bittenbinder (62, "Hindafing"), film producer Martin Krug (62) and Jürgen Tonkel (57, "Those who die earlier are dead longer").
Funeral speeches were given by his "Rosenheim Cops" colleagues and friends Max Müller (54) and Alexander Duda (64) and Munich's former mayor Christian Ude (72). Müller reported visibly moved by his friendship with Hannesschläger and said: "Joseph accepted life. And also death." In his speech, Ude, a friend of Hannesschläger, also praised the actor's open approach to his death.
For the fans, the speeches were broadcast outside via loudspeakers. After the last words had faded away and the widow Bettina said goodbye at the coffin, the curtain closed and the voice of the deceased sounded: he sang his song "Whatever you experience". Then the last round of applause for Hannessschläger flared up.