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Rudi Carrell
Rudi Carrell
	Carrell in 1980
Born	Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934; Alkmaar, Netherlands
Died	7 July 2006 (aged 71); Bremen, Germany
Occupation	Entertainer

Rudi Carrell (born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934^[1] – 7 July 2006) was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, he was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.^[2]

He worked as a television entertainer and hosted his own show; the Rudi Carrell Show ran first in the Netherlands, and then for many years in Germany. As a singer he had a number of hits, including a Dutch version of "A Windmill in Old Amsterdam",^[3] and acted in several movies.

Eurovision Song Contest

Carrell represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with the song "Wat een geluk" ("What luck"). He finished 12th out of 13, scoring just two points.

Rudi Carrell Show

The Rudi Carrell Show and its successors were a huge success in Germany from the 1960s to the 1990s. The show included a similar concept to Star Search or Pop Idol and brought many well-known German pop stars and actors to prominence, such as Alexis and Mark Keller. It also featured comedy sketches.

His show was also popular in some non-German-speaking European countries, such as Slovenia and Croatia.

During this time he also hosted other popular shows, including Am laufenden Band, Rudis Tagesshow, Herzblatt, Die verflixte 7, and 7 Tage, 7 Köpfe.

Controversial humor

In 1987, Carrell caused a diplomatic rift between Germany and Iran with a sketch in which veiled women threw their undergarments at someone dressed like Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The Iranian government responded by expelling two German diplomats and permanently closing the Goethe Institute in Tehran.^[4]^[5]

Death

In an interview in November 2005, Carrell confirmed to the magazine Bunte that he was suffering from lung cancer. He died on 7 July 2006 in Bremen, Germany, aged 71.

Literature

Carrell, Rudi (1979). Gib mir mein Fahrrad wieder [Give me my bike back] (in German). Wien/München/Zürich/Innsbruck: Molden Verlag. ISBN 978-3-21700-981-3.
Schiweck, Ingo; von Osterhausen, Hans-Jürgen; Schult, Susanne (2005). "Lass dich überraschen": Niederländische Unterhaltungskünstler in Deutschland nach 1945 ["Let yourself be surprised": Dutch entertainers in Germany after 1945] (in German). Münster: Agenda. ISBN 978-3-89688-255-4.
Schult, Susanne (2000). Rudi Carrell: das Image eines Stars in der Geschichte des deutschen Fernsehens [Rudi Carrell: the image of a star in the history of German television] (in German). Osnabrück: Der Andere Verlag. ISBN 978-3-93436-687-9.