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ZDF headquarters

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (English: "Second German Television"), ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz (Rheinland-Pfalz). It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by three German federal states (Bundesländer). ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.^[1] The ZDF is well known for its famous TV formats heute (newscast; established in 1963) and Wetten Dass..? (entertainment show; established in 1981).^[2]

ZDF was founded in 1961 by federal treaty, after the West German federal government's plan to set up a TV channel controlled by the federal government caused uproar. West Germany's constitution stipulated that regulation of culture and media was a compentency of the federal states (Bundesländer). The station began broadcasting from Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main on 1 April 1963, with a speech by the first director general (Intendant), Dr. Karl Holzamer. The channel broadcast its first programme in colour in 1967. In 1974, ZDF moved its base of operations to Mainz-Lerchenberg, after briefly being located in Wiesbaden. Thomas Bellut, the current director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2011.^[2]

Finances[link]

Since 1 January 2009, the licences fee in Germany for Radio, TV and New Media has been € 17,98 per month. These fees are not collected directly by ZDF but by the GEZ which is a common organisation of ARD, its members, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk. Every resident in Germany with a radio, TV or other relevant device (such as a computer or mobile phone with internet access) is obliged to pay this licence fee.^[3]

Transmission and reception[link]

Antenna[link]

As ZDF is a channel, not a network, the channel is broadcast throughout Germany, with no regional variations or affiliates, using a number of signal repeaters. ZDF transmitters broadcast a digital signal. Analog signals were gradually phased out, a process which lasted from 2002 to 2008. The ZDF group includes the main ZDF channel itself, 3sat, ZDFinfokanal (a topical information and news channel), KIKA (a children´s channel; daytime only), ZDFkultur (culture-oriented), ZDFneo (youth-oriented) and arte.^[4] ZDF does not run any transmitters itself. Throughout the analogue days, all ZDF transmitters were run by the Deutsche Bundespost which was later privatised as Deutsche Telekom's subsidiary T-Systems Media Broadcast. (This is in contrast to the other public German broadcaster, ARD, which owns its main transmitters.) ZDF was not previously allowed to use ARD's transmitters. ZDF uses both ARD and Telekom transmitters since changes to the law in the 1990s and since the digital switchover.

Cable[link]

ZDF has also been relayed by cable since the days of the first cable pilot projects.

Satellite[link]

The first Europe-wide satellite broadcast via Astra 1C began in August 1993 during the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA - "International Broadcasting Exhibition") in Berlin. In the same decade, these new technologies were used to enable digital broadcasting of ZDF. Today, ZDF is available free-to-air throughout Europe on Astra 1H (19.2 degrees East) and Hotbird 6 (13 degrees East).

Other ZDF channels[link]

ZDF reporter in Ledra Street, Cyprus

ZDF also operates the channels KI.KA, Arte, 3sat and Phoenix in cooperation with other networks. Included in its digital offering, called ZDFvision are the channels ZDFneo (formerly ZDFdokukanal), ZDFinfo (formerly ZDFinfokanal), ZDFkultur (formerly ZDFtheaterkanal), all of which are transmitted in SD and HD. Today ZDF is one of Europe's largest television networks.

A commercial subsidiary called ZDF Enterprises GmbH manages programme sales, acquisitions, international coproductions and a growing number of important activities in new media.

Design[link]

ZDF's animated station identity mascots, the Mainzelmännchen (a play on the words "Mainz" and "Heinzelmännchen"), created by Wolf Gerlach in 1963, quickly became popular and are still shown between commercials.^[5] In 1976 Otl Aicher, a graphic designer, created ZDF's corporate design. A new design for ZDF was created by Lee Hunt in February 2000.

Administration[link]

Director General[link]

Administratively ZDF is headed by a director general (Intendant), who is elected by the ZDF Television Council, the composition of which is in turn determined by "societally-relevant groups" named in the ZDF Treaty.

Directors General since the start of ZDF :

• 1963 - 1977: Karl Holzamer
• 1977 - 1982: Karl-Günter von Hase
• 1982 - 2002: Dieter Stolte
• 2002 - 2012: Markus Schächter
• since 2012: Thomas Bellut

Supervising board[link]

The supervising board supervises the work of the intendant Markus Schächter. They pay special attention to the budget. The supervising board has 14 members:

• 5 representatives of the federal states
• 1 representative of the federal republic of Germany
• the other 8 members are not allowed to work for the government or other public entities.

