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{{Short description|German entertainer and television producer (1934–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alfred Biolek
| image = Alfred Biolek by Stuart Mentiply.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Alfred Franz Maria Biolek
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1934|07|10}}
| birth_place = [[Fryštát|Freistadt]], [[Sudetenland]], [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2021|07|23|1934|07|10}}
| death_place = [[Cologne]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany
| other_names =
| occupation = {{plainlist|
* [[Entertainment|Entertainer]]
* [[Television presenter]]
* [[Television producer]]
}}
| known_for = ''[[Bio's Bahnhof]]'', ''Boulevard Bio'', ''alfredissimo!''
| awards = {{plainlist|
* [[Adolf-Grimme-Preis]]
* [[Goldene Kamera]]
* [[Karl Valentin Order]]
* [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
}}
}}

'''Alfred Franz Maria Biolek''' (10 July 1934 – 23 July 2021) was a German entertainer and television producer. Biolek held a PhD in law and was an honorary professor at the [[Academy of Media Arts Cologne]]. He received many awards for his work on television which included popular long-running series, and pioneering work for [[talk show]]s and [[cooking show]]s in the 1970s. He also received awards for his efforts for promoting the culture of food and wine. He supported and founded charities for Africa.

== Youth ==
Biolek was born in [[Fryštát|Freistadt]] (Fryštát) in [[Czechoslovakia]] (now Czech Republic), into a [[Sudeten Germans|Sudeten German]] family.<ref name="tagesschau.de 2021">{{cite web | title=Entertainer Alfred Biolek gestorben | website=tagesschau.de | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/biolek-gestorben-101.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> His father was a lawyer.<ref name="FAZ 2021">{{cite news | title=Alfred Biolek im Alter von 87 Jahren gestorben | newspaper=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|FAZ]] | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/alfred-biolek-ist-tot-moderator-mit-87-jahren-gestorben-17450517.html | language=de | access-date=24 July 2021}}</ref> After [[Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia|expulsion from Czechoslovakia]] in 1946, the Biolek family moved to [[Waiblingen]] near [[Stuttgart]], where Biolek's father practiced law again.<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012" /> Biolek was raised a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], and served as an [[altar boy]]. Later he temporarily joined the German conservative party [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]].<ref name="Zeitung 2021">{{cite web | title=Alfred Biolek mit 87 Jahren gestorben | website=Süddeutsche.de | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/alfred-biolek-gestorben-1.4968127 | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

He attended the [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] in [[Waiblingen]] and graduated in 1954.<ref name="Zeitung_2 2021">{{cite web | title=Zum Tod des Talkmasters: Bioleks Waiblinger Wurzeln | website=stuttgarter-zeitung.de | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.zum-tod-des-talkmasters-bioleks-waiblinger-wurzeln.badd5842-7523-47d9-a0fe-55877bcb6a15.html | language=de | access-date=24 July 2021}}</ref> He then studied law in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], [[Munich]], and [[Vienna]].<ref name="FP Gedenken" /> In 1958 he took a [[Law degree|first state exam of law]] (third-best exam in Baden-Württemberg) and graduated with honors.<ref name="Tagesspiegel" /> In 1962 he achieved a doctorate, followed by a second state examination in law in 1963.<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012" />  In 1969 Biolek moved to Munich<ref name="Kretz-Mangold 2021">{{cite web | last=Kretz-Mangold | first=Marion | title=Der große Zuhörer: Zum Tod von Alfred Biolek | website=WDR | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/entertainer-alfred-biolek-gestorben-100.html | language=de | access-date=24 July 2021}}</ref> and worked for a larger law firm. Living in the city, Biolek underwent a radical change and distanced himself from his previous conservative mindset. He took part in the [[Bohemianism|bohemian community]] in Munich, and belonged to filmmaker [[Rainer Werner Fassbinder|Rainer Werner Fassbinder's]] social circle.<ref name="Tagesspiegel">{{cite news | title=Der Menschenzoo konnte ihm nicht voll genug sein | newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online | url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/alfred-biolek-ist-tot-der-menschenzoo-konnte-ihm-nicht-voll-genug-sein/27447930.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

