He was only 66 years old. The anniversary of his death is next Saturday. 1982 was a year in which death took a particularly large number of charismatics. At that time, the film world lost some of its greats – all far too early: Romy Schneider, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and also Curd Jürgens.
He loved luxury and women
Jürgens played the best role of his life in everyday life and not on stage or screen: that of the bon vivant who loved luxury and women, a man who impressed with his aura alone.
The charming roughneck with the radiant look came to five marriages: he was married to the actresses Lulu Basler, Judith Holzmeister and Eva Bartok as well as to the model Simone Bichéron and most recently to Margie Schmitz. His estate also included love letters from the young Romy Schneider, with whom he shot the tsar-Schmonzette “Katja, the uncrowned empress” in 1959.
Roots in Denmark and France
He was born Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens on December 13, 1915 in Solln, which became a district of Munich in 1938. His father of Danish origin came from Hamburg, his mother was French. She moved to Berlin with him when he was ten years old. From a young age he was involved in a theater group.
But before he trained as an actor, he was a reporter for a short time. From 1941 to 1953 he was a member of the Burgtheater ensemble. The man with the whiskey voice, however, became immortal above all through the cinema. Overall, he appeared in around 160 films. He made many commercial films, probably to be able to pay for his expensive lifestyle. However, he also distinguished himself again and again in demanding works such as the Zuckmayer film adaptation of Helmut Käutner’s “Des Teufels General” or literary adaptations such as “Der Schinderhannes” or “Die Schachnovelle”. In 1955 he received the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for Les héros sont fatigués (The Heroes Are Tired).
„Todfeind“ von Roger Moore in „James Bond“
The world star, to which he became at the latest in 1977 alongside Roger Moore in “James Bond 007 – The Spy Who Loved Me”, was not above television either. For example, he played a humiliated husband and woman killer in “Tatort: Rot – rot – tot”. The TV thriller from New Year’s Day 1978 is still the most watched “crime scene” ever when it was first broadcast.
Fate struck again and again in Jürgens’ life: from the 1960s, a serious heart condition made operations necessary. However, he maintained the image of the bon vivant until his death.