Wilhelm Resetarits (born December 21, 1948 in Stinatz , Austria), better known as Willi Resetarits and Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, is an Austrian singer, cabaret artist and human rights activist.
Resetarits studied sports and English studies intending to become teacher. However, his successful career as a musician would get in between.
In 1969 Resetarits joined the political rock band Schmetterlinge. They participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 in London with the song Boom-Boom-Boomerang, which was voted into last but one place.
In the mid-1980s together with his colleague Günter Brödl he developed his alter ego Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, an excessive personality featuring intense stage presence, which turned out to be very successful. The name was born in the mid-1970s, when Günter Brödl was asked during a radio show how American musicians like Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes would call themselves if they were from Vienna. He answered "Ostbahn Kurti & die Chefpartie", which a decade later became the name of Willi Resetarits and band. Resetarits also introduced the musical form of Favorit'n'Blues, a Viennese form of rhythm and blues. After Günter Brödl died unexpectedly in 2000, Dr. Kurt Ostbahn went on a final commemoration tour and Resetarits announced in December 2003 to let his alter ego retire.
Resetarits is a human rights activist and one of the founders of the humanitarian organisations Asyl in Not and SOS Mitmensch. He is also one of the founders and chairman of the Integration House Vienna .
Resetarits also worked as translator, and translated two Asterix books into Viennese dialect, "Da grosse Grobn" and "Da Woasoga ". Furthermore, he has frequent appearances in Austrian TV and film productions.
Lukas Resetarits (actor in Austrian TV series Kottan ), Peter Resetarits (TV host at ORF) and Willi Resetarits are brothers.
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