== Television career ==
From 1963, Biolek worked as an assessor in the legal department of the new public German TV channel [[ZDF]] where he soon switched to editorial tasks.<ref name="FAZ 2021" /><ref name="KunstSalon 2017">{{cite web | title=Biolek, Alfred | website=KunstSalon | date=11 May 2017 | url=https://www.kunstsalon.de/artist/alfred-biolek/ | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> He became the anchor man of the TV show ''Drehscheibe''.<ref name="Spiegel 2021" /> From 1970 to 1973, he was head of the main entertainment department at the Bavaria film and television production company in Munich.<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012" /> In 1974, he developed for the broadcaster [[Westdeutscher Rundfunk|WDR]] in Cologne, together with [[Rudi Carrell]], the show series ''{{ill|Am laufenden Band|de}}''. The successful Saturday night show became his breakthrough.<ref name="FAZ 2021" />

From 1975, he was presenter of a new talk show, with the journalist {{ill|Dieter Thoma (journalist)|de|Dieter Thoma (Moderator)|lt=Dieter Thoma}}, ''{{ill|Kölner Treff|de}}'' (Meeting in Cologne).<ref name="FAZ 2021" /><ref name="Zeitung 2021" /> In February 1978, he started his first produced and moderated show, titled ''[[Bio's Bahnhof]]'' (''Bio's station''),<ref name="FAZ 2021" /> where e.g. [[Kate Bush]] had her television debut.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Kate Bush's TV debut of 'Wuthering Heights' back in 1978|website=Far Out|date=2020| url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/kate-bush-wuthering-heights-tv-debut-1978-video/|author=Jack Whatley|language=en| access-date=25 July 2021}}</ref> In the 1980s, commercially less successful shows followed: ''Bei Bio'', ''Show Bühne'', and the game show ''Mensch Meier''.<ref name="Tagesspiegel 2019">{{cite web | title=Es hat wehgetan, aber es hat die Verspannung gelöst | website=[[Der Tagesspiegel]] | date=10 July 2019 | url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/medien/alfred-biolek-wird-85-jahre-alt-es-hat-wehgetan-aber-es-hat-die-verspannung-geloest/24575820.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> ''{{ill|Boulevard Bio|de}}'' ran from 1991 for 12 years,<ref name="FAZ 2021" /> and ''{{ill|alfredissimo!|de}}'' was last broadcast in 2007.<ref name="FAZ 2021" />

== Production company ==
While visiting the UK in the early 1970s, Biolek caught notice of the British comedy troupe [[Monty Python]], and excited by their innovative, absurd sketches, he invited them over to Germany in 1971 and 1972 to write and act in two special German episodes of their show ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. The result, ''[[Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus]]'', was produced by Biolek in co-production with [[Westdeutscher Rundfunk]].<ref name="Fischer 2010" />

With his own company Pro GmbH,<ref name="Tagesspiegel 2010">{{cite web | title=TV-Firma Pro GmbH insolvent | website=Tagesspiegel | date=5 March 2010 | url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/medien/produktionsfirma-tv-firma-pro-gmbh-insolvent/1713010.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="Pro TV Produktion GmbH">{{cite web | title=Die Pro | website=Pro TV Produktion GmbH | url=https://www.pro-gmbh.tv/Pro | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> Between 1991 and 2003, Biolek produced his weekly show ''[[Boulevard Bio]]''.<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012" /> Biolek developed the art of sensitive conversation and attracted much attention. From 1994<ref name="KunstSalon 2017" /> to 2006, he also cooked with celebrities on his show ''[[alfredissimo!]]''.<ref name="FAZ 2021" />

== Additional activities ==
Besides his media career, Biolek taught as an honorary professor at the [[Academy of Media Arts|Academy of Media Arts, Cologne]] from 1990 onwards.<ref name="FP Gedenken" />

He supported the intercultural work of the [[American Field Service]] Deutschland, with which he spent a year abroad in the US as one of the first German exchange students in the 1950s.<ref name="FP Gedenken">{{cite web | title=Traueranzeigen von Alfred Biolek | website=FP Gedenken | url=https://gedenken.freiepresse.de/traueranzeige/alfred-biolek | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

