Danish singer and film actress Gitte Hænning (1946) rose to fame as a child star in the 1950s. As Gitte, she became one of the most famous Schlager (hit music) singers of the German and Danish languages.
German postcard by ISV, no. K 23. Photo: E. Schneider.
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/378. Photo: Lothar Winkler.
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/379. Photo: Lothar Winkler.
Gitte was born as Gitte Hænning-Johansson in 1946 in Århus, Denmark. At the age of eight, she made her debut on Danish television together with her father, singer-composer Otto F. Hænning. She sang the song 'Giftes med farmand' (I Marry Daddy).
In 1956 she made her film debut in the Danish family film Den kloge mand/The Wise Man (Jon Iversen, 1956). She moved to Sweden in 1958 and was considered the most famous child star in Scandinavia. Her first hit in Swedish was 'Tror du jag ljuger' (Do You Think I Lie to You?) in 1961.
As a teenager, Gitte sang popular hits in German, English, Italian and Danish. She reached the top of the Danish and Swedish charts in the 1960s. Eventually, she also conquered Germany with the huge hit single, 'Ich will 'nen Cowboy als Mann' (I Want A Cowboy For My Husband). The recording sold 1.05 million copies by mid-1965, earning Gitte a golden disc.
Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without her surname Gitte in Europe. She sang her songs in several Schlager films such as the German Schlagerparade (Franz Marischka, 1960) and the Austrian Liebesgrüße aus Tirol/Love Greetings From Tyrol (Franz Antel, 1964) with Peter Weck.
She also starred in the Danish films Ullabella (Ole Walbom, 1961), Prinsesse for en dag/Princess for a Day (Finn Henriksen, 1962) and Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario/He, She, Dirch and Dario (Annelise Reenberg, 1962).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no AX 4632. Photo: Hafbo-Film. Publicity still for Schlagerparade 1960/Teenager Parade (Franz Marischka, 1960).
Dutch promotion card by NV Bovema, Heemstede. Photo: His Master's Voice. Gitte is sitting here at the Singel in Amsterdam. In the background the Munt tower is visible.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 199.
In 1962 Gitte Hænning attempted to compete for Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Jeg Snakker med mig Selv' (I Talk To Myself) but she was disqualified because the composer, Sejr Volmer-Sørensen had whistled the song in the canteen of the Danish broadcasting company DR. In January 1963, she had her first number-one hit in Denmark with 'Ta' med ud a fisk' (Take a fishing trip). In the same year, she also reached number one in Sweden as well as in Germany with 'Kom ned på jorden igen' (Get back on the ground again).
Her success continued after duets with Rex Gildo as 'Gitte & Rex', including the Number 1 hit 'Vom Stadtpark die Laternen' (The Lanterns of the Park). Together they also appeared in such popular films as Jetzt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1964) and the TV-film Mit dreißig Schlagern um die Welt/With 30 Hits Around the World (Charles Kerremans, 1967). Gitte and Rex were even rumoured to be engaged to be married for a while. Later Gitte recalled that it was just a publicity stunt by the record company, and she was so sore about it that she broke off the collaboration with Gildo.
In 1973 she competed for Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Junger Tag' (Younger Day). Gitte made an attempt to represent Luxembourg in 1978 with the song 'Rien qu' une femme' (Nothing But a Woman) but she lost out to the group Baccara. Since the late 1950s, Gitte Hænning appeared in more than 300 TV shows, including some personality shows, in several European countries, mostly in Germany and Denmark. She was among the most popular Schlager singers of the post-war era and continued to be popular in Germany and Denmark even as American music increasingly dominated the airwaves in the 1970s. Surprisingly at the time, she recorded a jazz album with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band in 1968.
Through the ensuing decades, her singles still reached the German charts, but never with the same success she had enjoyed in the 1960s. In the early 1980s, she changed her image and sang more serious songs such as 'Freu dich bloß nicht zu früh', the German version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Take That Look Off Your Face', or 'Ich will alles' (I Want Everything). This made her an icon of emancipation in Germany. Gitte's last film appearance was in Baltic Storm (Reuben Leder, 2003), a British-German thriller starring Greta Scacchi and Donald Sutherland. From 2004 to 2006, she was on tour Gitte Wencke Siw together with Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre and Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist. In 2010, she presented a new CD, which also had a German chart entry. She had her first chart entry in 1960 in Sweden and her last in 2010 in Germany.
Gitte Hænning has been married to Jo Geistler from 1972 till their divorce in 1974. After living together with director Pit Weyrich in the 1980s, she has been the longtime companion of musical producer Friedrich Kurz. Although she is a successful singer of popular music, her true passion has always been singing jazz. Several compilation albums of Gitte have been released in Germany, among them a biographical DVD, all to commemorate one of the most famous singers of the German and Danish languages. In 2023, Gitte Hænning returned to the screen in the Danish film Den, der lever still/There's No Place Like Home (Puk Grasten, 2023), an adaptation of the bestselling book by Leonora Christina Skov.
Dutch postcard, sent by mail in 1964. Photo: His Master's Voice.
German postcard by Friedrich-W. Sander-Verlag, Minden/Westf. in the Kolibri series. Photo: Wiener Stadthalle / Constantin. Publicity still for Jezt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (1964) with Rex Gildo.
Dutch postcard by SYBA, no. 36. With Rex Gildo.
Video about the disqualification of the Danish entry 'Jeg Snakker med mig Selv' in 1962. Source: Luxemburgo221 (YouTube).
Sources: GitteHaenning.info (now defunct), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 26 July 2024.
German postcard by ISV, no. K 23. Photo: E. Schneider.
