Wurlitzer (ORF)

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The Wurlitzer broadcast was a weekly audience request broadcast on FS2 (later: ORF 2 ) that was broadcast every week between 1987 and 1995 . The program was also shown on the joint culture channel 3sat .

It initially began under the title The red-white-red desire program in the main Saturday evening program. In 1987 the "Wurli" was broadcast as a special program by the International Radio Exhibition Berlin and from September 29, 1987 it was included in the regular television program as a weekday afternoon program. In 1995, before the new television scheme under Gerhard Zeiler , the Wurlitzer was discontinued.

The name giver and central element was the “Wurlitzer”, or “Wurli” for short, a jukebox - after a name for such devices commonly used in Vienna and Austria (analogous to the common alternative name for the jukebox used in the USA, which was derived from the former manufacturer Rudolph Wurlitzer Company ). This Wurlitzer, which was presented from 1985, was kept in the then modern-looking Plexiglas design , as was the rest of the studio decoration. The moderator received wishes and brief greetings from the audience via a cordless telephone - which was still unusual in the mid-1980s - or via fax. These were mostly short films or music videos. In the beginning, the wishes were entered using a key combination, after which the desired was recorded from an optical disc . When the offer later expanded, the films often came from other sources outside of the “Wurlitzer”.

The program was mainly moderated by Peter Rapp or Elisabeth “Lizzy” Engstler , but other popular ORF presenters such as Reinhard Jesionek , Alfons Haider , Martina Rupp and Vera Russwurm also played . Guests were also invited to the show, which made them look like a talk show. Occasionally, smaller competitions and quizzes were held.

At the same time, there was also a children's version called Kinder-Wurlitzer , which was broadcast on Saturday afternoon. This program was moderated by Thomas Brezina, among others .

A favorite oldie program under the title Wurlitzer is still available on Radio Vorarlberg every Sunday and public holiday from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

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