Cancer illness was "a shock" Badesalz comedian Gerd Knebel is dead
The German comedian Gerd Knebel is dead. The stage star, who once enjoyed great TV success as part of the comedy duo Badesalz, died of cancer at the age of 72.
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- Comedian Knebel, a father of two from southern Hesse, was diagnosed with cancer over a year ago.
- Despite poor prognoses, he lived longer than expected and at times had stable phases.
- His death hit his long-standing comedy partner Henni Nachtsheim hard emotionally.
They had their own sketch shows on ARD, SAT.1 and Comedy Central: Henni Nachtsheim and Gerd Knebel were on stage for years, both solo and together as Badesalz.
Now Gerd Knebel has died at the age of 72. As Henni Nachtsheim and Knebel's family announced, the stage star passed away on Saturday "gracefully and peacefully surrounded by his loved ones after a serious illness with cancer".
Born in the district of Offenbach, Gerd Knebel first came to fame in the 1980s as a founding member and singer of the Hessian rock band Flatsch. He became famous throughout Germany as part of the comedy duo Badesalz.
Gerd Knebel's illness was "a shock" for those around him
In the 1990s, Knebel and Nachtsheim were among the pioneers of German-language comedy: Badesalz conquered the charts with their albums "Nicht ohne meinen Pappa" and "Diwodaso", had their own TV formats with "Och Joh" (ARD) and "Comedy Stories" (SAT.1), and the feature film "Abbuzze" (1996) is considered a cult classic among fans. The Hessian duo also appeared on "Wetten, dass...?" and "Rock am Ring", among others. Badesalz did not release the New Year's Eve song "Lass uns feiern" until 2024.
Knebel also made music in various other groups. Among other things, he was the founder and singer of the German rock band Angst vor Clowns and the metal band GiftDwarf, and in 2018 he released a joint CD with rapper Marco Döll under the band name Dirty Dabbes. Knebel has also repeatedly toured Germany solo, most recently since 2018 with the program "Weggugge".
Knebel, who was a father of two and lived in southern Hesse, was "diagnosed with cancer over a year ago", wrote Henni Nachtsheim on his blog. This was "a shock" for those around him. "Contrary to all predictions, however, he was able to hold out for much longer, and in the middle of it he was even doing reasonably well." However, the illness "could not be kept in check in the long term". The loss of his comedy partner and close friend was "incredibly painful" for Nachtsheim.
