Peter Kersten (1943-2023) is dead. The former television magician, particularly well-known in the GDR, died on Tuesday evening “after a long, serious illness in a hospice in Radebeul,” as his lawyer confirmed to the “MDR”. Especially in the 1980s, Kersten enchanted an audience of millions on GDR television and was also known beyond the country’s borders as “Magic Peter”. He was 80 years old.
According to information from the “Bild” newspaper, Kersten suffered from prostate cancer. He made his television debut in 1964 on a talent show, according to the entertainer’s personal website. According to the “Sächsische Zeitung”, he later produced over 100 episodes of his children’s show “Kunterbunt” and received a so-called “Magic Oscar” from the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood in 1977.
In the 1980s, Kersten celebrated his greatest successes on GDR television. He hosted “Ein Kessel Buntes”, the biggest television show in the GDR, and was seen in his own show “Zauber auf Schloss Kuckuckstein”. According to “Bild” information, he is said to have celebrated his 80th birthday at the castle in Saxony in the summer. For the occasion, the magician performed some magic tricks in front of close friends, but was only able to do so while sitting from a walker. Now the “Magic Peter” has succumbed to his illness.
