RIP Gus Backus

Recording artist and actor Gus Backus has died. The native American died on February 21, 2019 after a long illness in Germering near Bavaria, Germany. Backus was 81 years old. In Germany, hea singer in the 1960s and 1970s, among others, with hits such as ‘Brauner Bär und weiße Taube’, ‘Da sprach der alte Häuptling der Indianer’ and ‘Der Mann im Mond’ were famous recordings. Born in Long Island, New York under the name Donald Edgar Backus on September 12, 1937, the singer came to Wiesbaden in the mid-50s as a US soldier. In addition to several chart successes in Europe, Backus also had engagements as an actor. He had his most famous appearance in the Austrian comedy film "Unsere tollen Tanten" (1961) with his ‘Sauerkraut Polka’. He was also a member of the American singing group The Dell-Vikings whose big hit was “Whispering Bells in 1957. Backus appeared as Fryer in the 1969 German TV western “Pistolen-Jenny”