Anecdotes

Served on the Eastern Front from 1914-1916 in World War I..

Athletic character actor, who began his career as a teenage acrobat performing on the trapeze as a member of the Hans-Hansen trio. For a series of one-reel slapstick comedies, beginning in 1911 (even earlier according to some sources), he created the comic characters 'Bumke' and 'Luny'. Dammann also performed most of his own stunts. Between 1917 and 1925, he was active as actor, writer and director for his own production company. After his popularity as a comedian waned, he embarked on a new career as a character actor and appeared in feature films as anything from ordinary proletarians, to crooks and police officers for the next two decades.

Gerhard Dammann founded his own company in 1917 he became the man at all fronts. He played, directed, wrote scripts as well as produced movies and carried out the stunts. His movies were very successful.

The actor Gerhard Dammann belonged to the pioneers of film comedians who already had an impressive career behind himself when the film business still was in its infancy.

Gerhard Dammann made his film debut about 1907, first cinematically works can be proved in 1911 where he appeared among others in "Marionetten" (1911), "Der verräterische Tintenfleck" (1911) and "Karl der Grosse" (1911).

When Gerhard Dammann left the Continental Kunstfilm GmbH in 1913 he wasn't able to use the protected name "Bumke" any longer. Therefore he created the figure of "Luny" for his new production company "Luna-Film-Industrie".

In the talkies Gerhard Dammann played only small and smallest support roles which led to a multitude of movies in which he appeared nearly simultaneous.

The young Gerhard Dammann became an acrobat at the age of 14 and he gave guest performances at variety theaters around the world. Among others he belonged to the famous balance and trapeze artist group Hans-Hansen trio. His then appropriated dexterity turned out to be useful for his coming film career where he often came up with daredevil stunts which he always carried out personally.

With the arising competition from the USA with Harold Lloyd and Charles Chaplin, the humor of Gerhard Dammann was pushed out constantly. Finally he shut down his company in 1925.

From 1923 he appeared on the screen with his real name, so in "Gerhard duelliert sich" (1923), "Gerhard macht sich beliebt" (1924) or "Gerhard als Möbeltransporter" (1925).

As "Bumke" he became the most successful and popular film comedians of the early German film history. He impersonated the figure of Bumke in a whole string of one-act plays. In these movies he made use of his acrobatic abilities and he hopped over tables, jumped from bridges or did gymnastic on a chandelier.

Gerhard Dammann showed an often earthy humor which finally fell victim to the censorship. One time he was even cited to the court because he sniffed in a film scene at a garter and naked legs of a woman.

With the entry in World War I his film career was interrupted, but in 1916 he returned to Berlin where he shot many movies as "Schnurzel" together with his wife Hansi Dege.