Television board[link]

The Television board supervises ZDF and authorizes the budget. They also elect the Director General. The Television board has 77 members:

• 16 representatives of each federal state
• 3 representative of the federal republic of Germany
• 12 representatives of the parties
• 2 representatives of the Protestant Churches
• 2 representatives of the Catholic Church
• 1 representative of the Central Council of Jews in Germany
• the remaining members are chosen by the representatives mentioned above.

Membership[link]

ZDF became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union in 1963. It also has numerous individual cooperation agreements with broadcasters around the world.

ZDF is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative (a consortium of broadcasting and Internet industry companies including SES, OpenTV and Institut für Rundfunktechnik) which promotes the establishment of an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface.

Programmes[link]

• Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst
• The Bold And The Beautiful (Reich & Schön)
• Dance Academy (2010)
• Derrick (cancelled)
• Die größten Musical Hits (The Greatest Musical Hits)
• Disco
• Dog City
• Ein Fall für Zwei
• Fraggle Rock (Die Fraggles)
• In Plain Sight
• Jack Holborn Christmas (1982 mini-series)
• Lafer! Lichter! Lecker! (2006–2010)
• Markus Lanz (2008–2010)
• Maybrit Illner
• Mino (1986 Christmas mini-series)
• Heute (Newscast)
• New Tricks (TV Series)
• Der Kommissar (cancelled)
• Kultnacht
• The Old Fox (Der Alte)
• The Young And The Restless (Schatten der Leidenschaft)
• Veronica Mars
• Wetten, dass..?
• Rockpop
• Rock Pop Music Hall (cancelled)
• ZDF-Magazin (1969–1988)
• Die Deutschen

Audience share (March 2008): 13.4%, from 14–49 years 7.1%.

External links[link]

• Official site (German)
• Official site (English)
• ZDF at the Internet Movie Database

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: ZDF

Coordinates: 49°57′52″N 8°12′29″E / 49.96444°N 8.20806°E / 49.96444; 8.20806

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Oliver Pocher
Oliver Pocher in 2010.
Born	(1978-02-18) 18 February 1978 (age 34) Hanover, Germany
Nationality	Germany
Years active	1999 - present
Genres	Stand-up comedy, Observational comedy
Spouse	Alessandra Meyer-Wölden (m. 2010) «start: (2010-09-25)»"Marriage: Alessandra Meyer-Wölden to Oliver Pocher" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Oliver_Pocher)
Notable works and roles	Rent a Pocher (2003-2006) Schmidt & Pocher Die Oliver Pocher Show
Website	Official Website

Oliver Pocher (born 18 February 1978 in Hanover) is a German actor, stand-up comedian and television host.

Biography[link]

Early life and professional training[link]

Pocher is the son of Gerhard and Jutta Pocher and grew up in Hanover. His parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and he too was raised as one. In 2007, Pocher stated that, unlike his parents, he had no contact with the organization anymore as he claimed "not to have agreed with their rules“.^[1]

The general predication that Pocher attended a Waldorf school was denied by his management.^[2] Pocher successfully completed his training as an insurance broker at Signal Iduna Bauspar AG.

During the time of his apprenticeship he had some part-time jobs at various radio stations and as a DJ in clubs and during family celebrations. He also appeared in the comedian group Holla-Bolla and as an entertainer at Birte Karalus, a German chat show. After his apprenticeship he worked for the Swiss life insurance "Schweizerlebensversicherung und Rental AG" (today: SwissLife) and the "HDI Lebensversicherung AG" (HDI life insurance).

Career[link]

Pocher's first television appearance was on 28 October 1998 at the afternoon chat show of Bärbel Schäfer. Pocher was given 5 minutes to make the audience laugh.^[3]

On 29 September 1999 he presented the show Chart Surfer Trash Top 100, Was geht ab, Planet Viva and finally 2002 his own show Alles Pocher, ... oder was?.

Between January 2003 to 14 April 2006 he presents the show Rent a Pocher on ProSieben.^[4]

In 2006 he recorded the single "Schwarz und Weiss," a song dedicated to the 2006 world cup. A music video was made, featuring Oliver as several pressbox speakers, as well as him performing the song in front of fans dressed in Team Germany attire.^[5]

From October 2007 to April 2009, Pocher joined established late night host Harald Schmidt's show on the Das Erste television channel, with the show being called Schmidt und Pocher.

