Co-inventor of the GDR television show 'Ein Kessel Buntes' Evelin Matt dies

The co-inventor of the popular GDR television show "Ein Kessel Buntes", Evelin Matt, is dead. She died at the age of 89, presenter Wolfgang Lippert told the German Press Agency, citing information from her family. "Super Illu" had previously reported the news. "Ein Kessel Buntes" was a mainstay of entertainment on GDR television, editor Matt was something like the mother of the show.

"I am very saddened by the death of Evelin Matt," Lippert told dpa. Evelin Matt was a "very important person" for him. "She was my discoverer, boss, friend and my wise advisor for decades. I miss her very much!"

Lippert was one of the presenters of the show "Ein Kessel Buntes", which was first broadcast on GDR television from 1972 to 1992 and then on ARD from 1991. Artists from the West also appeared on the show. The presenters also included Dagmar Frederic and Helga Hahnemann, followed by Karsten Speck on ARD.

Creator of popular shows

Evelin Matt brought the popular entertainment program with producer Günther Steinbacher, which was produced in the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin and other large halls, into living rooms. According to Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), she was not only the co-inventor of "Kessel Buntes", but also of the Lippert show "Glück muss man haben", which was first shown on GDR television from 1985 to 1997 and later on MDR. According to RBB, Matt also supervised programs by Carmen Nebel and Carolin Reiber.

On the 50th anniversary of the show in 2022, Matt revealed to the "Bild" newspaper that there was initially considerable resistance to the show's title. "We didn't even have color television back then, the first four episodes were in black and white," she said. Further details about her death were not initially known.

Frederic comments on death

Dagmar Frederic expressed her sadness about Matt's death on Facebook. She wrote as a comment under the "Super Illu" report: "All good thoughts - and I have many - go with her on her last journey."

There is still an offshoot of the show on Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) under the title "Ein Kessel Buntes Spezial" - with Lippert as presenter.