Rudi Carrell Show
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| Original title | De Rudi Carrell Show |
| Country of production | Netherlands |
| original language | Dutch |
| Year (s) | 1961-1965 and 1967-1968 |
| length | 45 minutes |
| Broadcasting cycle |
Monthly with summer break |
| idea | Rudi Carrell |
| music | Frans de Kok orchestra |
| Moderation | Rudi Carrell |
| First broadcast | September 10, 1961 on VARA |
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Rudi Carrell Show |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Year (s) | 1965-1967 and 1968-1973 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Episodes | 27 |
| Broadcasting cycle |
Every two months with a summer break |
| genre | Entertainment show |
| idea | Rudi Carrell |
| music | Cornelius op den Zieken |
| Moderation | Rudi Carrell |
| First broadcast | October 25, 1965 on German television |
The Rudi Carrell Show was the first television show series of Rudi Carrell . Each edition played in a single decoration that represented a theme, such as the train station or the market square.
The show first ran on Dutch television from 1961 . In 1965 Carrell followed a call to Radio Bremen and from then on created German editions of his show, taking up many of the themes and ideas from the Dutch edition. This ended in the spring of 1967, followed by Dutch editions again for the 1967/68 season. From December 1968 there were German episodes again, until the show ended prematurely with the 1973 Christmas edition and was replaced by Churning .
Dutch edition
prehistory
After Rudi Carrell had received a permanent contract for the AVRO radio for the 1956/57 season , he also tried to gain a foothold on this station's television. However, all ideas he submitted were rejected and there were isolated appearances. In the summer of 1959 he therefore switched to VARA , where he also had to be content with a radio broadcast for the time being. It wasn't until his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 that the situation changed, he became immensely known before the competition and afterwards made fun of his penultimate place, which was so well received that the broadcasters VARA and KRO offered him a TV show. It was just an issue to test the audience's reaction, but it was extremely positive. Rudi did it with his father André Carrell and finally got a monthly 45-minute show for the 1961/62 season, which he was allowed to design entirely according to his own wishes.
The show
- idea
About the situation around 1960, Carrell found:
“Back then, the TV shows were constantly being remodeled, as if you wanted to show people that you had the money for as many expensive, elaborate decorations as possible. I realized that a good show concept doesn't need that and I had the idea to do my whole Rudi Carrell show with just one decoration per edition. That was the idea. "
Carrell had the idea for this years before when he visited the Lido in Paris, where you got by with a backdrop and achieved a great effect by making minor changes, such as a waterfall. As a theme for the backdrop, Carrell preferred places that are familiar to everyone and where many people meet, for example a market square or a train station.
Another special feature of the Carrell show was that current events were mentioned in order to emphasize the live character. In contrast, all the other shows, with the exception of their Christmas editions, could have been broadcast in a different order without the viewers being irritated. There was a complete separation of current reporting and entertainment. Carrell phoned the station's newsroom about an hour before the show and asked for the latest news to include as a joke on the show.
Carrell's principle of having lots of little laughs rather than a long sketch with just one laugh at the end was particularly true of the Rudi Carrell Show . That's why it was nothing special when a character, such as a policeman, appeared and spoke only two sentences. In the course of time, permanent employees were found for whom such small roles were not too puny.
- The first show
The first two shows were still recorded, only the third was broadcast live. This gave Carrell the opportunity to look around his place of residence:
“I walked from window to window and watched people watch my show. And from time to time I knocked on the window and called: Hello, here I am! "
The first show ran on Friday, September 10, 1961 at 8:30 pm, and it took place in a "song factory" whose director Carrell played himself. Carrell not only presented the program, he also took part in many songs and skits. Due to the still small budget, local artists appeared almost exclusively, including some with whom Carrell had worked for years, including the comedian duo De Mounties, consisting of Piet von Bamberger and Fred Plever, who were so well received by the audience that they were immediately available to the entire audience first year were committed.
- Special events
In January 1962 it was the turn of the train station issue, but a major railway accident at the beginning of the week required a new program to be set up within four days, which Carrell managed with great difficulty with the park theme.
At the last edition before the summer break in 1962, Carrell waited in tails for guests, but everyone canceled it. In order not to have to stop the show, he switched to an ordinary suit and showed what it looks like behind the scenes. Lesslie Roberts had brought his girls' dance group The Lesslie Roberts Silhouettes , which were specially trained for television appearances.
For the Christmas show in 1962 Carrell came up with the theme of Old Amsterdam and recreated a snow-covered canal with a large ice surface. All participants, including the entire team from Feyenoord Rotterdam , had to perform with ice skates. The show was pre-recorded and when it aired for Christmas, snow was spread across the country after spring-like weather, which further enhanced its impact. It became Carrell's favorite episode.
The last show in the Netherlands for the time being from May 1965 showed the Dutch parliament only with prominent women.
