The actress and singer Lotti Krekel is dead. She died on Tuesday in the early hours of the morning, as the German Press Agency was confirmed by family circles. West German Broadcasting had previously reported. The sister of actress Hildegard Krekel, who died in 2013, was 81 years old.
With a leading role in the comedy “The Spanish Fly” at the Millowitsch People’s Theater in 1958, the Cologne native laid the foundation for a successful stage career. The television broadcasts of these Rhenish theater farces reached ratings of up to 85 percent in the post-war period, and Krekel achieved prominence nationwide through them. Later she also played in many TV productions, such as the WDR series The Anrheinerthe RTL series Sylt stories or the ARDcrime scene.
In Cologne, Krekel was one of the most successful singers in the Rhenish dialect, her popular hits like “Ne Visit the Zoo” and “Mir schenke der Ahl e Paar Blömcher” became carnival classics. Krekel was also very present as a radio play speaker for years, including in the well-known “Paul Temple” crime series. Krekel lived in Cologne and was the wife of the actor Ernst Hilbich.