Rolf Schimpf could not pay his old people’s home – now he is dead

Rolf Schimpf and the moving dilemma

He couldn’t pay his old people’s home – now he is dead

Rolf Schimpf has lived in a senior residence in Munich since his TV pension. Then the tragic turn: the money was missing. Schimpf died two years later.

Rolf Schimpf was a veteran of series television. He determined more than 200 times as “the old man” on ZDF. His career was like that of a world star: he participated in over 120 productions – and Schimpf made a name for himself. Because with “the old man” he built up a fan base worldwide, from Italy and France to Abu Dhabi, Brazil and South Africa.

Now Rolf Schimpf is dead. The actor died in at the age of 100 Munich. That became known on Saturday afternoon. Read more about this here. The man, who has stood in front of the camera since the end of the 1950s, not only experienced the steep career climb and the flowering period, including flashes of lightning, but also the tragic turn in old age.

Because despite his long career and the 21 years as a fixture on public television, with the main prize to be able to play the commissioner in a crime series, he was apparently missing from one time: in money.

After his career end, Rolf Schimpf moved to an expensive senior residence with his wife in 2010. Ilse Zielstorff fell ill in dementia in 2014 and died a year later. From then on, the 99-year-old lived alone in the old people’s home called Augustinum. But the money was not enough. At the end of 2023 he had to leave the facility.

According to media reports from back then, the noble senior residence in Munich is said to have cost almost 5,700 euros a month. Apparently too much for Schimpf. In the “picture” Schimpf’s doctor spoke: “If you work out for ten years and the high costs are no longer covered by the pension, the money is quickly gone,” said the man, who was also a general representative and executor from Rolf Schimpf. He assured that the other home “2,500 euros less than the previous” cost. There was no confirmation for this.

Rolf Schimpf wanted the move himself, according to the doctor, who, according to his own information, did not calculate any money for medical care. “He is well cared for in his new home. He hears and sees badly, is demented and in need of care.”

Mathias Steiner, spokesman for the senior residence, contradicted at the time. One is always always trying to find a solution within the Augustinum with residents who are in financial difficulties. “Either by moving to a smaller apartment or through financial help from our association.” The contract was nevertheless terminated. “We regret his excerpt.”

What exactly was behind it? Unclear. For many friends and companions, it was unimaginable anyway that Rolf Schimpf no longer had any money. He is said to have earned 20,000 euros per “the old” episode. Even when the retirement retired, the money apparently continued to flow: thanks to TV repolants, he allegedly continued to receive royalties. The contracts at that time were previously referred to as the “cream chir ore pension” by ZDF and ARD.

Nevertheless, it stayed that way: on his last meters, Rolf Schimpf had to move out of his beloved senior residence – and switch to cheaper accommodation. There he lived in a small one-room apartment until the end, had to sort out furniture and belongings for space reasons. A year and a half after moving, Rolf Schimpf is now dead.