In 2008 his third single "Bringt ihn heim“ (engl.: bring him home) was released. It is a song for the European Football Championship of 2008. The original version is Baschi's number one hit (Switzerland) “Bring en hei“^{[citation needed]} He acted as a co-trainer of the European Team during the DEL All Star Game in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Pocher's contract was not renewed after April 2009, so he was hired by Sat.1 instead to present his own late night show, Die Oliver Pocher Show. The show's ratings were always below the station's average and even slipping over the course of the run until it was cancelled in March 2011.

Criticism and Scandals[link]

Oliver Pocher is widely criticised for his jokes at the expense of others. After he recommended plastic surgery to a woman of the audience of the Wetten, dass..? ("Wanna Bet..?") episode on the 22nd of January in 2005, he was sued for damages of 25,000 Euros.^[6] Although he apologized to her on the phone and repeated this apology in public during one of his shows, he was not able to solve this conflict out of court. On the 11th of January Pocher was sentenced by the district court of Hanover to pay a fine of 6000 euros. The judge in charge called Pocher’s statement (“You look quite old for your age”) a “very insulting comment”. The public insulting continued in January 2008 during the TV show "Johannes B. Kerner" when Pocher once again made fun of this woman’s appearance and mocked the verdict. As a result another suit was filed against the entertainer. The victim’s lawyer explained that the woman was insulted and that the topic is repeatedly brought up by people whom she meets during her work. Pocher did not comment on this.^[7] Statements as those made by Pocher could be legal in the future, as the Council of Europe is advising to decriminalize insults.^[8]

Pocher caused a scandal in July in 2005 during the ZDF (German broadcasting station) – show "Gottschalk & Friends" when he first insulted Mariah Carey and later accidentally spat water onto her.^[9] For this action he has been harshly criticised by some newspapers and by the broadcast station in charge. Gottschalk himself kept calm and commented upon the incident: "Of course I do not want to have jokes at the expense of others during my show and I do not want dead bodies having been carried away from the battle field afterwards. If you invite Pocher to your show, however, you should expect a different atmosphere than with, for example, Alfred Biolek."

When Pocher mocked the personal life of singer Sarah Connor and her reality show, Connor sued Pocher. While the exact outcome of the lawsuit is not known, Pocher did apologize to Connor.^[10]

In January 2009, during the TV show “Schmidt & Pocher“, Pocher spoofed the Hitler assassin Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who is portrayed by Tom Cruise in “Operation Walküre“. He had to face negative feedback for this and thereafter the broadcasting commission examined this incident.^[11]

Shows[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2007: It's my life - Aus dem Leben eines B-Promis

Singles[link]

• 2006: "Schwarz und Weiß"
• 2007: "Ich kann nix dafür" (with Nena & Stephan Remmler)
• 2008: "Bringt ihn heim" (Germany: 68th best-selling single of 2008 ^[12])
• 2009: "Kennst du die Stars" (Bushido feat. Oliver Pocher)
• 2010: "Wir gehen nur zurück um Anlauf zu nehm’"

DVDs[link]

• 2005: Best of Pocher: Aufstieg & Fall eines B-Promis (2 DVDs)
• 2007: It's my life - Aus dem Leben eines B-Promis (2 DVDs)
• 2008: Best of Schmidt & Pocher (2 DVDs)
• 2009: Gefährliches Halbwissen - Die Weltrekord Live-Show (2 DVDs)

Awards[link]

2004[link]

• Golden Bravo Otto in the category „Comedy“

2005[link]

• Golden Bravo Otto in the category „Comedy“
• Comet in the category „Beste Live-Comedy“
• Deutscher Comedypreis for „Beste Comedy-Show“
• Jetix Kids Award in the category „Coolster TV-Star“

2006[link]

• Goldene Schallplatte for over 45.000 sold DVDs
• Golden Bravo Otto in the category „Comedy“
• Radio Regenbogen Comedy Award
• Goldene Schallplatte for more than 220.000 sold Cd's of „Schwarz und Weiss“

2008[link]

• Preis der beleidigten Zuschauer (Award of the offended viewers)

Filmography[link]

