Others have long since retired at the age of 71. Heinz Hoenig, on the other hand, had planned to start a new musical job on Thursday. But nothing will come of it. After all, the family comes first - and it has just grown again with the actor.
Heinz Hoenig is actually booked as an actor for the new Ralph Siegel musical "N'bisschen Frieden - Rock'n'Roll Summer" in Duisburg. But his entry is delayed: The 71-year-old actor has just become a father for the fourth time, as the organizer of the musical announced.
Hoenig wants to devote himself entirely to his second wife Annika Kärsten-Hoenig, his almost two-year-old son and the youngest offspring - also a boy - by mid-December. The actor lives with his family in Blankenburg im Harz (Saxony-Anhalt). Hoenig also has two adult children from his first marriage.
"I'm overjoyed! Now it's important to me to spend time with my family first," says Hoenig, according to a statement. Mother and son are doing well. Until the very end, he had hoped to be present at the world premiere of the latest Siegel work this Thursday at the Duisburg Theater am Marientor. "I thought my role in the musical and being a father could be reconciled. But I'm so overwhelmed by the birth of my son and the new situation that I don't want to leave my family alone now and only get in at a later date can."
Composer and music producer Ralph Siegel shows understanding for Hoenig. "During this time he is reluctant to separate from his family," said the 77-year-old. Hoenig will probably join the ensemble on December 15. "At least that's what was agreed."
Wolfgang DeMarco, director of the theater, can understand Hoenig's decision. "Of course we would have liked to have seen this great actor on stage right from the start. But family always comes first," says the 57-year-old.
In the musical, Hoenig embodies a former Stasi officer. As Erwin Krause, in the German-German love story with crime thriller elements, he gets close to the former rock musician Richard "Ricky" Steiner - played by the first "The Voice Senior" winner Dan Lucas. As a young musician, Steiner (young: Tim Wilhelm) supposedly died trying to escape from the former GDR in 1979, but then reappeared in England as Rick Stone.
Until Hoenig joins, Tom Barcal will take over his role. The Duisburg actor has already stood in front of the camera with film greats such as Jürgen Prochnow and Udo Kier. He became known for his role as Marc "Keule" Schneider in the RTL series "Everything that counts".
