© dpa
Peter Wolf (l-r), former manager of Harald Juhnke, Susanne Juhnke, Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and Oliver Juhnke attend the inauguration of Harald Juhnke Square in Charlottenburg.
© dpa
The sun shines on the sign after the inauguration of Harald-Juhnke-Platz in Charlottenburg.
© dpa
Ben Becker remembered Harald Juhnke at a celebration.
Berlin honors the actor, singer and entertainer Harald Juhnke (1929-2005) with his own square in Charlottenburg.
In the presence of numerous celebrities from the show business, the Harald-Juhnke-Platz on Kurfürstendamm, which was renamed on September 1, has now been officially inaugurated.
After a ceremony at which Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and several artists paid tribute to Juhnke's life's work, the street sign was symbolically unveiled. Wegner said that Juhnke was "a great man" and had inspired millions. "There are few people who deserve to have their own place in Berlin as much as Harald Juhnke." Juhnke's wife Susanne and his son Oliver attended the ceremony. Actors such as Ben Becker, Mariella Ahrens, Barbara Schöne and Anouschka Renzi were also present. Entertainer Karsten Speck also attended, as did actor and theater maker Dieter Hallervorden and former Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit (SPD).
Born in Berlin, Juhnke shaped the city's cultural life for decades and was one of Germany's best-known stage and television stars. Shows such as "Ein verrücktes Paar" or his show "Musik ist Trumpf" were crowd pullers. The square named after him at the intersection of Kurfürstendamm, Grolmanstraße and Uhlandstraße is located in a place that is closely linked to Juhnke's artistic work: right next door are the Ku'damm stages, where the entertainer and actor celebrated many successes.
Juhnke is still regarded as one of Germany's greatest entertainers. He was a multi-talented actor and appeared in countless shows, series, films and plays. As a dubbing actor, he also lent his voice to Hollywood greats such as Charles Bronson and Marlon Brando. However, Juhnke also repeatedly hit the headlines due to his alcohol consumption. He died of dementia in April 2005.