Udo Jürgens and his women: The bon vivant in private

On December 21, 2014, Udo Jürgens died of heart failure at the age of 80. The legend lives on. A musical with a star-studded cast, a four-hour documentary, a TV show as a tribute - even five years after his death, the entertainer and bon vivant is still present and continues to inspire and fascinate audiences.

via Sabrina

10/19/2019, 19:00

Udo Jürgens celebrated great success with hits such as "Merci, Chérie", "Mit 66 Jahren" and "Aber bitte mit Sahne". He wrote around 600 songs during his career.

Udo Jürgens in the early 1970s with his wife Erika "Panja", to whom he was married from 1964 to 1989, and his children Jonny (born 1964, l.) and Jenny (born 1967).

The entertainer was married to his second wife Corinna for seven years.

Professional success demanded private sacrifices

With more than 100 million records sold, two Golden Cameras and a victory at the 1966 Grand Prix for Austria, he is one of the most successful artists internationally. However, the Austrian-born artist's career demanded sacrifices in his private life. The entertainer was only able to spend little time with his wife Erika Meier and their children John and Jenny. Instead, he often consoled himself with other women, as he himself confessed in an interview shortly before his death: "I wasn't faithful to any of my wives."

Infidelities and headlines

His illegitimate daughter Sonja was born in 1966. But his wife Erika, known as Panja, stayed by his side, enduring headlines and infidelities. In 1989, Jügens and Meier divorced after 25 years of marriage. Five years later, his second illegitimate daughter Gloria was born. After the failed marriage with Panja, the singer tried his luck a second time and married Corinna Reinhold in 1999. However, the marriage only lasted seven years. "My lovers were always happy with me. My wives less so," says Jürgens. However, his greatest love seems to have been his mother Käthe, with whom he had a very close relationship.

Udo Jürgens celebrated and adored by fans and stars

His private escapades did not seem to have harmed the musician's unplayful career. And even five years after his death, he is still celebrated by his fans and adored by his colleagues. Stars such as Uwe Ochsenknecht, Heike Makatsch, Moritz Bleibtreu and Katharina Thalbach belt out the music legend's greatest hits in the musical adaptation "Ich war noch niemals in New York", which has been showing in cinemas since October 17, 2019. On October 19, VOX will show the singer's musical career and provide previously unpublished insights into his private life in the four-hour documentary "Ich wünsch Dir Liebe ohne Leiden - 85 Jahre Udo Jürgens". Barbara Schöneberger presents the musician's most popular hits on October 23 at 8.15 pm in the TV show "Merci Udo - Deutschland sagt Danke" on RTLplus, a repeat of 2016.