Bereavement
With only 52 years: comedian Mirco Nontschew is dead
The popular comedian Mirco Nontschew
© Eventpress Sandel / Picture Alliance
He was one of the first great comedy stars in Germany. Now Mirco Nontschew has died at the age of only 52.
He mastered spontaneous comedy like no other: Mirco Nontschew made his colleagues laugh most recently on “Last One Laughing” with the simplest means like a banana. Now he has died at the age of 52.
His manager and confidante Bertram Riedel confirmed this to both “Bild” and “BZ”. “We confirm the death of our friend and family member. The family asks for consideration in this difficult time,” said a verbatim statement in the two newspapers. According to the “BZ”, the police confirmed that they had found a lifeless 52-year-old in his apartment in a Berlin apartment building on Friday. The cause of death is not yet clear, a death investigation has been initiated.
Mirco Nontschew: the underrated super comedian
Nontschew was one of the big stars of the first wave of German comedy in the nineties. As a founding member of “RTL Saturday Night”, he and colleagues like Wigald Boning, Olli Dietrich and Esther Schweins had a lasting impact on the German perception of the still young comedy scene. Nontschev’s specialty were absurd and over-the-top appearances, in which he often acted spontaneously. With wild gestures, noises and facial expressions, he could make his audience cheer in no time.
Most recently, he had put his comedian colleagues to tough tests at Bully Herbig’s comedy competition “Last One Laughing”. In the show, in which you have to make the others laugh to throw them out, several colleagues referred to him as the “boss”. Nontschew excelled, for example, by imitating laser pistols with a banana and whistling noises – and almost threw out the other participants. He was “so funny that he doesn’t have to make a living from it,” said one of the participants appreciatively.
Nontschew leaves two daughters behind.