Rudi Carrell.

Show business ran in Rudi Carrell’s family: his father and grandfather were both entertainers. Born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar in Alkmaar on December 19, 1934, he left high school at age 16 and cycled to Brussels, then hitchhiked to Paris. He spent three months living on the Champs-Élysées in a tent or on park benches. At 17, he returned to the Netherlands and replaced his father in a guest appearance, launching his career. In 1957, he married Truus de Vries, with whom he had daughters Annemieke and Caroline.

A 1959 television appearance with his own ideas made Carrell famous overnight. He then got a monthly show, the Rudi Carrell Show, which he wrote, produced and presented over 35 times for Dutch TV. In 1964 he won the Silver Rose of Montreux for that show. From 1965, Radio Bremen broadcast the show in Germany, and by 1968 it was a co-production. In 1974, his show Am churning became the most successful program on German television with ratings of 64 percent. He also released records, including the 1975 hit When will it really be summer again?. In 1981, he launched Rudi’s Tagesshow, a parody of the news program Tagesschau. It caused a diplomatic crisis with Iran in 1987 after a sketch about Ayatollah Khomeini. From 1987 he presented Herzblatt, a love show achieving up to 50 percent ratings. In 1996, he started producing 7 Days – 7 Heads, one of Europe’s most successful comedy shows, which ran until 2005.

Carrell married Truus de Vries in 1957; they separated in 1967 and divorced in 1973, having daughters Annemieke 1958 and Caroline 1962. He married Anke Bobbert in 1974, with whom he had son Alexander 1977. Anke died in 2000 due to heart failure. From 1985 to 2000, Carrell had a relationship with screenwriter Susanne Hoffmann, which he publicly acknowledged in 1997. After Anke’s death, he separated from Hoffmann, who died of a brain tumor in 2003. In 2001, he married hotel manager Simone Felischak in Australia.

Rudi Carrell received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985. His shows regularly commanded ratings above 50 percent. He was also appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2001 and received an honorary Golden Camera for his life’s work in 2006. His comedy format 7 Days – 7 Heads became a template for later panel shows. He is most remembered for Rudi’s Tagesshow and for sparking a diplomatic crisis with Iran, demonstrating his fearless satire.