50 years of “Teleboy” – Half a century of Swiss television history – News

Kurt Felix made television history with “Teleboy”. The first broadcast celebrates its 50th anniversary on February 23rd.

Six years after “Stöck-Wys-Stich” – the first interactive program in Switzerland and still known and loved today as “Samschtig-Jass” – entertainment pioneer Kurt Felix landed his next coup with “Teleboy”. The central element of the program was the competition between two pairs of candidates. In several games they tried to use creativity to overcome all the situations they were faced with. So you suddenly found yourself in the role of a criminal defense lawyer or a teacher. What sounds like classic game show material to today’s audience caused a stir back then.

A potpourri of groundbreaking television entertainment

What was more revolutionary, however, was the overarching framework. The who’s who of the entertainment industry took part in the show blocks. Also unforgettable: the sketches. The main roles are “Aunt Elise”, played by Stephanie Glaser, with her goldfish Traugottli, “Uncle Fritz”, played by Fredy Lienhard, Ursula Schaeppi as the brat “Ursula” and the duo “Kliby and Caroline”, who are on “Teleboy » was able to prove it in front of a large audience for the first time. Not the only premiere on the Saturday evening show.

Legend:

The Swiss actress Stephanie Glaser, right, appears as Aunt Elise on the Swiss television program “Teleboy” with Kurt Felix, left, on February 23, 1974.

Keystone

The concept of the “hidden camera” was not invented by Kurt Felix, but was adapted for the first time in German-speaking countries. This was so successful that the films soon became the secret highlight of the show. From 1980 onwards they received the program “Do you understand fun?”, which was also developed by Felix. their own platform in prime time.

Switzerland also had a “Nessie”

“Nessie-National”, also known as “Urnie”, will never be forgotten. Named after Lake Uri, where the remote-controlled monster dummy made its rounds in the summer of 1976. The “Teleboy” team’s joke went unnoticed for two weeks until the editorial team itself sent photos of the alleged monster to “Blick”. “Urnie” then dominated the Swiss media landscape until the joke was uncovered around six months later. An action that even made it into an exhibition at the Lucerne Art Museum in 2006.

“That’s how it should be!”

The team around Felix had a lasting impact not only on the entertainment industry, but also on language usage. This with the unexpected support of a fooled neo-pilot and three Swiss singer brothers. When hearing the expression “dä söll emal cho”, some people probably remember the desperate man who, in a “Hidden Camera” film, had the remote control of a model airplane briefly pressed into his hands and then left it there. The victim’s repeated cry for help, “dä söll emal cho”, immediately found its way into everyday Swiss language. The “Trio Eugster” then memorialized him with the song of the same name.

A legacy that lasts generations

Kurt Felix had long since created a monument to his work with his concepts. At the height of his career, he left the big show stage with his wife, singer and presenter Paola, on his 50th birthday. Initially working behind the camera, he began his well-deserved retirement in 2008. Unfortunately, he wasn’t granted this for long – Kurt Felix left us in 2012 at the age of 71 after two bouts with cancer.

Legend:

Paola and Kurt Felix with a glass of red wine on April 2, 2004 at home in St. Gallen.

KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi

Record holder to this day

Today, 50 years after its premiere, “Teleboy” still holds the record for the highest number of viewers ever measured in Switzerland – with an incredible 2.073 million people watching at home. And even if the “Teleboy” no longer rocks through the screen, its spirit is still present in numerous formats – and has long since made itself and its inventor Kurt Felix immortal.