The "Personification of a Cultural Life"

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Although he could “slip into any role,” Muliar’s “commitment to democracy, anti-fascism, and social justice” was “never a role play but an inner conviction” for him. “He always actively participated in Austrian cultural life. His contributions to Austria are undisputed. His death is a painful cut in Austrian cultural life.”

ÖVP club chairman and media spokesperson Karlheinz Kopf also reacted with concern in a statement: “Fritz Muliar was a gifted actor who played his way into the hearts of theater and film audiences with humor and depth. But he was also a man who, from observing more than eight decades of experienced history and in light of his own fate, was a politically thinking and acting person who never gave up the search for justice, fairness, and balance,” said Kopf. As a member of the ORF audience and foundation council, he “always had a clear position, which he also represented. For him, loyalty, friendship, and conviction were not empty words.”

“Muliar always played his roles unmistakably and with the typical Austrian peculiarity for him,” stated BZÖ cultural spokesperson Stefan Petzner in a statement. “His signature role as ‘Schwejk’ will also remain unforgettable, where Muliar brilliantly illustrated the absurdity of war through humor. His death leaves a great void in the Austrian theater landscape.” Muliar always “openly and honestly acknowledged his social democratic stance and often stood in contradiction to libertarian ideas and concepts,” said Petzner. However, this “in no way diminishes his achievements as an actor.”

SPÖ cultural spokesperson Christine Muttonen also expressed deep sorrow over Muliar’s passing. “With Fritz Muliar, Austria loses a great and beloved folk actor and a true Homo Politicus who placed justice, commitment, and balance at the center of his thinking and actions.” With some of his characters, he “played his way into the hearts and cultural memory”: “He made us laugh as ‘Schwejk’ and made us thoughtful as the ‘old man’ in Felix Mitterer’s ‘Siberia.’ We will all remember Fritz Muliar with gratitude and honor,” said Muttonen, who expressed her “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the family and friends.

And FPÖ cultural spokesperson Heidemarie Unterreiner honored Muliar as a “great folk and character actor”: “After a beautiful and fulfilling life, during which he was active on many Austrian stages, an undoubtedly great actor has left us. He shaped Austrian theater life in recent decades.”