"Frau Puppendoktor Pille" actress Urte Blankenstein dead

"Frau Puppendoktor Pille" actress Urte Blankenstein dead dpa • 7 hours • 1 minute read Actress Urte Blankenstein, known as "Frau Puppendoktor Pille" on East German television, has died. The 81-year-old died on Sunday in Berlin, her son confirmed to the German Press Agency. For decades, she performed on stage in the role of the woman in the doctor's coat, with braided black pigtails and enormous black glasses – right up until the end. Blankenstein played the popular TV character from 1968 until the end of the episodes in the "Sandmännchen" evening greeting in 1988. It wasn't just doll parents who sought advice at her consultation hours. She saw herself as a friend to children and a comforter, giving them tips on good behavior, proper nutrition, and avoiding colds with her gentle voice. "Many people thought I was a pediatrician or a kindergarten teacher," she once said. The entertainer, originally from East Prussia, lived in a children's home for several years as a girl, where there was a lot of singing, and later studied acting. Until her sudden end, Blankenstein played the role of "Mrs. Puppet Doctor" on children's programs about 1,500 times. After that, she wasn't offered any other roles because her voice was recognizable – so she hosted music shows. Doll Doctor Pille also on stage Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, she has performed various shows on small stages or has sung. She has also repeatedly appeared in her signature TV role in "Next, please...", a turbulent consultation with the frog Quaki and paramedic Konstantin. Unlike her two predecessors in glasses, lab coats, and pigtailed wigs, Helga Liebau-Labudda and Angela Bronner, Blankenstein remained present – ​​and popular – beyond the screen as "Mrs. Puppet Doctor Pille."