• 2005: Durch die Nacht mit Moritz Bleibtreu und Oliver Pocher (TV)
• 2006: 7 Zwerge – Der Wald ist nicht genug
• 2006: Hui Buh – Das Schlossgespenst
• 2007: Vollidiot
• 2009: Alarm für Cobra 11
• 2010: Hanni & Nanni

References[link]

External links[link]

• [2] Stephen Colbert about Oliver Pocher (14. February 2008)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2010)

Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens in 2010
Background information
Born	(1934-09-30) 30 September 1934 (age 77)
Origin	Klagenfurt, Austria
Genres	Soft rock, Pop, Schlager
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1950–present
Website	Official website (German)

Udo Jürgens (born Udo Jürgen Bockelmann, 30 September 1934, Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria) is an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spans over fifty years. He has written more than 800 songs and sold over 100 million records.^[1]

He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional postwar schlager in the 1960s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal; his exceptionally tuneful compositions and sophisticated arrangements attract fans of all ages, and even in his 70s he continues to fill the largest concert venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.^{[citation needed]}

Udo Jürgens, 1987

Career[link]

In 1950, he won a composer contest organized by Austria's public broadcasting channel ORF with the song "Je t'aime". He wrote the 1961 worldwide hit "Reach for the Stars", sung by Shirley Bassey.^[2]

In 1964, he represented Austria for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Warum nur warum?", finishing sixth. The UK participant, Matt Monro, was impressed with the melody and covered the song (with English lyrics by his manager Don Black) as "Walk Away", which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Jürgens' song "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen" came fourth in 1965's contest, and in 1966 he won the competition with "Merci, Chérie", which became an English-language hit for Vince Hill, another cover by Monro, and one of Jürgens' most recognized compositions. Jürgens' version alone sold over one million copies, and he was awarded a gold disc by Deutsche Vogue in 1966.^[3]

In the following years, he wrote some of his most famous songs, like "Griechischer Wein", "Aber bitte mit Sahne", "Mit 66 Jahren", and – one of his biggest successes – "Buenos Días, Argentina", which he performed together with the German national football team in 1978.

In 1977, he invited The Supremes to appear as guests on his televised and recorded gala concert. The Supremes (Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Green), who were on a brief farewell tour of Europe at the time, performed two of their own current hits, "You Are The Heart of Me" and "You're My Driving Wheel", as well as a duet with Jürgens, "Walk Away" in English.

In 1979, he released a disco album entitled Udo '80. It produced a hit song "Ich weiß was ich will". This song was also released as a 12 inch disco single in an extended remix for discotheques.

On 2 December 2007, the musical Ich war noch niemals in New York (I've never been to New York) opened in Hamburg's Operettenhaus. It weaves songs by Jürgens into a familial storyline, similar to the treatment of ABBA songs in Mamma Mia!, the musical it succeeded at the venue.

Cover versions[link]

Matt Monro was the pre-eminent interpreter of Jürgens' music in the English-speaking world. "Illusionen" was adapted by Black for Monro in 1977 as "If I Never Sing Another Song," and later performed by Shirley Bassey and Sammy Davis, Jr..

In the early 1990s, the German thrash metal band Sodom released a 'metalized' cover of "Aber Bitte mit Sahne".

In 2009 the German band Sportfreunde Stiller covered the "Ich war noch niemals in New York" together with Jürgens on their MTV Unplugged concert in Munich.

Family[link]

• His brother, Manfred Bockelmann (born 1943), is a painter.
• His son by first marriage, John Jürgens (born 1964), is a singer, actor and DJ.
• His daughter by his first marriage, Jenny Jürgens (born 1967), is an actress.
• His uncle, Werner Bockelmann (1907–1968), was mayor of Frankfurt am Main from 1957 to 1964.

Discography[link]

This section may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help by adding relevant internal links, or by improving the article's layout. (March 2010) Click [show] on right for more details. No reason has been cited for the Wikify tag on this article.You can insert a reason using the |reason= parameter, like this: {{Wikify|reason=Your reason here}} Please replace HTML markup with wiki markup where appropriate. Add wikilinks. Where appropriate, make links to other articles by putting "[[" and "]]" on either side of relevant words (see WP:LINK for more information) and check that your links work as expected. Please do not link terms that most readers are familiar with, such as common occupations, well-known geographical terms, and everyday items. Format the lead. Create or improve the lead paragraph. Arrange section headers as described at Wikipedia:Guide to layout. Add an infobox if it is appropriate for the article. Clean up / format the references and footnotes, using citation templates when appropriate. Remove this tag.

