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Hans R. Beierlein: "Munich Mabuse" was just one of his many nicknames
Photo: Marc Müller / picture alliance / dpa
Hans R. Beierlein had many nicknames in the music and media industry.
Beierlein obviously liked the fact that SPIEGEL circulated a particularly large number of them while following his work for many years: On the website of his company Montana Musik, he had himself portrayed with a text that immediately begins with a list of them.
"Bavarian Goldfinger", "Munich Mabuse", "White Shark in Wonderland" - or "Hans R. in all streets" - an honorary title for Beierlein.
Hans Rudolf Beierlein was born in Nuremberg on April 19, 1929. He left the Dürer secondary school there in 1948 without taking his Abitur.
He became a reporter and initially reported on gossip topics from the Franconian metropolis for the »Abendzeitung«.
Beierlein rose to become editor-in-chief, founded the trade journal »Musikmarkt« in 1958 and, together with Josef von Ferenczy, produced the documentary »The Nuremberg Trial«, which received the Federal Film Prize.
In 1960, Beierlein founded the music publisher Edition Montana in Munich, which became the core of his diverse activities in music and media.
The political conservative Hans R. Beierlein managed his biggest music rights coup when he bought the Central European rights to the workers' song »Die Internationale« in 1972 for 12,500 US dollars.
As a result, Beierlein is said to have received more than a million royalties from the GDR alone – Westmark, of course.
Beierlein became known to the general public as the man at Udo Jürgens' side.
He discovered the still unknown Austrian singer and composer in 1963 and built him up into one of the biggest stars in German show business.
Jürgens made his breakthrough in 1966 at the Eurovision Grand Prix with the title »Merci Chérie«, whose French overtones Beierlein claims to have recommended for strategic reasons.
Beierlein remained Udo Jürgens' manager for 14 years until they separated in 1977.
It wasn't until 17 years later that the two men spoke to each other again.
Other stars that Hans Beierlein managed at least in phases were Heino, Reinhard Mey and Michael Schanze.
Beierlein was also privately involved with the singer Alexandra ("My friend, the tree"), who died young.
In addition, Beierlein was very active in making the big names of the French music scene popular in Germany as well.
To this end, he participated in the French record company Vogue, brought Petula Clark and Françoise Hardy to the German market and promoted artists such as Gilbert Bécaud, Charles Aznavour and Johnny Hallyday.
Beierlein's contact with the German Football Association came about through music: Montana had the German national football team play in the recording studio for the 1974 World Cup in Germany.
The song "Football is our life" became a huge success.
In the 1980s, Beierlein recognized the opportunities offered by the advent of private television for the DFB: On behalf of the football association, he traded the broadcasting rights, which meant that ARD and ZDF had to pay significantly more than before for international matches in the program.
Beierlein was always able to place programs on television in which trends he recognized were picked up on.
In the seventies it was still the singer-songwriters in the ZDF »Liedercircus« (where his protégés Mey and André Heller then performed).
Aerobics (»Enorm in Form«), music videos (»Formula One«) and cooking (»Eating like God in Germany«) followed in the 1980s.
However, Hans R. Beierlein landed his most lasting success in the field between music and television with the fact that he managed to establish folk music in the TV program.
Whether at the »Musikantenstadl« or the »Grand Prix der Volksmusik« - Beierlein had his finger in it practically everywhere there was swaying.
He moved "Patrona Bavariae", managed the child star duo Stefanie Hertel and Stefan Mross, marketed as a dream couple, and brought the singer Florian Silbereisen into the conversation as a moderator on MDR.
At MDR, Beierlein was involved in the affair with entertainment boss Udo Foht in 2011.
Hans R. Beierlein died in his Munich apartment on August 5, Montana Musik reports.
A song by the singer Alexandra is quoted in the obituary, signed by his long-time employee and confidante Bizzi Niesslein.
The »Bild« newspaper initially reported on the death, concentrating on the circumstances of death reported by Beierlein's chronicler Hubert Bücken.
Accordingly, a dull bang followed a strong sneeze by Beierlein and the air-suspended special mattress burst.
"With this finale fortissimo, the dazzling life of Hans Rudolf Beierlein ended in style," says Bücken.
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