He became Rex Gildo in 1960 when he signed a recording contract with Electrola Records, and was a popular singer in Germany throughout the 1970s, often in successful duets with singer Gitte Haenning. He married his cousin Marion Hirtreiter in 1974, but his serious romantic relationships tended to be men. His singing career faded with the 1980s and Gildo became a television personality, eventually working the nostalgia route as a singer in the 1990s. On October 23, 1999, he jumped out of the third-floor window of his apartment in Munich and died three days later on October 26 from injuries sustained in the fall. ~ Steve Leggett