Celebrating 70 with Flair - Thomas Rühmann Refuses to Retire
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If you ask Thomas Rühmann about retirement, he's quick to shut down the idea. "Retirement? I ain't even thinking about it," quips the enigmatic actor, renowned for his role as Dr. Roland Heilmann in the long-running TV hit "In aller Freundschaft." Today, Rühmann is celebrating his 70th birthday, and he's as busy as a bee!
Since the show's debut 27 years ago, Rühmann has been the backbone of "In aller Freundschaft." With no end in sight for the medical drama, he's showing no signs of slowing down. For just as long, he's been running "Theater am Rand" in the Oderbruch, on the eastern edge of Germany. He's also a dab hand at music. "I ain't got the time to relax - and that's a damn good feeling," he grins. It feels great to keep growing at his age.
A Rühmann can make it as an artist, too...
Rühmann was born in Osterburg, part of the Altmark, in a bustling family of six sisters and a brother. He spent his formative years in Magdeburg. When he decided to chase his acting dreams, his old man said, "Well, I reckon a Rühmann can become an artist, too."
Would Rühmann encourage his 17-year-old son to follow in his footsteps? "I wouldn't push it, but if he comes to me with the idea, I'll back him all the way," he says. If he hadn't taken the acting route, he might have ended up in the classroom as a teacher.
"I've been bloody lucky"
Now, though, he looks back on his life with a contented smirk. "I've been bloody lucky," he admits. The simultaneous launch of his theater and his role as Dr. Heilmann on TV was "a stroke of celestial luck you wouldn't wish for better." The two have nothing in common - and that's what he likes best.
He still remembers his first day of shooting for the series. He rolled up on set, found no seat, and grabbed one that was handy. "Then a fella comes up to me and says, 'Thomas, that's a rookie mistake. That's my chair, mate!'" The man was director Bernhard Stephan - and grabbing the director's seat was "one hell of a blunder." "But Bernhard Stephan didn't hold a grudge. We ended up working together like a house on fire."
Despite playing a doctor on TV for so long, he didn't learn a whole lot about medicine. He thinks it's cocky to imagine he could. "Actors play the relationships between characters, not professions." But he does make one exception: "I don't resort to calling them 'bruises' anymore. I say 'hematomas.' So I reckon I've learned something after all."
Rühmann's reluctance to retire stems from MDR deciding to keep "In aller Freundschaft" rolling. Nearly 1,100 episodes have aired, and it plans to last until at least August 2027, according to Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk's announcement on Monday. A total of 78 new episodes are in the works for seasons 29 and 30.
Rühmann plans to celebrate his milestone birthday in style - at his theater in Brandenburg, near the Polish border. "I've invited the whole kit and caboodle - family, friends, even Saxonia Media and the Mitteldeutsche Kinderkrebsforschung Foundation. Lotsa folks. We'll have a swell night, maybe an open-air bash. With pals who are musicians, we'll sit on the stage and play some tunes. And we'll call that: Rühmann 7.0."
- Thomas Ruhmann
- Artist
- Roland Heilmann
- Luck
- Leipzig
- Oderbruch
- Germany
- Music
- Altmark
- Large Family
- Brother
- Magdeburg
- Thomas Rühmann, the renowned actor, emphasizes his commitment to continuous growth and productivity, stating, "I ain't got the time to relax - and that's a damn good feeling," as he balances his roles in "In aller Freundschaft," his own theater in the Oderbruch region of Germany, and his passion for music.
- In discussing his life and career, Rühmann reflects on the significance of luck, expressing gratitude for his simultaneous rise to fame on TV and the opening of his theater, adding, "Maybe at the theater party for my 70th birthday, we'll enjoy an outdoor music session - empowering the spirit of outdoor-living and home-and-garden lifestyle."
