Wilhelm von Homburg

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 in the film Ghostbusters II.^[1]

Wilhelm Von Homburg (A.K.A. Norbert Grupe) was born in Berlin, Germany. His father, Richard Grupe, was a poor German baker who became the armed forces boxing champion in 1938 and Nazi soldier and guard at Buchenwald.

Norbert Grupe grew up without his mother, feuded with his father, and had envy at his brother Winfried. Norbert, as an early adult, worked as a meatpacker, a stevedore, a butcher, a longshoreman, and a waiter. He then went to California to follow his father, who had emigrated in 1960 to further a professional wrestling career. The father and son would wrestle professionally as a tag team, first as The Vikings, wearing horned helmets and shiny gladiator outfits, and later as the Von Homburg brothers, billed as German heel jobbers to American faces. Norbert would adopt the stage name “Prince” Wilhelm von Homburg, which he would use for the rest of his career.

In 1962, he shifted from wrestling to boxing, as he had been training in the sport since age 10 by his father. Grupe won 16 of 21 professional fights in the U.S., fighting all over California, Oklahoma City, and New York City. He was said to be ranked seventh in the world according to a reporter for Der Spiegel. Grupe first went to box in Germany in 1964, channeling his braggart persona in wrestling and mixing in examples from Cassius Clay’s, and was christened the nickname “the Beatle Boxer.” In 1966, Grupe became the first person to knock down Italian Piero Del Papa, in the first round of a European light heavyweight championship bout. However, the French referee declared Grupe's head movement to be an illegal headbutt in the 11th round and awarded the match for Del Papa. ^[2]

In Hollywood, he made his debut on the popular television show Gunsmoke as "Otto", a bare-knuckle boxer offered a large bribe to throw a fight. 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.

German director Werner Herzog, who had watched Wilhelm fight as a young man, cast the ex-boxer as a bullying pimp in Stroszek, a 1977 film about an ex-con trying to leave Germany for a better life in the United States. Wilhelm would get a break in a bit part as one of Hans Gruber’s German-speaking goons in Die Hard.

Wilhelm is best known for playing "Vigo the Carpathian", the primary villain in the big hit movie Ghostbusters II. The character’s full name was Vigo Von Homburg Deutschendorf, an homage to his ring name. With his speech being slurred, all of his lines were dubbed with Max von Sydow’s baritone.

Wilhelm's last notable role was in Diggstown as a vegetative ex-boxer who had been cheated out of his life. His other movies includes, to name a few, Diggstown, The Package, Eye of The Storm, In The Mouth of Madness, The Devil's Brigade, and The Wrecking Crew.

In 2000, German film-maker Gerd Kroske produced a prize-winning documentary on Wilhelm's life called Der Boxprinz (2002).^[3] The documentary includes a 1969 TV interview with Rainer Günzler at the end of his boxing career,^[4] where Günzler made some rude, snide remarks about his boxing career and his private life on German TV at the Z.D.F. Sport Studio.

In his later years, Wilhelm lived in the Malibu/Santa Monica Mountains, together with his dog 'Kiss'. After a brief stay with a friend, retired boxer Buddy Turman in Texas, Wilhelm Von Homburg died of cancer in March 2004 on the Villa Estate of his close friend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.^[3]

• 1965: Morituri – Crew Member (uncredited)
• 1966: The Last of the Secret Agents? – GGI Man
• 1966: Torn Curtain – Blonde Twin in Bus (uncredited)
• 1967: Hotel Clausewitz – American1
• 1967: The Invaders - Injured Alien
• 1968: The Devil's Brigade – Fritz
• 1968: The Hell with Heroes – Hans
• 1968: The Wrecking Crew – Gregor
• 1970: Gentlemen in White Vests – Boxer Max Graf
• 1976: The Swiss Conspiracy – Hit Man in Santa Claus Costume (uncredited)
• 1977: Stroszek – Souteneur
• 1988: Die Hard – James
• 1989: Ghostbusters II – Vigo
• 1989: The Package – West Berlin Police Lieutenant
• 1990: Midnight Cabaret – Juan Carlos
• 1991: Night of the Warrior – Bike
• 1991: Eye of the Storm – Killer
• 1992: Diggstown – Charles Macum Diggs
• 1994: The Silence of the Hams – Maitre D'
• 1994: In the Mouth of Madness – Simon

• Wilhelm von Homburg at IMDb
• Boxing record for Wilhelm von Homburg from BoxRec (registration required)
• Outsports.com
• The Boxing Prince