In clearing out some spam comments on my blog today I noticed I had received a reply to a post I made on my Blog for February 2, 2010 in homor of Peter Lee Lawrence’s 70th birthday. It was from his then wife actress Cristina Galbo. Here it is in its entirety and should clear up mistakes about his life. I have corrected Peter’s biography in our database.
[i]My name is Cristina Galbó: Cristina Hyrenbach
The death of PETER LEE LAWRENCE, born KARL HYRENBACH, is not a mystery. It happened in private and with family, and it certainly was not suicide.
We always wanted to protect our lives from the public attention associated with our work. If I have not spoken before now it was because I always thought that in time, everything would fall into place. But now I am breaking my silence to put an end to the rumors and misinformation that are hurting us, the people who loved him and who always will.
Karl Hyrenbach and Thieme was born on the 21st of February 1944 in Lindau-Bodensee, Germany. An adopted son of France, he spent part of his childhood and youth in Nice. He had three sisters and two brothers.
In 1964, while still a student, he began his career in cinema. We met in 1966, while we were acting together in a film. Karl had a child at that time, born from a previous relationship. In 1968 we met up again off the set. We got married on the 30th of July 1969 and our son David was born on the 4th of May 1970.
In 1972 he began suffering from headaches. Once filming finished on “Boton de Ancla”, he was admitted to the Foundation Jimenez Diaz Hospital in Madrid, where he was operated on by Dr. Sixto Obrador. The surgery was a success, but the report confirmed our worst fears. It was glioblastoma.
In our attempt to use all the resources available to us, we moved to Zurich, where, under the auspices of Professor Wolfgang Horst, Karl began both chemo and radium treatment. Realizing how serious his illness was, we decided to do things we had always wanted to do but never got around to. We had the privilege of living in Tahiti (French Polynesia) for several months, of having lots of time to spend with family and friends, and of enjoying the peace at our home in Rome, and going back to Zurich for check-ups.
On the 12th of February 1974 Karl had a routine check-up with Professor Horst. The results were good, which kept our hopes up. On the 25th of March 1974, Karl was admitted to the Villa Stuart Clinic in Rome with severe stomach pains. He died on a Saturday, April 20th 1974, at ten past three in the morning. He was thirty years of age.
Among the defining traits of his personality, I would have to highlight his dedication to the people he loved, and his anti-conformist attitude, which he maintained against anything he considered unjust. He was very sociable and a polyglot to boot, who used short-wave radio to connect with people’s struggles around the world. But his real passion was scuba diving and everything related to the sea. With his sophisticated equipment and his underwater cameras, he used to spend hours and hours enjoying exploring the seabed. I think David’s dedication to the sea is genetic.
I hope I have dissipated any doubts surrounding his death, because all the facts I have mentioned can be easily proven. I will merely add that those of us who spent the sixteen months of his illness with Karl can attest to his dignity, courage and desire to live and fight with spirit he always showed. I will never forget he used to say “Don’t you worry Pichuqui, I will get over this because I have so many reasons to do so”.
Sincerely, Cristina Galbó[/i]