Heinz Rühmann, born Heinrich Wilhelm Hermann Rühmann in Essen in 1902, gave his first performances as a child in the railway station tavern his parents ran, before taking up acting in Munich. He became known as an actor, director and singer in popular German cinema, and from 1936 he made numerous records. In 1938 he recorded "Ich brech' die Herzen der stolzesten Frau'n", and his most famous record was the sailor's song "Das kann doch einen Seemann nicht erschüttern" (1939), composed by Michael Jary. He also recorded songs such as "Wozu ist die Straße da?", and the lullaby "La-Le-Lu (Unser Lied)", sung in the 1955 film Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne, became famous. Newly arranged with a contemporary rhythm, it entered the German singles charts in 1993 as "Unser Lied (LaLeLu)". After a long career that blended acting and singing, he died in Aufkirchen in 1994. Posthumously, he received the Goldene Kamera in 1995 as the greatest German actor of the century.
