Three times nine
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Three times nine |
| Country of production | Federal Republic of Germany |
| original language | German |
| Year (s) | 1970 to 1974 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Broadcasting cycle |
8 times a year |
| genre | Game show |
| Moderation | Wim Thoelke |
| First broadcast | September 10, 1970 on ZDF |
Three times nine was a Thursday evening TV show on ZDF that was conceived and presented by Wim Thoelke .
prehistory
With the expiry of forget-me-nots , Peter Frankenfeld had to temporarily end his career as a show master, as the ZDF now relied on Wim Thoelke, who was 14 years younger. During his summer vacation in 1970 in the seaside resort of Noordwijk in South Holland , he found out that he was urgently looking for: In picture , under the headline Wim should make waves , he was ZDF's new show hope, but nobody knew how to reach him. A phone call revealed that Thoelke should come to Mainz immediately to sign the contract, as the show was scheduled to start in September. Thoelke then planned many elements for this show so that if someone didn't like something they only had to wait five minutes to see something else again. The basis was a quiz with four other players.
Action problem child
Only afterwards did Wim Thoelke include the lottery in his planning in favor of the problem child campaign , for which he had to make space for 15 minutes: this lottery was actually supposed to be closed with the end of forget-me-not . Since then many facilities for the disabled would have had to be closed, the ZDF director Karl Holzamer wanted it to be continued. In return, Thoelke asked that Walter Spahrbier be allowed to continue performing in order to maintain continuity.
All banks, savings banks and post offices were able to take part in tickets with which an amount between DM 1.11 and DM 9.99 had to be paid in, which always happened several times with all amounts. An amount was determined in the broadcast and the winners were then drawn from the relevant lots.
Naming
The three-digit lucky number gave Thoelke the name Three times Nine . This resulted in further broadcasts with numbers in their names, including the game show Eight After 8 and in particular the talk show 3 after 9 from Radio Bremen .
Wum
Wim Thoelke would have liked an end to the show like that of One Will Win with Martin Jente . However, he did not want to imitate it directly, especially since such theft of ideas was not common at the time. Thereupon he concluded the show with the cartoon character Wum , a dog, drawn and spoken by Loriot , with whom he spoke . Wum was extremely popular with the children. So that they didn't have to stay up until the end of the show, Wum was moved to an early point in the show.
team
In addition to Walter Spahrbier, three times nine also included Max Greger with his big band, the ZDF television ballet and the two assistants Gabi and Rabea, who were always dressed appropriately.
Rabea Hartmann first met Thoelke as a personal assistant and fashion consultant in Josef Neckermann's office . Thoelke had asked the two of them whether Rabea would take part in his show. Rabea Hartmann later ran her own “studio for color designs” on Hof Iben near Bad Kreuznach , which she founded in 1972 with Friedrich-Ernst von Garnier .
Gabi Schnelle was the recommendation of the costume designer; she actually wanted to go to the radio and later became a well-known presenter for Bayern 3 .
procedure
- title
The ballet sang and danced to the title melody with the text:
"The Wheel of Fortune drehet itself, the wheel of fortune drehet up
for everything is now in it
Wheel of Fortune drehet itself, the wheel of fortune drehet is
it waiting today for you the jackpot
game, happiness makes a show today
play with today Fortuna does not say No
Your 1 × 1 means 3 × 9
you can look forward to the result.
Luck will convince you of our game tonight too. "
- The good advice of the month
The first item on the program was the approximately one-minute video recording of the good advice of the month . She showed some funny advice that was supposed to keep the mood going. Thoelke wrote the text himself, the experts in the recording were provided by the editor and former actor Achim Rödel. The idea arose from Thoelke's good experience with cheerful irony in the current sports studio .
- Presentation of the candidates
Two pairs of candidates played, a man and a woman each, who sat on a high pedestal on leather sofas at the beginning of the program. They were introduced by Gabi while they were descending the stairs, so that the subsequent conversation with Thoelke could be kept short and the program was speedy. In addition, the assistants should do more than just bring items.
From 1972, the winner was allowed to compete again on the next broadcast with a partner of his choice.
- 1. Show block
A mostly German-speaking singer performed.
- 1st game round
The candidates played a different word game from episode to episode and received points for it.
- Celebrity amateur musicians
Prominent guests who were not professional musicians played in this part. They often included politicians. Richard Stücklen , Wolfgang Mischnick and Jockel Fuchs sang in the first edition . Two events in this rubric ensured that Drei times Nine remained known long after it was discontinued:
In the eighth episode, Defense Minister Helmut Schmidt played Gershwin melodies on an electronic organ. Thoelke had previously asked whether he should send an instrument over to practice, but Schmidt did not consider this to be necessary. He finally got lost in the show, so he had to start all over again. The fact that this happened to Schmidt, who was considered a perfectionist and usually did not make any mistakes, earned him great sympathy from the audience.
Federal Foreign Minister Walter Scheel had published the song Hoch auf dem yellow Wagen together with the Düsseldorf men's choir, of which he was a member, as a single in order to gain popularity with regard to the candidacy for Federal President . Wim Thoelke then asked whether he would come on his show. Scheel agreed on the condition that he could bring the choir with him. In the broadcast, the 27th episode, playback had to be sung, which Scheel managed just as perfectly as the record recording. Supported by the television appearance, the title achieved immense popularity and even number 5 in the charts. The Foreign Office even considered stopping the wave - but no countermeasures were conceivable. Walter Scheel then also succeeded in being very popular as Federal President.
