German Television Comedy - 1970s

1970s

When Otto's first show came out in 1973, it differed in many ways from those of traditional comedians also around at the time, such as Rudi Carrell (then aged 39) and Loriot (then 50). Rudi Carrell and Loriot dressed rather more formally in a suit and tie, and stood on a large stage with the audience seated in rows, whereas Otto, then only 25, with his long blond hair falling in his face, wore t-shirts and jeans, and sat on a smaller cabaret-style stage, closer to the audience. This generation gap was reflected in Ein Herz und eine Seele, a sitcom similar to Till Death Us Do Part, where the old-fashioned character Alfred Tetzlaff clashes comically with his daughter Rita and his son-in-law Michael, who stands for the German student movement of 1968. The more traditional shows remained extremely popular, however, and repeats are still regularly shown today. The older comedians also adapted; Rudi Carrell continued to appear in comedy shows until shortly before his death in 2006.

• 1965 - 1973: Rudi Carrell Show slapstick series starring Rudi Carrell, on ARD
• 1967 - 1972: Cartoon sketch show starring Loriot, on ARD
• 1970: Telematch outdoor game show between two German towns where the competitors would be in fancy dress and engage in funny competitive games: similar to It's a Knockout or Jeux Sans Frontières.
• 1971 - 1972: Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus - a special recording, in German, of Monty Python's Flying Circus
• 1973 - 1976: Ein Herz und eine Seele, sitcom starring Heinz Schubert, Diether Krebs etc.
• 1973 - 1979: Klimbim (in German), sketch comedy program starring Ingrid Steeger, Elisabeth Volkmann etc.
• 1973 - 1979: Die Otto-Show, slightly surrealist live stand-up/music/sketch show starring Otto, on ARD
• 1975 - 1980: Nonstop Nonsens, comedy series starring Dieter Hallervorden on ARD
• 1976 - 1979: Loriot, sketch show starring Loriot, often with Evelyn Hamann, on ARD