Berlin
(Reuters):
Rudi
Carrell,
a
Dutch
comic
entertainer
who
took
West
Germany
by
storm
in
the
1960s
and
once
sparked
a
diplomatic
crisis
by
mocking
Iran's
supreme
leader,
has
died
at
the
age
of
71.
Carrell's
tall,
thin
stature
and
unmistakable
mop
of
white
hair
was
standard
fare
on
German
television
and
cinema
screens
during
the
last
40
years.
''When
I
first
came
to
Germany,
I
could
only
speak
English,''
Carrell
once
said.
''But
now
the
German
language
has
so
many
English
words
that
I
speak
fluent
German.''
In
1960,
he
crooned
his
way
to
second-to-last
place
in
the
Eurovision
Song
Contest.
Carrell's
thick
Dutch
accent
and
provocative
humour
were
the
trademark
of
television
shows
like
''The
Rudi
Carrell
Show'',
''Rudi's
Daily
Show''
and
others.
In
1987,
he
did
a
comedy
skit
in
which
veiled
women
threw
their
undergarments
at
someone
dressed
like
the
Islamic
Republic
of
Iran's
Supreme
Leader
Ayatollah
Ruhollah
Khomeini.
The
outraged
Iranian
government
responded
by
expelling
two
German
diplomats
and
closing
the
Goethe
Institute
in
Tehran.
A
skilled
comic,
Carrell
was
famous
for
his
quotable
quips,
such
as:
''Newscasters
always
begin
with
'Good
Evening'
and
then
need
15
minutes
to
explain
that
it
is
not
a
good
evening.''
Born
Rudolf
Wijbrand
Kesselaar,
Carrell,
a
smoker,
confirmed
he
was
suffering
from
lung
cancer
last
year.
''Germany
has
given
me
ten
times
more
than
I
ever
expected,''
he
recently
said.
''I
owe
my
life
to
this
wonderful
country.''
According
to
Radio
Bremen,
where
Carrell
had
once
worked,
the
entertainer
died
on
Friday.