- Drawing the lucky number
To determine the amount, there was an arrangement of three wheels of fortune, which were of central importance for the program and also appeared at the beginning of the opening credits. They were set in motion by an electric motor: the large one of the three wheels carried the image of a 1 DM piece with the date of 1970 in its center. It ran the slowest and determined the place before the decimal point. The medium-sized wheel showed a 10 pfennig piece, stopped next and determined the first decimal place. The little wheel showed a 1 pfennig piece and finally determined the second decimal place. During the procedure the orchestra played the theme song.
- Wum
In the hall one could hear loud “Thöööölke” calls with which Wum drew attention. Wim Thoelke then stood in front of a screen on which Wum appeared and talked to this dog.
- 2nd game round
The second round of the game consisted of two parts, namely another word game and the three-by-nine short messages. Errors were built into the latter, which the candidates had to write down on a piece of paper.
- 3. Show block
Another artist performed in the third show block, mostly a singing star. In the 28th program, Uri Geller bent spoons, whereupon some viewers believed that this had also happened with their home cutlery. Wim Thoelke's assistant Rabea Hartmann had brought ordinary spoons from the ZDF canteen. After Helmut Schmidt and Walter Scheel made music, Geller was responsible for the third event that caused a sensation and was reminiscent of Three Times Nine for a long time .
- draw
The lottery winners were drawn personally by Walter Spahrbier. The drawing device for the lots consisted of an electrically rotated plexiglass ball, into which a person with opaque glasses reached after stopping and opening a lid.
- 3rd game round
Additional points were awarded with a guessing game. The couple with the most points then went into the fourth round.
- 4. Show block
Here Max Greger and the ballet came into play.
- Celebrity rates
The 4th round of the game consisted of celebrity guessing. A prominent German-speaking guest sat behind illuminated tracing paper so that his silhouette could be seen and answered a few questions. The player who recognized him was the winner. Then the celebrity drew the main winners of the lottery and spoke a little with Thoelke.
- The End
Before the credits, the television ballet appeared with the words:
“That was it, that was the 3 × 9 show.
That was it, a game to please you.
And everyone who thought it up and who took part tonight will
tell you: Thank you!
Goodbye:"
Director
The director Wim Thoelke was allowed to choose. He chose Kurt Ulrich , who had a great deal of experience in the complicated process of three times nine . One of his works was Der goldene Schuss , which he directed with both Vico Torriani and Lou van Burg . His specialty were music scenes; For example, he managed to double the ballet by playing a magnetic recording to the second. But he had to get used to working with Thoelke: While Vico Torriani and Lou van Burg were working with prepared opening speeches, Thoelke always came up with something spontaneously and only gave the key words for starting the magnetic recording shortly before the broadcast, which he all effortlessly knew by heart. At that time, a video recorder still needed 10 seconds forward before it delivered a perfect picture. So the machine was started on cue and the moderator then had to finish his sentence in the following 10 seconds. To Ulrich's amazement, all of the numerous recordings worked without any glitches, regardless of the minimal preparation.
Pilot broadcast
Of three times nine first a complete shipment has been tested in public, which took place before a packed house in Offenburg. The guests were Rex Gildo and Heinz Engelmann , who appeared disguised as a forester and proved that he knew something about the forest. Because of the costs, this pilot was only recorded in black and white and then presented to the general manager and program director. It was decided that Thoelke should continue like this, and the first issue then came from the Saarlandhalle , with several television magazines and magazines having Wim Thoelke on the cover picture that week.
Records
Several long-playing records were released from the musical performances on the show, part of the proceeds from the campaign to the Problemkind campaign. There was also the single I wish a little kitty from Wum.
Report on the problem child campaign
After three times nine, there was an action problem child - a record of good deeds . In 15 minutes, a moderator presented the activities of the problem child campaign with short films. On the one hand, it was about the use of the donations, such as the purchase of a handicapped transporter, and on the other hand, donation campaigns, for example at city festivals.
success
Three times nine turned out to be an immense success. The first issue was already rated +4 in the telephone survey, later episodes even with the already very good score of +5. The participation rose to 73% and surpassed all other shows of the ZDF as well as the popular quiz One will win . From 1969, that is, at the time of forget-me-not , until 1971, the lottery proceeds from the Problem Child campaign jumped from 1.72 million DM to 7.29 million DM and the income from donations from 3.92 million DM to 8.03 million DM For the surprisingly great success, Wim Thoelke received a silver and a gold Bambi , as well as a fee increase from 15,000 DM to 25,000 DM per broadcast for the second year - but including VAT, since he had given up his permanent position at ZDF at the beginning of the series.
Follow-up broadcast
Three times nine was discontinued because of the great expense of a live show from different cities. This was followed by the great price . This kept the cartoon recordings with Wum, as well as the problem child campaign including the report at the end of the broadcast.
Broadcasts on ZDF
- The date was originally planned for April 6, 1972, but the broadcast was postponed due to the death of former Federal President Heinrich Lübke .
Web links
- Three times nine in the Internet Movie Database (English)
literature
- Ricarda Strobel and Werner Faulstich : The German TV stars, stars for the whole family . Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998. ISBN 3-525-20798-0
- Wim Thoelke: Stars, colleagues and crooks - a kind of autobiography . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1995, ISBN 3-404-61362-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stars, colleagues and crooks, Chapter Papa, you should make waves
- ↑ Bunte Illustrierte (October 12, 1972), Bild + Funk (October 21, 1972), Hörzu (November 11, 1972), Wiesbadener Kurier (March 30, 2001)
- ^ Online archive of the Wiener Arbeiter-Zeitung and the Hamburger Abendblatt, credits of the original broadcasts