Moderator Thomas Gottschalk (75) spoke emotionally about his cancer. He made this diagnosis public after he once again left an insecure impression at the Romy award ceremony on Friday evening in Kitzbühel. “I think it’s time we put our cards on the table. I have cancer,” said the 75-year-old in an “Bild” interview on Sunday.
Gottschalk’s speeches at the Romy Gala on Friday evening and a good two weeks earlier at the Bambi awards in Munich had caused irritation. The entertainer, who was otherwise so confident and relaxed, seemed stricken, at times unsteady and unfocused. Malice and devastating comments then poured out, particularly on social networks.
Gottschalk: “I didn’t know myself like that”
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So now he revealed himself. “Thomas had a serious, complicated cancer operation almost four months ago,” said his wife Karina. “The diagnosis was harsh. Epithelioid angiosarcoma. A rare, malignant tumor that arises from the cells of the blood vessels. Thomas was operated on immediately.” Her husband had a second operation and is still taking strong medication to this day.
“It was only at the Bambi awards that we realized what side effects these medications have,” said Gottschalk’s wife. He himself continued to tell “Bild”: “I wasn’t prepared for something like that to ever happen to me. With these tablets I feel as if my head was stuck in a washing machine. I didn’t know myself like that. I now know that these are the painkillers.”
Surprise after television appearance
On Friday evening, Gottschalk caused astonishment again during a television appearance. At the award ceremony for the Austrian TV award Diamant-Romy, his voice trembled. At the Bambi gala he had already seemed disorientated and confused.
On the Romy stage in Kitzbühel, presenter Hans Sigl Gottschalk warmly jumped to the side. “Kurier” managing director Richard Grasl, who presented the 75-year-old with the award, said that if you do something right 1,000 times and perhaps do something not quite well half of the time, you still remain a superstar.
Why didn’t the sick entertainer cancel the Romy Awards? Gottschalk told “Bild”: “Then even more malice would have descended on me. Besides, I’m old school and fulfill my obligations.” He thought about stopping the medication before the performance, but his doctors told him not to. “With Romy I realized there was no point. I can’t perform anymore. I have to get healthy,” said the 75-year-old.
Wife on judgments about Gottschalk: “It was hell for me”
Gottschalk’s wife Karina sat in the audience at the event in Kitzbühel and, according to “Bild”, watched the audience’s reactions with tears in her eyes. Karina Gottschalk told the newspaper: “It was hell for me because I know the truth. I would have liked to scream at everyone: No, we’re not feeling well. Thomas in particular isn’t feeling well. He’s seriously ill!”
Gottschalk recently told the German Press Agency that the questions about his Bambi appearance were getting on his nerves. “I’m 75 and now I’m retiring from the business.” He had planned his last Saturday evening show on RTL for the coming weekend. It was unclear on Sunday evening whether this would take place.
The master of the Saturday night show
The Saturday evening show was Gottschalk’s big stage. For decades he dominated, especially in “Wetten Dass..?” on ZDF the art of casual, nonchalant moderation. From 1987 to 2011 – apart from a two-year break – and in three special editions in 2021, 2022 and 2023, he performed the largest show in Europe. Quick-witted, spontaneous and not afraid of international superstars.
He distinguished himself not only as a loudmouth in flashy clothes, but also as a humanitarian. Someone who enjoyed the spotlight himself, but who also always shared the big stage – with rock stars as well as with betting candidates. He didn’t become spiteful or scathing when a candidate botched his bet. Then he showed humanity.
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