Former ZDF entertainment boss
Wolfang Penk is dead
01/19/2023, 10:11 p.m
Captain of entertainment: With shows like “Wetten dass” or the “Schwarzwaldklinik” he helped the Second German Television achieve great success in the 1980s. The former head of entertainment for the public broadcaster has now passed away at the age of 84.
Former ZDF entertainment boss Wolfgang Penk is dead. He died on Wednesday at the age of 84, ZDF announced in Mainz. Penk has led formats to success “that many viewers still associate with ZDF today”.
Born in Berlin in 1938, Penk first worked as a production assistant at the Mainz station. He later rose to the position of editor-in-chief in the show department, chief editor-in-chief and finally the person responsible for the entertainment word department.
He was involved in the development of the Saturday evening show “Wetten dass ..?” been involved. He also led the “Dream Ship” and the “Black Forest Clinic” to success. “When ZDF was recognized as the ‘entertainment steamer’ in the 1980s, Wolfgang Penk was certainly the captain,” explained ZDF program director Nadine Bilke.