Formative TV faceRTL presenter icon dies at the age of 71
Vanessa Büchel
20.10.2024
Former RTL presenter Michael Karr has died at the age of 71 after a serious illness. This was announced by the broadcaster with reference to his partner.
20.10.2024, 09:05
Vanessa Büchel
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RTL mourns the death of former presenter Michael Karr.
According to the broadcaster, the Saarland native died at the age of 71 after a short, serious illness.
Karr was one of the defining faces at RTL and was involved in the first hours of the channel.
Among other things, he presented "Frühstücksfernsehen", "RTL Aktuell" and "RTL Nachtjournal".
RTL mourns the loss of one of its best-known faces. "Michael Karr shaped RTL news as an editor and presenter in front of and behind the camera for around 20 years," Gerhard Kohlenbach, Editor-in-Chief of News and Politics at RTL News, is quoted as saying on RTL.de.
Kohlenbach continues: "For many of us, he was not only a highly esteemed journalist and colleague, but also a good friend. Our thoughts are with his bereaved family."
Karr was 71 years old, as RTL writes. He died after a "short, serious illness".
Michael Karr was an RTL veteran
Karr was involved in the early days of the channel. In 1984, he presented "Frühstücksfernsehen" when RTL was still based in Luxembourg. The Saarland native was also involved in the move to Cologne.
Karr originally studied Romance languages and English and then completed a newspaper traineeship at the "Saarbrücker Zeitung".
Karr became known as the face of "RTL Aktuell" and "RTL Nachtjournal" during the 1990s and 2000s, where he regularly stood in for Hans Meiser (1946-2023), Peter Kloeppel (66) and Heiner Bremer (83).
He was one of the best-known faces of German television in the early days of RTL. His former broadcaster did not disclose the exact cause of his death.