He was actively engaged in the struggle against [[AIDS]] and unwanted pregnancy in Africa. In 2000, he was appointed the first German [[UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unfpa.org/press/german-television-host-alfred-biolek-named-unfpa-goodwill-ambassador|title=German Television Host, Alfred Biolek, Named UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador|website=www.unfpa.org}}</ref> In October 2005, Biolek founded the charity fund Alfred Biolek Stiftung – Hilfe für Afrika, to give African youngsters the opportunity of a better start in life.<ref name="ZEIT ONLINE">{{cite news | title=Alfred Biolek ist tot | newspaper=Die Zeit | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2021-07/entertainer-alfred-biolek-gestorben | language=de | access-date=24 July 2021 | last1=Zacharakis | first1=Zacharias }}</ref> He was on the advisory board for the [[German Foundation for World Population]].<ref name="GmbH">{{cite web | title=Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) - Aids - Aufklärung - Gesundheitsvorsorge | website=charity-label.com | url=https://www.charity-label.com/de/projekt/Deutsche-Stiftung-Weltbevoelkerung-DSW | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

As a patron of the arts, Biolek was committed to supporting [[cabaret]]. He was one of the patrons of the [[vaudeville]] theatre "Bar jeder Vernunft" in [[Wilmersdorf]].<ref name="Shows & Theater">{{cite web | title=BAR JEDER VERNUNFT Berlin | website=Shows & Theater | url=https://www.bar-jeder-vernunft.de/de/uber-uns/bar-jeder-vernunft.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

Since October 2006, Biolek was on tour with his program ''Mein Theater mit dem Fernsehen'' (My theatre/struggle with TV), in which he illustrated parts of his TV career.<ref name="Centralstation Darmstad">{{cite web | title=Alfred Biolek: Mein Theater mit dem Fernsehen | website=Centralstation Darmstadt | url=https://www.centralstation-darmstadt.de/event/2111001/alfred-biolek-mein-theater-mit-dem-fernsehen/ | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Empfang für Alfred Biolek zum 85. Geburtstag-7393.jpg|right|thumb|Biolek at a reception for his 85th birthday]]
On 10 December 1991, the director and activist [[Rosa von Praunheim]] outed Biolek, among other celebrities, as gay during a TV show.<ref name="praunheim">{{cite web|title=Von San Francisco lernen – Hundert Jahre nach ihrer Gründung sucht die Schwulenbewegung neue Ziele|url=http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/1997/0515/none/0006/index.html|date=15 May 1997|accessdate=17 May 2008|first=Mechthild|last=Henneke|work=[[Berliner Zeitung]]|language=German|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114085057/http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/1997/0515/none/0006/index.html|archive-date=14 November 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Biolek lived with his partner in Cologne and Berlin.<ref name="Tagesspiegel 2019" /> In 2010, Biolek suffered brain injuries from a fall on a stair. Scott Ritchie took care of him, and he adopted him.<ref name="Tagesspiegel 2019" />

Biolek died on 23 July 2021 in Cologne, aged 87.<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 July 2021|title=TV-Urgestein: Alfred Biolek ist tot|url=https://rp-online.de/panorama/leute/alfred-biolek-tot-tv-urgestein-stirbt-im-alter-von-87-jahren_aid-61733493|access-date=23 July 2021|website=RP ONLINE|language=de}}</ref><ref name="Online 2021">{{cite web | title=Er wurde 87 Jahre alt: Alfred Biolek ist tot | website=FOCUS Online | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.focus.de/kultur/kino_tv/trauer-um-tv-legende-alfred-biolek-ist-tot_id_13523422.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="Startseite - ZDFmediathek 2021">{{cite web | title=Fernsehmoderator: Alfred Biolek gestorben | website=Startseite – ZDFmediathek | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.zdf.de/uri/f28b0797-b6a1-40ee-a563-17b54e75382d | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

== TV shows ==
* 1971/1972 – producer of ''[[Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus]]''<ref name="Fischer 2010">{{cite web | last=Fischer | first=Stefan | title=Die Überflieger | website=Süddeutsche.de | date=17 May 2010 | url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/monty-python-die-ueberflieger-1.803093 | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 1974 – producer of the [[Rudi Carrell]] show ''{{ill|Am laufenden Band|de}}''<ref name="Spiegel 2021" />
* 1978 – first own show ''[[Bio's Bahnhof]]''<ref name="Spiegel 2021">{{cite web | title=Alfred Biolek ist tot – TV-Moderator stirbt im Alter von 87 Jahren | website=DER SPIEGEL | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/alfred-biolek-ist-tot-a-c8becf15-2db2-46b7-bc2c-86d7c88e7aeb | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 1991 – talk show ''{{ill|Boulevard Bio|de}}''<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012" />
* 1994 – cooking show with celebrities ''{{ill|alfredissimo!|de}}''<ref name="Spiegel 2021" />