• Portrait in Musik 1. Folge (1965)
• Siebzehn Jahr, blondes Haar (1965)
• Francoise und Udo (1966)
• Portrait in Musik 2. Folge (1967)
• Was ich Dir sagen will (1967)
• Udo (1968)
• Mein Lied für Dich (1968)
• Udo Live (1969)
• Udo '70 (1969)
• Udo '71 (1970)
• Zeig mir wie die Sonne aufgeht (1971)
• Helden, Helden (Musical) (1972)
• Ich bin wieder da (1972)
• Udo heute (1974)
• Meine Lieder (1975)
• Udo '75 (Ein neuer Morgen) (1975)
• Meine Lieder 2 (1976)
• Meine Lieder '77 (1977)
• Buenos Días Argentina (Football World-Championship) (1978)
• Udo '88 (1979)
• Udo 1957–60 (1980)
• Nur ein Lächeln (1980)
• Leave a little love (1981)
• Willkommen in meinem Leben (1981)
• Silberstreifen (1982)
• Traumtänzer (1983)
• Hautnah (1984)
• Treibjagd (1985)
• Deinetwegen (1986)
• Das Live-Konzert '87 (1987)
• Das blaue Album (1988)
• Ohne Maske (1989)
• Sempre Roma (Football World-Championship) (1990)
• Das Traumschiff (Soundtrack) (1990)
• Open air Symphony mit Anscheissen (1992)
• Geradeaus (1992)
• Cafe Größenwahn (1993)
• 140 Tage Cafe Größenwahn Tour 94/95 (1994)
• Zärtlicher Chaot (1995)
• Gestern-Heute-Morgen (1996)
• Ich werde da sein (1999)
• Mit 66 Jahren (Was wichtig ist) (2000)
• Es lebe das Laster (2002)
• Es werde Licht (2003)
• Jetzt oder nie (2005)
• Einfach ich (2008)
• Einfach ich Live (2009)
• Der ganz normale Wahnsinn (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Excerpts from a thesis on Jürgens (2002) by Christian Mädler (German)
• Official website (German)
• Udo Jürgens discography at Discogs
• Udo Jürgens at the Internet Movie Database
• (German) Udo Jürgens - Ich war noch niemals in New York Musical

Awards and achievements
Preceded by France Gall with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"	Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1966	Succeeded by Sandie Shaw with "Puppet on a String"
Preceded by Carmela Corren	Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964–1966	Succeeded by Peter Horton

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Udo Jürgens

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2010)

Hape Kerkeling
Born	Hans Peter Wilhelm Kerkeling (1964-12-09) 9 December 1964 (age 47) Recklinghausen, West Germany
Occupation	comedian, author, presenter, actor, singer, voice actor
Website
http://www.hapekerkeling.de/

Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling (German pronunciation: [ˈhaːpə ˈkɛʁkəlɪŋ]; born 9 December 1964, in Recklinghausen, Germany) is a well-known German actor, presenter and comedian.

Career[link]

At secondary school in Recklinghausen, Hape Kerkeling and some fellow students formed a band (Gesundfutter, meaning: health fodder) and published a record (Hawaii).

Kerkeling started his career as a comedian in radio, working for various German broadcasting companies, such as WDR and BR.

The real breakthrough came in 1984/85 when, still aged only 19, Kerkeling got a role in the Känguru [sic] television comedy show (the German word for kangaroo deliberately spelt without an "h" at the end although this broke the spelling rules at that time). The best-known character in this show was the little boy Hannilein, played by Kerkeling, an irritating child with red hair in a pudding-basin style, dungarees^{[disambiguation needed ]} and sitting on giant-sized chairs, who commented on the world of adults.

Later came guest appearances and sketches on the Radio Bremen show Extratour. Then in 1989 Kerkeling started up his own comedy TV show, Total Normal (Totally Normal) along with pianist Achim Hagemann. This show, a satirical spoof on prime-time TV-Shows, had a totally new format and was awarded several television prizes such as the Goldene Kamera, the Adolf-Grimme-Preis and the Bayerischer Fernsehpreis.

