Thomas Gottschalk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Gottschalk
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Gottschalk at the talk show maischberger. die woche in 2018
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| Born |
Thomas Johannes Gottschalk
18 May 1950 |
| Occupation | Radio and TV host, entertainer, actor |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Thea Hauer
(m. 1976; div. 2024)Karina Mroß
(m. 2024) |
| Children | 2 |
Thomas Johannes Gottschalk (born May 18, 1950) is a famous German radio and television host. He is also a popular entertainer and actor. He is most known for hosting Wetten, dass..?, which was one of Europe's biggest TV shows for many years. He led this show to great success in Germany and other countries from 1987 to 2023. Until 2015, he was also the face of Haribo sweets in their TV ads.
Thomas Gottschalk's Early Life
Thomas Gottschalk was born in Bamberg, Bavaria, which was then West Germany. His father was a lawyer. Thomas went to a special high school in Kulmbach that focused on humanities. Later, he studied history and German language. He even trained to become a teacher for elementary and middle schools. But during this time, he found his real passion: being an entertainer!
Thomas Gottschalk's Career Highlights
Starting in Radio and TV
In 1971, Thomas Gottschalk began working for the youth programs at Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting). By 1973, he became a news anchor. In 1976, he started working regularly at Bayerischer Rundfunk. He became very popular as the host of a show called Pop nach acht. In 1978, he won the Kurt-Magnus-Preis award for being an "outstanding" radio host.
Hosting TV Shows and Acting
Thomas Gottschalk started hosting the TV show Telespiele in 1977. It first aired on a local channel, then moved to the national ARD channel in 1980. In the same year, he created GLS United, which was Germany's first hip hop group. He even performed the first German rap song, "Rapper's Deutsch."
From 1982 to 1987, Gottschalk hosted the show Na sowas on ZDF. He won the Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera) award in 1985 for his work on this show. During these years, he also acted in several German comedy movies with Mike Krüger. Thomas Gottschalk still acts sometimes today. He has appeared in Hollywood movies like Trabbi goes to Hollywood (1991) and Zookeeper (2011). In 1993, he was in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. This happened because the main actress, Whoopi Goldberg, lost a bet on his game show Wetten, dass..?. In the movie, he played Father Wolfgang, a German cook who loved sausages.
Hosting Wetten, dass..?
In 1987, Thomas Gottschalk took over as the host of Wetten, dass..? from Frank Elstner. He hosted this huge show until December 2011. There was a short break from 1992 to 1994 when another host, Wolfgang Lippert, took over.
His decision to leave the show was linked to a serious accident that happened live on Wetten, dass..? on December 4, 2010. A young gymnast named Samuel Koch was doing a stunt where he tried to jump over a car using special spring-loaded boots. He was hit by the car and became paralyzed from the shoulders down. Thomas Gottschalk was very upset by this. He ended the show early for the first time ever when it was clear Samuel was badly hurt. In the next episode, Gottschalk announced he would retire from the show.
Other Shows and Awards
From 1992 to 1995, Thomas Gottschalk also hosted a late-night TV show called Gottschalk Late Night. Even though it wasn't a huge hit, it helped pave the way for other popular German late-night shows. Gottschalk Late Night also held a "Model '92" competition in 1992. Heidi Klum won this competition, which helped start her famous modeling career.
Thomas Gottschalk has won many awards for his work. Some of these include:
- The Telestar in 1987.
- The Goldenes Schlitzohr (golden rascal) and Goldenes Kabel (golden cable) in 1991.
- The Goldene Feder (golden feather) in 2001.
He also received three Bambi awards. He returned them in 1988 after a disagreement. However, in 2001, he accepted a special "Bambi of honor." In 2012, Gottschalk also co-hosted the show Das Supertalent.
He also co-hosts the German TV show Die 2 – Gottschalk und Jauch gegen alle with Günther Jauch.
Thomas Gottschalk's Personal Life
Thomas Gottschalk married his wife Thea in 1976. They have two sons named Roman and Tristan. He also has one grandson, who was born in 2010. In 2019, he shared that he and Thea were getting divorced after 43 years of marriage.
In 2004, Thomas Gottschalk bought Castle Marienfels in Remagen, Germany. He lived there from 2006 to 2013. He later sold the castle. Since the early 1990s, he has also had a second home in Malibu, California. Sadly, this home was destroyed in the 2018 California wildfires.
In 2005, Thomas Gottschalk earned a spot in the Guinness World Records. He was featured in the longest-running advertisement with one person. He appeared regularly in ads for the sweets company Haribo from 1991 to 2015.
In 2008, he won €1 million for charity on a celebrity version of Wer wird Millionär?, which is the German version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Filmography
Film Roles
Thomas Gottschalk has appeared in many films. Here are some of them:
- 1978: Summer Night Fever as a DJ
- 1981: Piratensender Powerplay as Tommy Jürgensen
- 1983: Die Supernasen as Tommy Jürgensen / Prince Faruk al Habib (he also helped write this one)
- 1984: Zwei Nasen tanken Super as Tommy Jürgensen (also co-writer)
- 1985: Big Mäc as Bernhard Maurer
- 1985: Die Einsteiger as Tommy Jürgensen (also co-writer)
- 1991: Trabbi goes to Hollywood as Gunther Schmidt
- 1993: Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit as Father Wolfgang
- 2004: Garfield: The Movie as the voice of Garfield (German version)
- 2011: Zookeeper as Jürgen Mavroc
Awards and Recognition
Thomas Gottschalk has received many awards for his work in entertainment:
- Goldener Gong (1983)
- Telestar (1987)
- Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award) for "Best Show" for Wetten, dass..? (1999)
- Bayerischer Fernsehpreis (Bavarian Television Award) "Honorary Prize of the Bavarian Minister-President" (1999)
- Rose d'Or "Golden Rose for Game-Show Hosting" for Wetten, dass..? (2005)
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Gottschalk para niños
