Bernhard Victor Christoph Carl von Bülow (short: Vicco von Bülow), more commonly known under the pseudonym Loriot, was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer. On the television series Unsere Besten (Our Best), Loriot was ranked the 54th best German ever. In a special comedy episode of Unsere Besten, he was ranked as the most famous German comedian ever.
Education
His parents separated soon after he was born,and Loriot with his brother were brought up by their grandparents in Berlin. From 1934 till 1938 he visited Schadow-Gymnasium in Berlin-Zehlendorf . Then they moved with their father to Stuttgart. There from 1938 till 1941 he was visiting humanistic Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium. In 1941 he passed his presceduled exams, as it was the beginning of war, and got his school leaving certificate.
Career
In 1971 von Bülow created a cartoon dog named Wum, which he voice acted himself. Wum became the mascot of "Aktion Sorgenkind", a German humanitarian organization. Wum also appeared in the German show Der große Preis (The Big Prize), where he appeared during breaks until the 1990s. Before long, Wum was accompanied by the elephant Wendelin. Loriot wrote, drew and dubbed all of these skits by himself. Each cartoon ended with Loriot asking the viewers to take part in the TV-lottery, which supported the "Aktion Sorgenkind".
The first episode of the German television comedy series "Loriot" was produced in 1976. In six episodes, Loriot presented sketches, usually being the protagonist himself, and short cartoons, drawn by himself. As he was fond of classical music and opera he conducted the humorous gala concert for the 100th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1982). As a director, Loriot staged the operas Martha (Staatsoper Stuttgart, 1986) and Der Freischütz (Ludwigsburg, 1988).
Loriot also shot two films, taking part as a producer, actor and director. The first one called "Ödipussi" (1988),the second one - "Pappa ante Portas" (1991).