Peter Kraus

Peter Kraus (born 18 March 1939) is an Austrian-German singer and actor.

Born Peter Siegfried Krausenecker in Munich, Germany, Kraus was popular especially in the 1950s, notably in those musical comedy films where he played opposite Cornelia Froboess.

Early life and family

Kraus is the son of Austrian-born director and comedian Fred Krausnecker, and spent his youth alternating in Munich, Vienna and Salzburg where his father owned a small theatre. During his school years he took singing and acting lessons as well as step dancing classes. His first acting role was the part of Johnny in The Flying Classroom (1954) after the novel by Erich Kästner.

In 1969 Kraus married the photo model Ingrid. Kraus adopted Ingrid's daughter Gaby. A few years later their son Mike was born. Gaby died in her late thirties from breast cancer.

Rock'n'Roll-Star

When the West German music industry discovered that rock 'n' roll was a big seller even with German lyrics, they marketed Kraus as an Elvis Presley copy. He soon became, like his colleague Ted Herold, one of West Germany's most popular singers and teen idols, the lanky figure and nonchalant attitude of the young man was a big hit with teens. In the first four years after his debut he recorded 36 hits and sold more than twelve million records.