On the show, Kerkeling made television history on 25 April 1991 when he dressed up as Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on a state visit to Berlin and almost managed to get into Schloss Bellevue to meet the President of Germany for dinner. The satirical song from this show, Das ganze Leben ist ein Quiz (All life is a quiz) made it into the German pop charts.

On 10 December 1991 in German television talkshow, the filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim revealed that Kerkeling, among others, was gay. Kerkeling's comment on the ensuing fuss (mostly in the gutter press) was that while anyone of a more sensitive nature than him would probably have climbed into the bath with a hairdryer, he could not see the point: they would be dragging another poor soul through the dirt the next day anyway.

In 1992, Kerkeling's first film came out: Kein Pardon, which he directed and starred in, as well as helping to write the script.

In 1992, Kerkeling turned down an offer by the big public broadcasting company ZDF to work on the immensely popular prime-time show Wetten, dass..? and instead, without his previous partner Hagemann, moved to the independent television sector with the show Cheese. This was similar in concept to Total Normal and viewing figures were relatively high; still this is considered as his first flop.

In the second half of the 90s, Kerkeling worked once more for ARD, presenting the show Warmumsherz (Heartwarming), and filmed several television films (Club Las Piranjas (1995), Willi und die Windzors, 1996; Die Oma ist tot, 1997).

In 1999 Kerkeling returned to success with his Sat.1 show Darüber lacht die Welt (What makes the world laugh). He also presented the yearly fundraising gala for the German AIDS fund Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe. In 2003 he was awarded the Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Prize) in the category Best Entertainment Presenter.

In January 2004 Kerkeling made another film entitled Samba in Mettmann, which is set in Mettmann in North Rhine Westphalia. In May 2004 and a year later in May 2005 he presented the Großer Deutsch-Test (a national test show for German grammar and spelling) and in October 2004 the Großer Deutschlandtest (a test about people's knowledge of Germany). In April and May 2006 he presented the live TV show Let's Dance, the German version of Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, with Nazan Eckes.

German broadcaster ZDF started the production of Kerkeling's Ein Mann, ein Fjord! (A Man, A Fjord!) in May 2008, directed by Angelo Colagrossi and written by Kerkeling, Angelo Colagrossi and Angelina Maccarone. Starring Jürgen Tarrach, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Matthias Brandt and Horst Krause the film portrays Kerkeling as Horst Schlämmer, Uschi Blum and Gisela. The movie premiered 21. January 2009 on ZDF. ^[1]

In a survey by the television station Kabel 1 in 2005, Kerkeling made it into the top ten favourite faces on German television; the only other two presenters were Günther Jauch and Thomas Gottschalk.

In 2001 Kerkeling went on a pilgrimage, following the Way of St James for 650 kilometres (400 mi) to Santiago de Compostela. In June 2006 his book Ich bin dann mal weg (I'm off for a bit, then), his diary of this pilgrimage, was top of the Spiegel magazine non-fiction bestseller list. By May 2008 it had sold 3 million copies.^[2] It is to appear in English in June 2009 entitled I'm Off Then: My Journey Along the Camino De Santiago. It has also been translated into French, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Spanish.

Hape Kerkeling lives with his life partner and co-author Angelo Colagrossi in Berlin. Colagrossi wrote a large number of texts and sketches for Total Normal and other shows, and co-directed the films Kein Pardon, Willi und die Windzors, Die Oma ist tot, Samba in Mettmann and Ein Mann, ein Fjord!.

In March 2011, Kerkeling announce that he be divorced with Colagrossi.^[3]

Since Spring 2005, Kerkeling has presented the show Hape trifft! (which is ambiguous in the German language and may be translated as Hape hits the spot! or Hape meets!) show, produced by Günther Jauch's production team i&u TV on RTL.

Characters[link]

Horst Schlämmer[link]

Horst Schlämmer is one of Kerkeling's current characters (and the most successful), the deputy editor of the fictitious newspaper Grevenbroicher Tagblatt. His motto is to "get up close and ask tough questions". Dressed in a grey trenchcoat and with a small black manbag on his arm, he holds interviews at real events such as the Bundestag elections.

Schlämmer speaks to interviewees in an overfamiliar manner, using du for you rather than the polite Sie, and addressing them as Schätzelein (sweetheart). He seems to think he is a sex symbol, attempting to kiss female interviewees despite his loose false teeth. To impress women, he boasts that he earns three thousand (euro) net a month.