- Lesslie Roberts
VARA thought it would be a good idea to provide Carrell with an advisor to discuss the show with. Since there was no one in the Netherlands for the kind of show Carrell was doing, Lesslie Roberts, choreographer and former dancer who had directed major BBC shows, was brought in. Carrell learned a lot from him about television appearances and the collaboration lasted until the late 1980s when Lesslie retired for reasons of age.
- International guests
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As the show grew in popularity, it also managed to get international guests, starting with Cliff Richard, for which Carrell had flown to London especially to persuade him to perform. He sang three songs and played with Carrell in a sketch, which he also did with many other star guests and was also a special feature of the Carrell show. Other foreign guests were The Lords and Gerhard Wendland . However, Carrell failed to invite Heidi Brühl , Peter Alexander , Frank Sinatra or Helen Shapiro .
- Director
Carrell had a difficult time with his directors from the start, because he believed he could do everything better himself. Already in the credits of the third edition it was called compilation, texts and direction: Rudi Carrell and the actual directors could only be found under camera direction . But even with this arrangement, the VARA directors did not last long, so Carrell was allowed to look for his own director. He took Dick Harris, whom he had known since 1953:
“Dick is a showbiz maniac. I've never met anyone as crazy about showbiz as Dick Harris. He was in Paris every two weeks and watched the new shows, with Edith Piaf, with Yves Montand, and always flew to Hamburg or London to see Bob Hope's new program, a musical or a variety program. He just knew everything that was trendy and knew exactly what was good and what was not. I needed just such a man. "
Harris completed a television directing course at the request of VARA and was named under camera directing from the fall of 1962 . The cooperation turned out to be difficult as well.
- Award
For his show, Carrell received the Zilveren Nipkowschijf (Silver Nipkow Disc) in 1963 , named after the television pioneer Paul Nipkow , which the Society of Dutch TV Critics has awarded since the previous year.
- Break
In December 1962, Carrell surprised everyone with the announcement that he would say goodbye to television at the beginning of the next summer break. At first he announced no return to television, but numerous indignant viewers then asked him to add that he only wanted to take a year off because he hadn't taken a vacation for a long time, which the press understood, but not the viewers. During the break he prepared De Robinson Crusoë Show as his contribution to the Rose d'Or 1964 in Montreux, which eventually won the Silver Rose and was also broadcast on German television.
German edition
prehistory
At the Rose d'Or Festival in Montreux, Mike Leckebusch asked the participating Rudi Carrell whether he could imagine a show on Radio Bremen . Leckebusch liked the little effort with which Carrell achieved a great effect. Radio Bremen was a station with an extremely low budget, which is why an inexpensive show suited it. Carrell looked at Bremen:
“I just liked the city right away. It reminded me a lot of Groningen , where I have always felt very comfortable. Everything was so cozy Dutch. And I liked the people in Bremen right away. For such a small show as the Rudi Carrell Show, Bremen was exactly the right city. "
They agreed on a show every two months for the joint program of ARD from October 1965 to May 1967 and Carrell traveled extensively through Germany to get to know the country. He enjoyed remaining anonymous and pretended to be a salesman for Dutch cheese when asked about his profession.
The show
- The first episodes
Carrell presented a largely similar show at Radio Bremen. As in the Netherlands, the first two episodes were recorded. They came from the Low German Theater in Bremen. The first edition was announced by the program guides for October 4, 1965, but it had to be postponed due to the live coverage of the Pope's visit to the UN. It only lasted 40 minutes, all subsequent episodes 60 minutes.
From the third edition onwards the broadcast was live from a Radio Bremen studio. Carrell only had two days in the studio in Hilversum; now it has been five days so that he could rehearse even more. However, this meant that he changed the process more often.
- Topicality
Carrell also built a current influence in Germany: The soccer results of the day can be found in many episodes, they are either named or they appear in the decoration. And as usual, he found out about the latest news shortly before the broadcast, with the Tagesschau editorial team supporting him just as he was used to from the Netherlands.
- Employee
Carrell was allowed to keep his previous director Dick Harris busy because the combination with Mike Leckebusch , who was originally intended for this, did not work at all. The collaboration with Harris lasted only a year. Leslie Roberts flew in from London at Radio Bremen's expense before each broadcast.
The employees of Radio Bremen found it took some getting used to, that Carrell explained their work to them in detail.
- resonance
Radio Bremen was extremely satisfied with the result, especially since one episode was unusually inexpensive at 65,000 DM. The viewer participation reached up to 80% and there were enthusiastic audience mail from all over Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Carrell was even praised in the GDR. And in the readers' poll for the Golden Camera in 1967, Rudi Carrell came in 5th, behind Peter Frankenfeld , Robert Lembke , Lou van Burg and Erich Helmensdorfer .
