As of: March 9, 2024, 7:47 p.m
By: Jonas Erbas
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Johannes Heesters was on stage until his death.
That caused bad talk, as his widow Simone Rethel now revealed on “Riverboat”.
Leipzig – What Johannes “Jopie” Heesters (1903–2011) achieved during his lifetime is record-breaking: the actor and singer was on stage and in front of the camera for around nine decades.
Despite being 108 years old, retirement was never an option for the native Dutchman - a fact that his widow Simone Rethel-Heesters (74) emphasized again on Friday evening (March 8th) on “Riverboat”.
Widow Simone Rethel reveals on “Riverboat”: This is how Jopie Heesters kept fit
The work of her husband, who appeared in numerous films and stage plays from the 1920s onwards, will also be honored accordingly in 2024.
Johannes Heesters will be honored with a concert in the Berlin Philharmonic on September 22nd, reported Simone Rethel.
She also used her television appearance with Kim Fischer (54) and Wolfgang Lippert (72) to review the last years of her late husband.
“He’s 108 years old – that’s just a fantastic number,” enthused “Riverboat” presenter Lippert.
Simone Rethel answered in the affirmative and added: “If you live to be as old as him, it’s definitely something wonderful.
He was blind, but he was healthy.” Until the end, the cult actor “thought ahead” and took on new tasks.
His widow believes that this is how he could live such a long life: “We would have a lot more healthier older people if they didn’t retire.
Because retirement usually results in stagnation and that is bad for the body and mind.”
Misunderstanding about Johannes Heesters cleared up: Simone Rethel regrets that today
In 2007, Johannes Heesters developed an eye disease that left him completely blind from 2009 onwards.
However, the public was initially kept in the dark about this situation.
With consequences: “It was definitely a mistake that we didn’t say that he was blind.
Most people didn't know that.
Many people always made fun of him when he was led to the piano.
“They always said: He’ll be dragged there,” reported Simone Rethel, once again correcting the misunderstanding.
Simone Rethel made it clear in the MDR “Riverboat”: Jopie Heesters was dragged onto the stage, as evil tongues once claimed.
© Lindenthaler/Imago & Screenshot/MDR/ARD Mediathek/Riverboat
Because Johannes Heesters didn't want to let such signs of aging stop him: "He wanted to work and he had incredible fun," emphasized his widow.
Shortly before his death, the stage artist was preparing for a role that he didn't seem to entirely agree with: "He didn't like the fact that he was supposed to play a grandfather at 108," says Simone Rethel.
Although the acting star has been dead for over a decade, he remains unforgotten: Johannes Heesters was recently even the subject of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Sources used:
“Riverboat” (MDR/ARD media library; episode from March 8, 2023), mdr. de