Pierre Brice made himself immortal in film history as "Winnetou" in the sixties. However, in 2015 the famous actor died. We reveal the cause of his death.
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00:00 Pierre Brice immortalized himself as Winnetou in film history during the 1960s.
00:07 In real life, the Western legend tragically bid farewell forever on June 6, 2015.
00:14 We will reveal everything about his final years and the circumstances of his death.
00:19 Pierre Brice passed away 50 years after reaching the peak of his acting career, thanks to the
00:24 Carl May adaptations.
00:27 The Treasure of Silver Lake marked his significant breakthrough in 1962.
00:33 Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death came six years later, being the eleventh
00:37 and final installment of the successful series.
00:40 However, Winnetou continued to accompany Brice for many more years.
00:46 In 1980, he reprised his iconic role for the domestically not very successful series My
00:52 Friend Winnetou.
00:53 Simultaneously, he participated for many years in the Carl May festivals in Elsp, Sauerland,
01:00 and Bad Sägeberg.
01:02 One last time, in 1997, the Frenchmen donned the Indian costume for the ZDF two-parter
01:08 Winnetou's Return.
01:10 At that time, Brice was already 68 years old.
01:14 In his later decades, the actor, who found true love in his wife Hela, born in Amberg,
01:19 Bavaria, took life more calmly.
01:23 In the 2000s, he released a few songs and made guest appearances in German TV productions
01:28 like Rote Rosen or Kreuzfahrt ins Glück.
01:31 From 2010 onwards, the 81-year-old noticeably withdrew.
01:37 The last five years of his life were spent with his wife near Paris and occasionally
01:41 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
01:42 In 2015, at the age of 86, he mentioned in an interview with Der Spiegel that he wouldn't
01:49 rule out a comeback on stage, but he wouldn't play Winnetou anymore.
01:53 "A good Boulevard Theater piece would still interest me if offered, and if my health permits."
01:59 When asked if he feared death, he replied, "Who doesn't?"
02:05 Suppression is the recipe for success in this case.
02:09 However, in early June 2015, everything suddenly happened very quickly.
02:15 Weiss developed a high fever and was admitted to a hospital near Paris.
02:20 He suffered from pneumonia and a few hours later, on the morning of June 6, he passed
02:25 away.
02:27 The funeral took place 12 days later in Munich before he was buried in nearby Grafwilfen
02:31 the next day.
02:33 A sister of his wife Hela resides there.
02:36 Two years earlier, he had told Bild that he planned to spend his last years in Germany.
02:42 "My eternal hunting grounds are in Germany.
02:46 When I go, I want my dear wife to be with her family."
02:49 "She shouldn't be alone," said the Winnetou actor.
02:53 "I love her."