Thomas Gottschalk

Thomas Gottschalk (born May 18, 1950) is a famous German TV showmaster[?]. He is most well-known for his moderation of the popular show Wetten, dass..?[?], which he has led to a huge success in Germany.

Gottschalk was born in the small Bavarian city of Bamberg as the son of a lawyer. After attending the Humanistisches Gymnasium (Humanistic grammar school) in Kulmbach[?], he studied history and Germanistik (German language and literature), eventually taking his exams as a teacher for primary and secondary schools; however, it was already during this time that he discovered his actual vocation.

From 1971 on, Gottschalk worked as a freelancer for the youth program of the Bayerischer Rundfunk[?] (Bavarian broadcast); in 1973, he became anchor for a news program. In 1976, after a brief detour to the newspaper Münchner Merkur, he became a regular employee of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, and subsequently gained popularity as the host of the show Pop nach acht. He was awarded the Kurt-Magnus-Preis for his "outstanding talents" as a radio host in 1978.

His career continued with him moderating the TV show Telespiele from 1977 on; the show was first broadcast in the Bayerischer Rundfunks TV channel, and switched to the national public ARD channel in 1980. From 1982 to 1987, Gottschalk moderated the show Na sowas on ZDF, and was awarded the Golden Camera[?] for it in 1985.

Gottschalk quickly gained popularity, a trend that only increased when he replaced Frank Elstner[?] as a showmaster for Wetten, dass..?[?] in 1987, which he still continues to host today, with only a brief interruption from 1992 to 1994 when the show was taken over by Wolfgang Lippert[?].

From 1993 to 1995, Gottschalk also hosted a late night[?] show on TV, Gottschalk Late Night, and while it was not very successful, it paved the way for other shows such as the Harald Schmidt Show, TV Total and the Johannes B. Kerner[?] Show.

Gottschalk was awarded a number of prizes for his work; apart from those mentioned above, these included the Telestar[?] in 1987, the Goldenes Schlitzohr[?] (golden rascal) and the Goldenes Kabel[?] (golden cable) in 1991, as well as the Goldene Feder[?] (golden feather) in 2001. He also received a total of three Bambi[?] awards, which he gave back in 1988 after a dispute with the publisher Burda[?]; however, in 2001, he was awarded a "Bambi of honour" which he accepted.

Gottschalk has been married to his wife Thea since 1976.

Gottschalk also starred in several films during his career, with varying success.

Selected filmography

• Piratensender Powerplay[?] (1982)
• Die Supernasen[?] (1983)
• Zärtliche Chaoten[?] (1987, english as Lovable zanies)
• Eine Frau namens Harry[?] (1990, english as Harry and Harriette)
• Trabbi goes to Hollywood[?] (1991, english as Driving me crazy)
• Late Show[?] (1999).