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Cabaret artist Emil Steinberger, recorded at the end of December 2022 in the Kunsthalle restaurant in Basel.
Jean Claude GalliEditor People
When the Swiss national comedian turns 90, a big interview is the minimum. Et voilà!
Mr. Steinberger, to start with, it’s very simple: How are you?
Emil Steinberger: No sore throat, no fever, no headache – ergo, I’m fine.
How, where and with whom will you celebrate your milestone birthday?
Yes, yes, you would like to know that. We don’t answer the where to anyone, and the how is going well. But we don’t really know until we’ve arrived at our destination and checked all the options. Now it remains with whom? I think everyone can guess for themselves – at least I don’t have to order any catering. There is no need for bouncers either.
In view of the current world situation, are we allowed to celebrate at all?
Safe in our way.
Have you ever seen a year as dreary as 2022?
Unfortunately, I suspect there could be more dreary years to come. It’s rumbling around the world right now. And the means used to stir up trouble and destroy political systems are becoming ever more diabolical, malicious and mean. Much is staged insidiously.
Would you like to be 20 again?
Why not? But then I wouldn’t want to start again as a postman. Because the tasks at the counter would no longer be fun for me today. I would keep the fact that I was able to play part-time in a cabaret ensemble back in the 1950s – as would the whole sequel. Because it was very varied and successful.
And how old do you want to be?
I don’t know if you have that much room on the page. This answer needs space. There would be very difficult calculations to be made that would have to be associated with the constellation of the sun – but without forgetting one’s own bodily currents, which influence the rhythm of the heart as well as the recently discovered functions of the intestine. In short: I still need some time!
You have been artistically on the road for 60 years. Where do you get this amazing energy from?
May I call the number 78 instead of 60? Because at the age of twelve I already had my first cabaret appearances; in the parish of St. Paul in Lucerne, at the annual dinner of the altar boys. I get the energy from the audience, which they throw at me with their laughter.
And has there really never been a very small thought of resignation?
That’s a good question. There were always periods in life in which I was overwhelmed by the realization of my own wishes and ideas. But above all because of the many wishes that always came to me from outside. This often resulted in clusters of tasks. And I would have liked to have taken longer breaths or even stopped once in a while. But the tasks that were set were just too appealing.
Does the audience have a right to the star always going on?
The audience has a different perspective than the artist and cannot judge what the artist experiences and feels, and must therefore subordinate their opinion and wishes to those of the artist. A pastor in Kriens once said in a Sunday sermon that if you had a God-given talent like Emil, you were obliged to practice it. But: Even a pastor cannot judge something like that and of course has to consider the history of the church.
How much does an artist belong to the audience?
This thought is alien to me. It could perhaps apply to a ball artist Messi. His personality seems to belong to all Argentines. I don’t want to swap places with him.
Can and may the star resist being co-opted?
Fighting back is tricky, but perhaps necessary. You have to be very diplomatic and try to mark the boundaries with sensitivity.
When you step off the stage and the curtain falls: what kind of person are you?
I don’t like to describe myself. That could easily be misunderstood. All I can say is that off the stage I am a very interested, curious person. The dividing line between stage and private life is difficult to draw. After all, stage performances always involve a great deal of preparatory work that the audience doesn’t notice. Books, especially about inventions, have been a great source of entertainment for me since my youth. I love asking people questions and being confronted with new perspectives or getting to know new solutions.
What is harder for you today than it was ten years ago?
To learn my self-written texts by heart. It’s never been easy for me, but now it’s even harder. But it’s easier for me to get up early to get things done.
what do you regret
I am not flawless. I have not always reacted cleverly to private life situations.
what do you regret
Not having educated myself in a high school.
Personal: Emil
Born in Lucerne, Emil Steinberger – he has been an honorary citizen since 2008 – has been a successful cabaret artist throughout the German-speaking world since the early 1970s. Sketches such as “S’Chileli vo Wasse” or “Der Kinderwagen” have become part of Swiss cultural heritage. The legendary Knie guest performances and the leading role in the film “Die Schweizermacher” also contributed to the enormous popularity of the trained postal clerk. After a long stay in New York (USA), he married his current wife Niccel (57) in 1999 and returned to Switzerland with her. The couple has lived in Basel since 2014. SRF 1 is showing a six-hour special program in his honor next Saturday.
Born in Lucerne, Emil Steinberger – he has been an honorary citizen since 2008 – has been a successful cabaret artist throughout the German-speaking world since the early 1970s. Sketches such as “S’Chileli vo Wasse” or “Der Kinderwagen” have become part of Swiss cultural heritage. The legendary Knie guest performances and the leading role in the film “Die Schweizermacher” also contributed to the enormous popularity of the trained postal clerk. After a long stay in New York (USA), he married his current wife Niccel (57) in 1999 and returned to Switzerland with her. The couple has lived in Basel since 2014. SRF 1 is showing a six-hour special program in his honor next Saturday.
Some of your fellow artists, who are much younger than you, have already made their wills, organized their funerals and settled their estate. How about you?
Something like that can be reassuring. It’s much more reassuring to me that I don’t dwell on the subject of death any more than I have to. I prefer to plan my future years. There are still many ideas to be realized. And that’s the smartest thing to not give the Grim Reaper a chance.
How do you even feel that you are loved?
This can be appreciative, enthusiastic love from third parties. That can be a word or a special compliment – for example, when you walk across the pedestrian crossing with me. Or that father and mother with their two children visit the same performance four times. A Chinese restaurant owner used to tell me enthusiastically that he brought Emil DVDs to his father in Hong Kong. He can always laugh, even if he doesn’t understand a word. There must be some love in there. But tokens of love between couples naturally have other dimensions, other depths and great gratitude. I often have the feeling that I cannot return all my wife’s affection, her constant willingness to help and her encouragement, to the same extent. I have it really good!
Where would you be today without your wife?
Probably still in New York – but certainly not as happy as I am today. Our history, the unique constellation and the long, continuously developing process of our relationship are absolutely rare. A magazine once had the headline «A love story ready for film». Everything I have realized since returning to Switzerland was only possible thanks to Nicel’s support. Doing almost everything on my own, like in previous years, would have overwhelmed me. Niccel put aside her personal and professional ambitions and invested all her energy in me. Now it’s my turn to give her great creative abilities the necessary attention and support. She’s a grab bag…I can only repeat that over and over again.
Are you sometimes afraid of finiteness?
I probably don’t find the time to classify all the imaginative visions of finitude or life after death, let alone to clarify their truth content. Perhaps a landing on Mars will give those who have landed the chance to prove a possible finiteness.
Are you happy? And what is happiness for you?
You can’t consciously aim for happiness. Happiness happens through the interaction of different constellations. I confess I’m a lucky man. I don’t want to list my successful works and experiences here. Maybe you can read about that in my autobiography, which will be published soon.