== Awards ==
Source:<ref name="Stadtzauber 2012">{{cite web | title=Stadtzauber: interviews | website=Stadtzauber | date=4 July 2012 | url=http://www.stadtzauber.de/menschen/interviews/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=143&cHash=72c0e751cb245eaeb0fa2393795ff50d | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021 | archive-date=23 July 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723094626/http://www.stadtzauber.de/menschen/interviews/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=143&cHash=72c0e751cb245eaeb0fa2393795ff50d | url-status=dead }}</ref>

* 1983 – [[Adolf-Grimme-Preis]] in Gold<ref name="presseportal.de 2021">{{cite web | title=WDR-Intendant Tom Buhrow zum Tod von Alfred Biolek: "Begnadeter Talkmaster" | website=presseportal.de | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7899/4976284 | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 1993 – [[Goldene Kamera]] for ''{{ill|Boulevard Bio|de}}''<ref name="Entertainment">{{cite web | title=GOLDENE KAMERA Preisträger Alfred Biolek ist tot – News | website=GOLDENE KAMERA | date=23 July 2021 | url=https://www.goldenekamera.de/news/article232866381/GOLDENE-KAMERA-Preistraeger-Alfred-Biolek-ist-tot.html | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="presseportal.de 2021" />
* 1994 – [[Bambi (prize)|Bambi]]<ref name="Tagesspiegel 2019" />
* 2000 – {{ill|Bobby (Award)|de|Bobby (Preis)|lt=Bobby}}, media prize of the {{ill|Bundesvereinigung Lebenshilfe|de}} for people with mental disabilities
* 2002 – [[German Book Prize]] (category non-fiction)
* 2002 – {{ill|Deutscher Weinkulturpreis|de}}<ref name="Medienkorrespondenz">{{cite web | title=Mensch Bio | website=Medienkorrespondenz | url=https://www.medienkorrespondenz.de/leitartikel/artikel/mensch-bio.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 2003 – [[Karl Valentin Order]]<ref name="Schmitz Konzeptionen">{{cite web | last=Schmitz | first=Martin | title=Narrhalla Karl-Valentin-Ordensträger 2003 wurde Dr.Alfred Biolek | website=ganz-muenchen.de München City | url=https://www.ganz-muenchen.de/fasching/2003/narrhalla/veranstaltungen/karl_valentin_orden/preistraeger_2003.html | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 2003 – Großes [[Bundesverdienstkreuz]]<ref name="presseportal.de 2021" />
* 2004 – Golden [[Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter|VDP]] Award "for his merits for the German wine"<ref name="VDP">{{cite web | title=VDP:VDP.Auszeichnungen | website=VDP | url=https://www.vdp.de/de/der-vdp/vdpexklusiv | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>
* 2008 – Goldene Kamera for his life's work
* 2009 – [[Deutscher Fernsehpreis]], Honorary award of the donors<ref name="Deutscher Fernsehpreis 2021 2012">{{cite web | title=Alfred Biolek erhält den Ehrenpreis der Stifter 2009 | website=Deutscher Fernsehpreis 2021 | date=16 July 2012 | url=https://www.deutscher-fernsehpreis.de/verleihung/ehrenpreis/alfred-biolek-erhaelt-den-ehrenpreis-der-stifter-2009/ | language=de | access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|nm0083142}}
* [http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/alfred-biolek-meine-zeit-ist-jetzt-zu-ende-1359507-p3.html Meine Zeit ist jetzt zu Ende] (interview, in German) ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung]]'', 25 September 2006

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biolek, Alfred}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:German Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:German television talk show hosts]]
[[Category:German television presenters]]
[[Category:German television producers]]
[[Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:German gay entertainers]]
[[Category:LGBTQ television producers]]
[[Category:German LGBTQ broadcasters]]
[[Category:Silesian-German people]]
[[Category:Czechoslovak people of German descent]]
[[Category:Sudeten German people]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Germany]]
[[Category:People from Karviná]]
[[Category:Television people from Cologne]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne]]
[[Category:ZDF people]]
[[Category:Westdeutscher Rundfunk people]]
[[Category:21st-century German LGBTQ people]]

Alfred Biolek - Revision history

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