New Dutch episodes
prehistory
Carrell was dissatisfied with the fact that the show only ran every two months. Radio Bremen couldn’t change anything, as it only had a 3% share in the broadcasts of the ARD community program. The Dutch tried to bring Carrell back with a monthly broadcast. They also suggested a cooperation with Radio Bremen, where the Dutch version should take place shortly after the German show in the same setting. The audience thought of soldiers stationed in Germany. But nothing came of it. Carrell felt indebted to both Vara and Radio Bremen. Since he spoke English quite well, he also thought of going to the USA or England. In America, however, he would have had to start small before he could get on television, and in England his style would have been just one of many. Eventually he accepted VARA's offer of eight shows for the 1967/68 season.
The End
Due to the high tax rates, Carrell decided to leave the Netherlands again. He considered moving to Zurich in order to be active on the European television market, but rejected this plan again.
Renewed German episodes
cooperation
Radio Bremen managed to get Carrell back. Edwin Frisch from the Süddeutscher Rundfunk (about whom Carrell said: That was the best entertainment manager that there was ever on German television) offered a cooperation . As a result of the cooperation, the show received a larger budget than before, so that it could be designed more elaborately. And since color television had meanwhile been introduced in Germany, it was now colored. It was also broadcast in Austria and Switzerland. The production site was alternately Bremen and Stuttgart. The larger budget also made it possible to invite numerous prominent guests.
Employee
For small roles there were a few actors who were often there:
- Heinz Eckner was present in all of the new episodes, but he did not yet have the meaning that he later got in Churning Band .
- Bueno de Mesquita was a star in the Netherlands, but he also came to Germany for a three-minute sketch. He was in most of the episodes.
- Carrell liked the Peheiros because they played even the tiniest roles precisely, so that they were invited frequently.
Special consequences
- Episode 13
The episode of the radio exhibition in Stuttgart was unusually lavish. It came from the joint color studio of ARD and ZDF in exhibition hall 15 and had the theme of service stations. The large hall allowed numerous automobiles to drive over the stage.
- Episode 16
The airport show consisted of two parts of 30 minutes each. This peculiarity resulted from the fact that the Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcast the drawing of the lucky spiral. The show began with the arrival terminal part, then it was rebuilt and the viewers could follow live with the tickets they had brought with them as Klaus Havenstein carried out the drawing, and finally the departure terminal part followed. The disadvantage of getting the audience back in the mood for the second part was offset by the fact that the draw guaranteed a high level of audience participation, which is why Carrell got involved.
- Episode 18
The last issue in 1970 featured The Nitwits . It was Carrell's dream number, a comical orchestra made up of ten musicians. He had seen her once at the Lido in the early 1960s and would have liked to see her on his show. That seemed to be hopeless, however, as they were always fully booked and flying in from Las Vegas especially for the show would have been too expensive. Carrell's manager Dick Harris learned in a Parisian artist club that the group was celebrating Christmas at home in England for the first time in twelve years. So you could hire six of them for a performance on the Rudi Carrell Show , the other four musicians, who only had to make music, came from Radio Bremen. Nevertheless, the fee was so high that Carrell had to promise to pay it himself if he didn't like it - which didn't happen.
The performance featured the title Temptation , which is usually sung by one nitwit while the others do so much mischief around him that the finish singing seems amazing. Carrell took over the singing himself and found out afterwards that he was the third who dared to do it, after Bing Crosby in 1928 and Fred Astaire , but the latter only lasted eight bars.
End of the show
Episode 26 with the theme of the fair received a lot of negative criticism, which spoke of exaggerated slapstick. Carrell saw the main reason for the fact that Gisela Schlueter could not be obtained as planned . But he also thought the show, which was from the early 1960s, was no longer up to date. That's why he tried to make the 1973 Christmas edition particularly perfect and then end the show, although episodes were already planned for 1974. This was followed by the extremely successful game show Amlauf Band .
List of ARD broadcasts
DVD release
In 2015 and 2016, all episodes of the Rudi Carrell Show appeared on DVD for the first time.
swell
- Rudi Carrell: The world is a show Schwann Verlag, Düsseldorf 1972, no ISBN
- Jürgen Trimborn : Rudi Carrell. A life for the show. The biography. C. Bertelsmann, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-570-00941-6
- Rudi Carrell: Give me back my bike ; Molden, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Innsbruck 1979; ISBN 3-217-00981-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ A Life for the Show , Chapter 3 From Alkmaar to Hilversum
- ↑ A Life for the Show , Chapter 4 Wat een geluck
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j A life for the show , Chapter 5 From Hilversum to Montreux
- ↑ a b The world is a show , Chapter 2 The Idea
- ↑ a b c The World is a Show , Chapter 3 Rehearsals: Incursions and Failures ...
- ↑ a b c d e A life for the show , Chapter 6 Shooting Star in Germany
- ↑ The World is a Show , Chapter 6 I Remember ...
- ↑ The World is a Show , Chapter 7 Even More Memories ...
- ↑ A life for the show , Chapter 7 Rudi on all channels