On the ARD's Harald Schmidt show, Kerkeling explained his methods. Before a Schlämmer interview, he said, he pours a few drops of strong liquor over his coat, to give the interviewee the impression he or she is being interviewed by a real reporter, but with an alcohol problem, prompting a real response.

The single Schätzelein came out at the start of 2006, including the songs Schätzelein and Meine letzte Zigarette (My last cigarette).

In May 2006, Schlämmer appeared on Wer wird Millionär (the German Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) as a celebrity candidate, and became the first person to persuade Günther Jauch, the presenter of Wer wird Millionär, into the contestant's seat. The two made 500,000 euro for a good cause (German AIDS Foundation).

In 2007, a computer game "Weisse Bescheid?!", based on Horst Schlämmer, was released.

In 2009 Kerkeling announced a mockumentary about Horst Schlämmer running for German Chancellor. It is scheduled to be released to cinemas in Germany shortly before the German federal election of 2009. According to a BBC piece, Horst Schlämmer would receive 18% of the German vote due partly to his Obama inspired slogan, "Yes weekend".^[4]

Hannilein[link]

Kerkeling, in Kerkelings Kinderstunde (Kerkelings children's hour), as a cheeky child of preschool age named Hannilein, with red tousled hair and a bib overall, sits on oversized chairs and comments on the adult world.

Evje van Dampen[link]

Is a female Dutch relationships counsellor, who meets various German celebrities (such as Günther Jauch or Udo Jürgens).

Siggi Schwäbli[link]

Siegfried (Siggi) Schwäbli is a character who first appeared in 1990 in some episodes of Total Normal. Slow-witted, short-sighted and with glasses made of plastic blocks, Siggi constantly puts his foot in it and often has no idea what is going on. At the Cannstatter Volksfest festival in Stuttgart, for example, he went on the ghost train with Barbara Schöneberger, a TV host, and almost passed out with fear.

Gisela[link]

Gisela is a woman in her middle ages. She has done several tv commercials for "krueger" coffee. She "met" Horst Schlaemmer at a bar and became famous quite quickly. Her favourite line is "I don't want that".

Awards[link]

1983

• Scharfrichterbeil

1991

• Adolf-Grimme-Preis in silver for Total Normal
• Bambi
• Bayerischer Fernsehpreis for Total Normal
• Goldene Europa
• Goldene Kamera for Total Normal
• Goldener Gong of the TV program magazine Gong
• Bronze Rose of Montreux for Total Normal
• Telestar^{[disambiguation needed ]}

2002

• Peter-Frankenfeld-Preis

2003

• Deutscher Fernsehpreis (as a host) for Die 70er Show

2004

• Bayerischer Fernsehpreis for presenting Die 70er Show
• Deutscher Comedypreis as best presenter, for Die 70er Show

2005

• Deutscher Comedypreis "Best Comedian"
• Goldene Kamera "Best TV Entertainer"

2006

• Deutscher Comedypreis best comedian and special award for Horst Schlämmer
• Deutscher Fernsehpreis in the category best entertainment broadcasting/best presentation for his participation in Wer wird Millionär (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) celebrity special WM 2006 (RTL)
• 1Live Krone from the 1LIVE radio network by (WDR) best comedian
• Horst Schlämmer given an award by the independent MediumMagazin as "honorary entertainment journalist of the year"
• Bestseller Author of the Year for 1.1 million copies sold of his travelogue Ich bin dann mal weg
• Honorary member of the Verein Deutsche Sprache (German Language Association)

2007

• Adolf-Grimme-Preis Special Honor of the Association of German Adult Education Centres ^[5]
• Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen Order of Merit from North Rhine-Westphalia
• Osgar in the category "Charity"

Works[link]

• Grosse, Dietmar; Kerkeling, Hape; Waller, Klaus (1993) (in German). Hape Kerkeling – Cheese (62. ed.). München: Droemer Knaur. ISBN 978-3-426-26695-3. 
• Kerkeling, Hape (2008) (in German). Ich bin dann mal weg: meine Reise auf dem Jakobsweg. München: Malik. ISBN 978-3-89029-312-7. 
  • I'm off then: my journey along the Camino de Santiago. New York: Free Press. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4165-5387-8. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• German homepage
• "Weisse Bescheid" homepage
• Hape Kerkeling erhält den Adolf-Grimme-Preis
• "German Borat shakes up election" BBC