Hans-Peter Wilhelm Kerkeling

Hape Kerkeling (born Hans-Peter Wilhelm Kerkeling; 9 December 1964) is a German comedian, TV presenter, author, and actor. At secondary school in Recklinghausen, he and some fellow students formed a band and published a record. He started his career as a comedian in radio, working for German broadcasting companies such as WDR and BR. His breakthrough came in 1984/85 when, aged only 19, he got a role in the Kanguru television comedy show, where his best-known character was the irritating little boy Hannilein.

In 1989, Kerkeling started his own comedy TV show, Total Normal, along with pianist Achim Hagemann. The satirical spoof on prime-time TV shows won several television prizes, including the Goldene Kamera, the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, and the Bayerischer Fernsehpreis. On the show, he made television history on 25 April 1991 when he dressed up as Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and almost managed to get into Schloss Bellevue to meet the President of Germany for lunch. In 1992, his first film, Kein Pardon, which he directed, starred in, and co-wrote, was released.

In 2001, Kerkeling went on a pilgrimage along the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela. His 2006 book about the journey, Ich bin dann mal weg, topped the Spiegel non-fiction bestseller list, sold three million copies by May 2008, and appeared in English as I'm Off Then. In 2013, he spoke and sang the German version of Olaf in the Disney film Frozen. His many honours include the Grimme-Preis, the Romy, and the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia.