Zurich Film Festival gives Swiss comedian Emil Steinberger top honour for life's work

Swiss actor and cabaret artist Emil Steinberger has been given a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. The 91-year-old also attended the premiere of the documentary film about his life, Typisch Emil (Typical Emil), directed by Phil Meyer. In the film, the Lucerne-born artist recounts his childhood, his great successes and the price of fame. Interview scenes alternate with his legendary sketches, never-before-seen footage and excerpts from the cult film Les faiseurs de Suisses (Swissmakers) (1978), in which he played the lead role. Almost uninterrupted success In 1968, the actor and former postal worker founded the Kleintheater cabaret in Lucerne with his first wife, Maja. A year later, Emil, then 36, broke through with his first major programme. Success followed in Germany, Austria and even French-speaking Switzerland, where he performed in French. + Turning ‘three times 25’: a 2008 interview with Emil The Lucerne-born singer retired from the stage for the first ...