Michael Habeck (23 April 1944 – 4 February 2011) was a German actor, best known in Germany as the German voice of Oliver Hardy and Danny DeVito.

Life

Habeck was born in Bad Grönenbach. "After his training at the Ruth von Zerboni acting school in Munich, Michael Habeck had engagements at various German stages, including the Munich Kammerspiele, the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and at the Munich Volkstheater." As part of the Ruhr Festival in 1974, Habeck appeared as Lennox in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, which was recorded by ARD and broadcast on television. For years, Michael Habeck was present in television productions for children through the characters Oswin in the German preschool series Rappelkiste (1973–1984) and Ernie in Sesame Street, Barney Rubble in The Flintstones, Fozzie Bear animated series Muppet Babies (1984–1991) or as Mr. Rabbit in The Animals of Farthing Wood (1993–1996). In the animated series The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993 he dubbed the roles of Chief Wiggum in seasons two and three, Dr. Nick in season two and groundskeeper Willie in season three. He played in a considerable number of German series, including Tatort and Silas, and films. In 1984 Habeck received the Grimm Award for his role in the children's series Rappelkiste He also appeared in international productions, such as The Name of the Rose, where he played "the striking role of the corpulent bald monk Berengar", Asterix Conquers America, and Lexx, in which he played the role of Feppo. Habeck was known for providing the German dubbing for Oliver Hardy after Bruno W. Pantel died, and Danny De Vito. He also dubbed several characters in the German version of The Muppet Show. He died in Munich on 4 February 2011 after a short time of severe illness, aged 66.

Filmography

German-language voice acting