Carrell, Rudi

▪ 2007

Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar 

      Dutch-born German television personality (b. Dec. 19, 1934, Alkmaar, Neth.—d. July 7, 2006, Bremen, Ger.), became a major German television performer despite his initial inability to speak the language and the historical strain between the Germans and the Dutch. The scion of a family of entertainers whose talent, ambition, and early successes in his homeland led him to seek new challenges, he moved to West Germany in 1965 and dedicated himself to becoming the top TV star there. Carrell quickly mastered German, but he carefully nurtured a heavy Dutch accent that was part of his on-air charm. His spectacular success at winning over the German audience was realized with long-running variety shows, notably the Rudi Carrell Show (1965–72) and Rudi's Tagesshow (1981–87), and game shows such as Am laufenden Band (1974–79), as well as with countless comedy bits, guest and cameo appearances, and lighthearted emceeing performances. His audiences numbered up to two-thirds of all German TV viewers, and on at least one occasion, in 1987, he drew a viewership of 20 million people—one-third of the population of West Germany.

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