Frank Elstner was not very keen when a friend suggested that he go to a dog race in Walthamstow north-east of London together, but he allowed himself to be persuaded.

After all, the sights of the city would still be there the next day.

That was in 1980, and in the seventh race Elstner bet on the smallest dog, an outsider because he himself was one.

The dog won, and Elstner was richer by 25,000 marks.

Melanie Muehl

Editor in the Feuilleton.

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It's quite possible that without this experience, Elstner would never have invented the talk show "Wetten, dass..?", the major TV event that used to gather millions of people in front of the television set on Saturday evenings.

Because one night, he was lying in his bed in Luxembourg and couldn't fall asleep, he asked himself: Why isn't there any betting on German television?

Frank Elstner was 38 years old at the time, he had already made a career as a presenter at Radio Luxembourg, where he presented the Sunday “Hitparade” as well as “The Big 8” and the “Luxemburger Funkkantine”.

His renaming from Tim to Frank also dates from this period, because when he started there was already a speaker named Tom on the station.

Those responsible feared that there could be confusion with two such similar names.

They could not have known at the time that Elstner was unmistakable.

The work is his life

In addition to "Wetten dass..?", he also presented "Spiel ohne Grenzen", "Die Montagsmaler" and "Do you understand fun?" on television.

To name the many formats he invented would go beyond the scope.

In any case, Frank Elstner is someone who has tirelessly worked creatively and continues to work because this work is his life.

Frank Elstner grew up in modest circumstances, he was a shy child with a wasted eye.

His Baden-Baden classmates teased him, called him one-eyed and smeared his right lens with ink.

In an interview, Elstner once said that he didn't want to attract attention at all.

He was glad if you left him alone.

As a children's speaker in the Südwestfunk studio, he shed his shame, flourished, and surpassed himself in front of the microphone.

A target of malice, he captivated audiences with his voice and talent.

"Weeks of sleeplessness and waking up with pimples"

Frank Elstner radiated reliability from the start.

He is a tireless, creative worker who prepares as much as possible for each show, rather than relying on flashy clothes and talk to entertain enough.

In an interview with this newspaper, he said: "A Saturday night show means not being able to sleep for weeks and waking up with pimples." Elstner's celebrity and non-celebrity guests always seemed to feel extremely comfortable with him, which has nothing to do with it whether he was chatting with Niki Lauda on “Wetten, dass..?” or interviewing a disaster worker on his SWR talk show “People of the Week” – Elstner always treated his guests with respect and honesty Interest.

That sounds like a matter of course

but it isn't.

Elstner would never have thought of presenting someone for a good punchline like other world explainers who play themselves to the fore.

Joking at the expense of others was never his thing.

In 2019, Frank Elstner spoke publicly for the first time about his Parkinson's disease in a touching interview on Markus Lanz's talk show.

Two years later, the book "Then I tremble - life despite Parkinson's", written together with the neurologist Jens Volkmann, was published.

A book that is intended to encourage those affected, because that is what he was and is always about: giving something to other people.

Anyone who is lucky enough to know him better knows that Frank Elstner actually stayed Frank Elstner.

Fame has not corrupted him.

Maybe that's his greatest achievement.

Today, April 19, the multi-talented artist celebrates his eightieth birthday.