Schlagerstars – Rex Gildo

Statistics don't lie! And they speak a clear language: Rex Gildo is one of the most successful pop stars on the German scene, both in the 1960s and the 1970s.

His BRAVO career lasted almost 20 years and gave listeners around two dozen hits . That's more than Roy Black or Udo Jürgens could land. One hit, "Speedy Gonzales," even held the number one position for ten long weeks in 1962. There were also five successful duets with Gitte and another with Conny Froboess as a singing partner. And that doesn't even include such smash hits as "Borriquito," "Marie, der letzte Tanz" or "Love a little bit, Melinda." It's completely unjustified, then, if when you hear his name, you immediately hear "Hossa, Hossa" (Fiesta Mexicana).

The list of films in which he was able to act is almost as long as the list of his hits. Most of them were musicals or films that were more of a slapstick comedy. But that was what was in demand! Motto: Give the people what they want! A star cutout, four bronze BRAVO-OTTOs and numerous BRAVO cover pictures attest to his popularity with BRAVO readers even during the Beat era. So much for the brilliant page of fame of Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter, who was born in Straubing in 1936.

In contrast, his private reality appears somewhat dark. Homosexuality, which he never admitted to publicly, wearing wigs, artificial tanning, alcohol and drug addiction. One can speculate how much recognition he would have received if he had honestly come out earlier.

So he remained a wanderer between two worlds throughout his life. Which one he wanted to escape with his apparent suicide in 1999 will probably remain a mystery forever.