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His father and grandfather were both in show business. Carrell attended high school, but left at the age of 16 and set off for Paris on his bicycle. He rode his bike all the way to Brussels, sold it there and continued hitchhiking. He struggled for three months on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, living alternately in a tent or on a park bench. Back in his homeland at the age of 17, he replaced his father in a guest appearance and has remained in show business ever since. For many years he worked as an entertainer, magician, ventriloquist, etc. in the Netherlands. In 1957 Carrell married the Dutchwoman Truus de Vries. The daughters Annemieke (1958) and Caroline (1962) come from this marriage.

The spouses separated in 1967 and the divorce did not occur until 1973. In 1959, a television appearance with his own ideas made him famous overnight. He then got a monthly television show, the "Rudi Carrell Show", which he wrote, produced and presented over 35 times for Dutch television. In 1964 he won the Silver Rose of Montreux for Dutch television's "Rudi Carrell Show". In 1965, Radio Bremen broadcast the show for the first time in Germany with great success. From 1968 his shows were broadcast as a co-production by Radio Bremen and Süddeutscher Rundfunk. Until 1974 he presented "The Rudi Carrell Show", which was replaced in the same year by the show "Am churning" and became the most successful program on German television with ratings of 64 percent. Since 1970, Carrell has also appeared in feature films, mostly in clothes like "Aunt Trude from Buxtehude".

He also celebrated success with his records and delivered an unforgettable hit with "When will it really be summer again?" In 1974 he married Anke Bobbert from Bremen, the mother of his son Alexander (1977). Carrell was also in demand as an advertising medium, including when he posed for the EDEKA retail group. The company credited Carrell's campaign with a 3.5 percent increase in sales in 1979. Rudi Carrell celebrated a brilliant comeback on television in the fall of 1981 with "Rudi's Tagesshow", a parody of the news program "Tagesschau". Carrell earned the displeasure of some politicians and was even responsible for a diplomatic crisis with Iran because he gave the impression on his show in 1987 that Iranian leader Khomeini had received women's underwear as a gift from his followers. Tehran then closed the Goethe Institute and expelled two diplomats. The crisis was resolved after Carrell's apology.

In October 1987, Carrell went on air with "Herzblatt," a "show to fall in love with," which achieved ratings of up to 50 percent on Bayerischer Rundfunk. After 128 broadcasts, Carrell handed the show over to Reinhard Fendrich. When the "Rudi Carrell Show" was broadcast again in 1988 as a wish-fulfillment show, it was the most popular show among the audience according to a reader survey by a Munich newspaper. His "Herzblatt" came in third place. In other programs such as "Rudi's Animal Show", "The Post goes off" and "Rudi's Holiday Show" he once again thrilled millions of viewers. From 1996, Carrell produced one of Europe's most successful comedy shows, "7 Days - 7 Heads", in which he also appeared in front of the camera. With his team, consisting of Mike Krüger, Gaby Köster, Jochen Busse, Kalle Pohl, Bernd Stelter and various guest stars, he received the "Golden Lion".

Carrell received many other awards in his long career, including a "Bambi" as "Best Quizmaster", two "Golden Cameras", the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class and the Karl Valentin Order. His second wife Anke died in 2000. In 2001 he unexpectedly married the then 30-year-old hotel manager Simone Felischak for his third marriage in Australia. Queen Beatrix appointed him a knight in the Dutch Order of the Lion in 2001. In September 2003, Carrell was awarded the German Television Award. Even after his 70th birthday in December 2004, the TV veteran stayed with the medium: Rudi Carrell continued to work in the background on the RTL comedy show "7 Days, 7 Heads". After many successful years, the last episode of "7 Days, 7 Heads" was broadcast on December 30, 2005.

From 1985 to 2000 he was in a relationship with the screenwriter Susanne Hoffmann, which he publicly acknowledged in 1997. After the death of his wife Anke in February 2000 due to heart failure, he also separated from Susanne Hoffmann, who died of a brain tumor in 2003. In 2001 he married his third wife, the hotel manager Simone Felischak. At the Golden Camera award ceremony in February 2006, Rudi Carrell was honored with the honorary award for his life's work. At the same time, the entertainer, who was suffering from lung cancer, said goodbye to the show stage.

Awards

Rudi Carrell

Bambi Awards

German Television Awards

Golden Camera, Germany

Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival

Romy Gala, Austria

TeleVizier-Ring Gala, Netherlands

German Comedy Awards

Bravo Otto

Zilveren Nipkowschijf

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