Klaus Havenstein

Who was Klaus Havenstein?

Klaus Havenstein, was a German actor, cabaret artist, dubbing artist and television presenter.

Klaus Havenstein grew up in Hamburg, where he started an apprenticeship as a retail salesman in 1937. At the same time, against his father's wishes, he took acting lessons from a private teacher.

In 1939 Havenstein served in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler where he joined the artillery. He took part in the Battle of France, in the occupation of Greece and in the war against Russia.

In 1945 he was captured as an American prisoner of war. The Americans recognised his talent and brought him to a special camp in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to entertain imprisoned officers. There, he was discovered as a theatre actor, and it was in the Garmisch theatre that he first appeared on stage, promoted by the famous German actor Hans Söhnker among others.

In the 1950s and 1960s Havenstein was known all over Germany. Along with Ursula Herking, Dieter Hildebrandt and Oliver Hassencamp, the cabaret artist created a form of sharp-tongued, provocative entertainment of a kind never seen before. In 1956 he was among the founders of the ensemble München Lach- und Schießgesellschaft, literally "Munich laughter and shooting club" - a mixed-up version of Wach- und Schließgesellschaft. In 1972 Havenstein left the group but remained active on television and radio.