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/378. Photo: Lothar Winkler.
German postcard by Krüger, no. 902/379. Photo: Lothar Winkler.
Teenager star
Gitte was born as Gitte Hænning-Johansson in 1946 in Århus, Denmark. At the age of eight, she made her debut on Danish television together with her father, singer-composer Otto F. Hænning. She sang the song 'Giftes med farmand' (I Marry Daddy).
In 1956 she made her film debut in the Danish family film Den kloge mand/The Wise Man (Jon Iversen, 1956). She moved to Sweden in 1958 and was considered the most famous child star in Scandinavia. Her first hit in Swedish was 'Tror du jag ljuger' (Do You Think I Lie to You?) in 1961.
As a teenager, Gitte sang popular hits in German, English, Italian and Danish. She reached the top of the Danish and Swedish charts in the 1960s. Eventually, she also conquered Germany with the huge hit single, 'Ich will 'nen Cowboy als Mann' (I Want A Cowboy For My Husband). The recording sold 1.05 million copies by mid-1965, earning Gitte a golden disc.
Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without her surname Gitte in Europe. She sang her songs in several Schlager films such as the German Schlagerparade (Franz Marischka, 1960) and the Austrian Liebesgrüße aus Tirol/Love Greetings From Tyrol (Franz Antel, 1964) with Peter Weck.
She also starred in the Danish films Ullabella (Ole Walbom, 1961), Prinsesse for en dag/Princess for a Day (Finn Henriksen, 1962) and Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario/He, She, Dirch and Dario (Annelise Reenberg, 1962).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no AX 4632. Photo: Hafbo-Film. Publicity still for Schlagerparade 1960/Teenager Parade (Franz Marischka, 1960).
Dutch promotion card by NV Bovema, Heemstede. Photo: His Master's Voice. Gitte is sitting here at the Singel in Amsterdam. In the background the Munt tower is visible.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 199.
An engagement as a publicity stunt
In 1962 Gitte Hænning attempted to compete for Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Jeg Snakker med mig Selv' (I Talk To Myself) but she was disqualified because the composer, Sejr Volmer-Sørensen had whistled the song in the canteen of the Danish broadcasting company DR. In January 1963, she had her first number-one hit in Denmark with 'Ta' med ud a fisk' (Take a fishing trip). In the same year, she also reached number one in Sweden as well as in Germany with 'Kom ned på jorden igen' (Get back on the ground again).
Her success continued after duets with Rex Gildo as 'Gitte & Rex', including the Number 1 hit 'Vom Stadtpark die Laternen' (The Lanterns of the Park). Together they also appeared in such popular films as Jetzt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1964) and the TV-film Mit dreißig Schlagern um die Welt/With 30 Hits Around the World (Charles Kerremans, 1967). Gitte and Rex were even rumoured to be engaged to be married for a while. Later Gitte recalled that it was just a publicity stunt by the record company, and she was so sore about it that she broke off the collaboration with Gildo.
In 1973 she competed for Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Junger Tag' (Younger Day). Gitte made an attempt to represent Luxembourg in 1978 with the song 'Rien qu' une femme' (Nothing But a Woman) but she lost out to the group Baccara. Since the late 1950s, Gitte Hænning appeared in more than 300 TV shows, including some personality shows, in several European countries, mostly in Germany and Denmark. She was among the most popular Schlager singers of the post-war era and continued to be popular in Germany and Denmark even as American music increasingly dominated the airwaves in the 1970s. Surprisingly at the time, she recorded a jazz album with The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band in 1968.
Through the ensuing decades, her singles still reached the German charts, but never with the same success she had enjoyed in the 1960s. In the early 1980s, she changed her image and sang more serious songs such as 'Freu dich bloß nicht zu früh', the German version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Take That Look Off Your Face', or 'Ich will alles' (I Want Everything). This made her an icon of emancipation in Germany. Gitte's last film appearance was in Baltic Storm (Reuben Leder, 2003), a British-German thriller starring Greta Scacchi and Donald Sutherland. From 2004 to 2006, she was on tour Gitte Wencke Siw together with Norwegian singer Wencke Myhre and Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist. In 2010, she presented a new CD, which also had a German chart entry. She had her first chart entry in 1960 in Sweden and her last in 2010 in Germany.
Gitte Hænning has been married to Jo Geistler from 1972 till their divorce in 1974. After living together with director Pit Weyrich in the 1980s, she has been the longtime companion of musical producer Friedrich Kurz. Although she is a successful singer of popular music, her true passion has always been singing jazz. Several compilation albums of Gitte have been released in Germany, among them a biographical DVD, all to commemorate one of the most famous singers of the German and Danish languages. In 2023, Gitte Hænning returned to the screen in the Danish film Den, der lever still/There's No Place Like Home (Puk Grasten, 2023), an adaptation of the bestselling book by Leonora Christina Skov.
Dutch postcard, sent by mail in 1964. Photo: His Master's Voice.
German postcard by Friedrich-W. Sander-Verlag, Minden/Westf. in the Kolibri series. Photo: Wiener Stadthalle / Constantin. Publicity still for Jezt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich/The World Turns Just Around You Now (1964) with Rex Gildo.
Dutch postcard by SYBA, no. 36. With Rex Gildo.
Video about the disqualification of the Danish entry 'Jeg Snakker med mig Selv' in 1962. Source: Luxemburgo221 (YouTube).
Sources: GitteHaenning.info (now defunct), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 26 July 2024.
Wonderful post. I've got EuroSong fever. I'll have to breakout my old Father Ted episodes ;)
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