Rex Gildo was one of Germany's most popular musicians during the 1960s and 1970s, renowned for his Schlager ballads as well as his acting career. He was born as "Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter" in Straubing, Bavaria, on July 2, 1936. Initially appearing in German films and theater productions under the stage name "Alexander Gildo" during the late 1950s, he adopted the "Rex Gildo" alias in 1959, after signing with Electrola Records as a solo artist. 1960's "Sieben Wochen nach Bombay" marked Gildo's first release under his new name, as well as his first brush with success. Charting at Number 13 in Germany, the song was followed by hits like "Va Bene" and "Das Ende der Liebe," both of which cracked the Top 10 that same year. Rex Gildo landed his first Number 1 release in Germany with 1962's "Speedy Gonzales" and began recording a number of successful duets with Danish singer Gitte Hænning, including the Number 1 song "Vom Stadtpark die Laternen" (1963) and the Number 8 hit "Jetzt dreht die Welt sich nur um dich" (1964). Although the duo stopped working together in 1965, Rex Gildo remained a hitmaker in his home country for an additional decade. He charted at Number 13 with his first full-length solo album, Rex Gildo, in 1966, and released Top 20 singles like "Augen wie zwei Sterne" (1966), "Der Mond hat seine Schuldigkeit getan" (1967), and "Dondolo" (1968) during the subsequent years. "Fiesta Mexicana" became one of his best-known songs, hitting Number 5 in 1972 and remaining a German staple for generations. Although he continued releasing material during the 1980s and 1990s, Rex Gildo's status as a commercial hitmaker lessened, and 1997's Absolute Liebe marked the final studio album to be released during his lifetime. He passed away on October 26, 1999, at the age of 63.
