Wilhelm von Homburg

Wilhelm von Homburg
Born Norbert Grupe
(1940-08-25)25 August 1940
Berlin, Germany
Died 10 March 2004(2004-03-10) (aged 63)
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Occupation Wrestler, boxer, actor

Norbert Grupe (August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German wrestler, boxer, and actor, best known for his portrayal of Vigo the Carpathian in the film Ghostbusters II.[1]

History

Wilhelm Von Homburg (A.K.A. Norbert Grupe) was born in Berlin, Germany. He started out his career as a wrestler during the fifties in Germany where he earned his fame. He also toured the States. Homburg's stage name was Prinz Wilhelm Von Homburg. In the early sixties, he shifted from wrestling to boxing. Between 1962 and 1970, he was in the light heavyweight and the heavyweight class.

In Hollywood, he made his debut on the popular television show Gunsmoke, as "Otto". The director Andrew V. McLaglen, had writer John Meston write the episode inspired by Wilhelm's life as a boxer. The production flew Wilhelm in from Germany to the U.S. for a special appearance of the Gunsmoke episode "The Promoter". Later, Wilhelm had a recurring role on Television show The Wild Wild West.

Wilhelm is best known for playing "Vigo the Carpathian" in the big hit movie Ghostbusters II. His other movies includes, to name a few, Die Hard, Diggstown, The Package, Eye of The Storm, In The Mouth of Madness, The Devil's Brigade, The Wrecking Crew, and Stroszek.

Wilhelm made headlines after his controversial appearance on German TV at the Z.D.F. Sport Studio, after the reporter Rainer Günzler had made some rude, snide remarks about his boxing career and his private life.

In 2000, German film-maker Gerd Kroske produced a prize-winning documentary on Wilhelm's life called Der Boxprinz (2002).[2]

Death

In his later years, Wilhelm lived in the beautiful Malibu/Santa Monica Mountains, together with his dog 'Kiss'. Wilhelm Von Homburg died of cancer in March, 2004 on the Villa Estate of his close friend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.[2]

Professional boxing record

30 Wins (24 knockouts, 6 decisions), 11 Losses (2 knockouts, 8 decisions, 1 DQ), 6 Draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 30-11-6 Germany Rudiger Schmidtke PTS 10 11/12/1970 Germany Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 30-10-6 Germany Juergen Blin PTS 10 12/12/1969 Germany Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Loss 30-9-6 Germany Rudiger Schmidtke PTS 10 14/11/1969 Germany Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Loss 30-8-6 Argentina Oscar Bonavena TKO 3 20/06/1969 Germany Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 30-7-6 Italy Giulio Rinaldi TKO 7 02/04/1969 Germany Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Loss 29-7-6 Italy Giulio Rinaldi PTS 10 14/02/1969 Germany Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 29-6-6 Italy Giulio Rinaldi TKO 5 03/01/1969 Germany Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 28-6-6 Germany Gerhard Zech PTS 10 08/11/1968 Germany Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg Germany BDB Heavyweight Title Eliminator.
Win 27-6-6 Aruba Franklin Arrindel KO 3 18/09/1968 Austria Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna
Win 26-6-6 Germany Rudolf Nehring TKO 8 30/08/1968 Germany Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Loss 25-6-6 United States David E. Bailey PTS 10 11/04/1968 Germany Sportpalast, Schoeneberg, Berlin
Win 25-5-6 France Paul Roux KO 5 15/12/1967 Germany Circus Krone Building, Munich, Bavaria
Draw 24-5-6 United States Ray Patterson PTS 10 03/05/1967 Germany Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 24-5-5 United States Archie McBride KO 9 09/12/1966 Germany Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Loss 23-5-5 Italy Piero Del Papa DQ 11 19/11/1966 Germany Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin EBU Light Heavyweight Title.
Draw 23-4-5 Germany Erich Schoppner PTS 10 14/05/1966 Germany Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Draw 23-4-4 United States Archie McBride PTS 10 28/05/1965 Germany Deutschlandhalle, Charlottenburg, Berlin
Win 23-4-3 Netherlands Bas van Duivenbode KO 4 29/04/1965 Germany Neue Sporthalle, Hannover, Lower Saxony
Win 22-4-3 Argentina Jose Angel Manzur TKO 8 02/04/1965 Austria Stadthalle, Vienna
Win 21-4-3 Germany Ulli Ritter TKO 6 20/02/1965 Germany Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Loss 20-4-3 Italy Piero Tomasoni PTS 10 16/01/1965 Germany Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 20-3-3 France Joseph Syoz TKO 10 05/12/1964 Germany Sporthalle, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Win 19-3-3 Netherlands Paul Kraus KO 3 27/11/1964 Germany Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Win 18-3-3 Sweden Lars Olaf Norling TKO 9 06/11/1964 Germany Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 17-3-3 France Jean Huiban KO 6 29/05/1964 Germany Weser-Ems Halle, Oldenburg, Lower Saxony
Draw 16-3-3 Germany Ulli Ritter PTS 10 08/05/1964 Germany Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg
Win 16-3-2 United States Roy Crear KO 5 07/04/1964 United States Stockyards Coliseum, Oklahoma City
Win 15-3-2 United States Bob McKinney TKO 9 06/01/1964 United States New York Coliseum, Bronx, New York
Win 14-3-2 United States Monroe Ratliff SD 10 18/11/1963 United States Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California 7-3, 8-1, 3-6.
Loss 13-3-2 United States Billy Stephan PTS 10 19/09/1963 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California 4-7.
Loss 13-2-2 United States Chuck Leslie PTS 10 23/07/1963 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California
Win 13-1-2 United States Bobby Sand TKO 9 24/06/1963 United States Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California Referee stopped the bout at 1:09 of the ninth round.
Draw 12-1-2 United States Tommy Merrill PTS 6 01/06/1963 United States Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 12-1-1 United States Bobby Sand TKO 9 20/05/1963 United States Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the ninth round.
Win 11-1-1 United States Pete Gonzales KO 3 25/03/1963 United States Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California
Win 10-1-1 Canada Gus Calf Robe KO 6 25/02/1963 United States Moulin Rouge, Hollywood, California
Win 9-1-1 United States Clifford Gray TKO 1 19/02/1963 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the first round.
Win 8-1-1 United States Bob Mumford KO 6 15/02/1963 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win 7-1-1 United States Yancy D Smith UD 8 22/01/1963 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California 5-2, 5-2, 6-2.
Win 6-1-1 United States Yancy D Smith PTS 8 15/01/1963 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California 6-3.
Win 5-1-1 United States Clifford Gray PTS 6 18/12/1962 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California
Win 4-1-1 United States John L Davey PTS 6 14/12/1962 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Loss 3-1-1 United States Freeman Hardin KO 3 25/10/1962 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win 3-0-1 United States Al Cummings KO 3 21/09/1962 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win 2-0-1 United States Tony Fern KO 3 24/08/1962 United States Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win 1-0-1 United States Bob Brown KO 2 16/08/1962 United States San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California
Draw 0-0-1 United States Sam Wyatt PTS 4 20/07/1962 United States Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California

Selected filmography

References

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