Götz Kauffmann

Gottfried Maria Kauffman was born in the fifteenth district of Vienna. His father was the noted Vienna organ builder, Johann M. Kauffmann (1910-1965).^[2] The Kauffmanns had indeed been active in Vienna as organ builders since 1877: between 1964 and 1968 Götz Kauffmann also studied as an apprentice to master the craft.^[1] He then decided to pursue a career not as an organ builder but as an actor and cabaret artist. Kauffmann undertook his drama training at Vienna's Max Reinhardt Seminar where he completed the four-year course in 1972.^[3] Early theatre engagements took him to the Salzburger Landestheater and then, in 1977, to the Raimund Theater and the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna.^[4]

He reached a wider audience through appearances in several long running television series such as "Ein echter Wiener geht nicht unter" (loosely "You can't knock a true Viennese down", 1975-1979) in which he featured as the concierge, "Kurt Blahovec". There were also "Mozart und Meisel" (1987), in which he played the leading part and "Kaisermühlen Blues" (1992-1999) in which he also took one of the lead roles.^[5] He was also becoming known in film roles, featuring in numerous national and international cinema productions. He played the part of Oskar in "Tales from the Vienna Woods" directed by Maximilian Schell and was a member of the cast of "Verlassen Sie bitte Ihren Mann!" ("Please leave your husband", 1993) directed by Reinhard Schwabenitzky, and starring Reinhard Schwabenitzky's wife, Elfi Eschke, Wolfgang Böck and Helmut Griem. More recently, in 2008, he appeared in "Echte Wiener – Die Sackbauer-Saga" (2008), a successful cinema reprise of the 1970s television series.

Alongside his film career Kauffman continued to sustain his career as a theatre performer, and also pursued his interest in cabaret. In 1980 he founded the "Arge Kabarett" and in 1983 he presented his first solo programme, "Götz-Zitate". During his final years he worked as a freelance performer in Vienna, also reprising various lead roles in the Gloria-Theater.

Götz Kauffmann was honoured with the Goldener Rathausmann award by the city of Vienna. He was also a notable freemason.

His strikingly confessional autobiography, "Meine Abrechnung. Zwischen Kaisermühlen-Blues und Suff", appeared in 1999. It disclosed a sometimes difficult life, featuring three broken marriages, depression and alcohol issues.^[6] For many years he was also badly affected by diabetes.^[5] A few days before he died Kauffmann was able to celebrate his sixty-first birthday, surrounded by colleagues, his three children and his brother. His body is buried in the family grave at the Baumgartner Cemetery (Group K1, Nr. 75) in Vienna.^[7]