He staged West Germany’s start into the color television era: the busy entertainment director Dieter Pröttel is dead. Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in Baden-Baden and television producer Werner Kimmig confirmed this on Wednesday at the request of the German Press Agency.
Pröttel was considered an industry legend. His best-known work is likely to be his directing work on the comedies “Die Supernasen” (1983) and “Zwei Nase tanken Super” (1984) with Mike Krüger and Thomas Gottschalk, which developed into real blockbusters. But he also shaped a lot of popular entertainment shows from the 1960s to the 1990s, such as the “Rudi Carrell Show”, “Die Pyramide” or “Auf Los geht’s los”. In the “talent shed” he was a moderator.
From Marlene Dietrich to Peter Alexander
“He worked with the big stars of the industry such as Marlene Dietrich, Caterina Valente, Gustav Knuth, Rudi Carrell, Peter Alexander, Hildegard Knef and Blacky Fuchsberger,” remembers his companion Werner Kimmig. But the Offenburg native also built up new stars: “Dieter Pröttel discovered many new talents in his shows, including Siegfried and Roy, Michael Schanze and Hape Kerkeling, for example.”
Pröttel also directed Germany’s first color television program in 1967: the transmission from the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in West Berlin had begun as a black-and-white broadcast. At that time, Vice Chancellor Willy Brandt pressed a red button to convert the live transmission from the trade fair to color TV. Pröttel also directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1974 World Cup in Frankfurt and Munich.
Pröttel, who has always had a soft spot for show business and had been on stage himself for a number of years as a member of the trio “Die Drei Halodries”, owed his first major directorial work in 1962 to a coincidence. After the well-known director Michael Pfleghar (“Klimbim”) fell ill, he was commissioned to design the show “Bonsoir Catrin”. The successful debut with Caterina Valente laid the foundation for his career.
More than 3000 productions
“Dieter Pröttel was extremely popular with all production teams,” recalls TV producer Kimmig. “He had the ability to bring even the most disparate star characters together. Most importantly, he treated everyone from the cable guy to the host with the same respect.” After more than 3000 productions, Pröttel ended his active work as a director in 2006.
He died on December 26 at the age of 91 “with the family” near Starnberg, as it was said. The burial should take place in the closest family circle. A memorial service is planned for late January or early February.
