Oliver Pocher

Oliver Pocher

Oliver Pocher in 2010.
Born 18 February 1978
Hanover, West Germany
Nationality German
Years active 1999 - present
Genres Stand-up comedy, Observational comedy
Spouse Alessandra Meyer-Wölden (m. 2010–14)
Notable works and roles Rent a Pocher (2003-2006)
Schmidt & Pocher
Die Oliver Pocher Show
Website Official Website

Oliver Pocher (born 18 February 1978 in Hanover, West Germany) is a German actor, stand-up comedian and television host.

Biography

Early life and professional training

Pocher is the son of Gerhard and Jutta Pocher and grew up in Hanover. His parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and he too was raised as one. In 2007, Pocher stated that, unlike his parents, he had no contact with the organization anymore as he claimed "not to have agreed with their rules“.[1]

The general predication that Pocher attended a Waldorf school was denied by his management.[2] Pocher successfully completed his training as an insurance broker at Signal Iduna Bauspar AG.

During the time of his apprenticeship he had some part-time jobs at various radio stations and as a DJ in clubs and during family celebrations. He also appeared in the comedian group Holla-Bolla and as an entertainer at Birte Karalus, a German chat show. After his apprenticeship he worked for the Swiss life insurance "Schweizerlebensversicherung und Rental AG" (today: SwissLife) and the "HDI Lebensversicherung AG" (HDI life insurance).

Career

Pocher's first television appearance was on 28 October 1998 at the afternoon chat show of Bärbel Schäfer. Pocher was given 5 minutes to make the audience laugh.[3]

On 29 September 1999 he presented the show Chart Surfer Trash Top 100, Was geht ab, Planet Viva and finally 2002 his own show Alles Pocher, ... oder was?.

Between January 2003 to 14 April 2006 he presents the show Rent a Pocher on ProSieben.[4]

In 2006 he recorded the single "Schwarz und Weiss," a song dedicated to the 2006 world cup. A music video was made, featuring Oliver as several pressbox speakers, as well as him performing the song in front of fans dressed in Team Germany attire.[5]

From October 2007 to April 2009, Pocher joined established late night host Harald Schmidt's show on the Das Erste television channel, with the show being called Schmidt und Pocher.

In 2008 his third single "Bringt ihn heim“ (engl.: bring him home) was released. It is a song for the European Football Championship of 2008. The original version is Baschi's number one hit (Switzerland) “Bring en hei“ He acted as a co-trainer of the European Team during the DEL All Star Game in 2009.

Pocher's contract was not renewed after April 2009, so he was hired by Sat.1 instead to present his own late night show, Die Oliver Pocher Show. The show's ratings were always below the station's average and even slipping over the course of the run until it was cancelled in March 2011.

Criticism and scandals

Oliver Pocher is widely criticised for his jokes at the expense of others. After he recommended plastic surgery to a woman of the audience of the Wetten, dass..? ("Wanna Bet..?") episode on the 22nd of January in 2005, he was sued for damages of 25,000 Euros.[6] Although he apologized to her on the phone and repeated this apology in public during one of his shows, he was not able to solve this conflict out of court. On the 11th of January Pocher was sentenced by the district court of Hanover to pay a fine of 6000 euros. The judge in charge called Pocher’s statement (“You look quite old for your age”) a “very insulting comment”. The public insulting continued in January 2008 during the TV show "Johannes B. Kerner" when Pocher once again made fun of this woman’s appearance and mocked the verdict. As a result another suit was filed against the entertainer. The victim’s lawyer explained that the woman was insulted and that the topic is repeatedly brought up by people whom she meets during her work. Pocher did not comment on this.[7] Statements as those made by Pocher could be legal in the future, as the Council of Europe is advising to decriminalize insults.[8]

Pocher caused a scandal in July in 2005 during the ZDF (German broadcasting station) – show "Gottschalk & Friends" when he first insulted Mariah Carey and later accidentally spat water onto her.[9] For this action he has been harshly criticised by some newspapers and by the broadcast station in charge. Gottschalk himself kept calm and commented upon the incident: "Of course I do not want to have jokes at the expense of others during my show and I do not want corpses to be carried away from the battlefield afterwards. If you invite Pocher to your show, however, you should expect a different atmosphere than with, for example, Alfred Biolek."

When Pocher mocked the personal life of singer Sarah Connor and her reality show, Connor sued Pocher. While the exact outcome of the lawsuit is not known, Pocher did apologize to Connor.[10]

In January 2009, during the TV show “Schmidt & Pocher“, Pocher spoofed the Hitler assassin Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who is portrayed by Tom Cruise in “Operation Walküre“. He had to face negative feedback for this and thereafter the broadcasting commission examined this incident.[11]

Shows

Title Channel Period
Alles Pocher, … oder was? Viva (TV station) 2002
Rent a Pocher ProSieben January 2003 - 13 April 2006
Trash Top 100 VIVA 2004
Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 ProSieben 12 February 2005
Pochers WM-Countdown ProSieben 3 April 2006 - 5 June 2006
Pocher zu Gast in Deutschland ProSieben 12 June 2006 - 6 July 2006
Gameshow-Marathon ProSieben 15 January - 12 March 2007
Schmidt & Pocher Das Erste 25 October 2007 - 16 April 2009
Sportfreunde Pocher – Alle gegen die Bayern Sat.1 27 June 2009 - 25 July 2009
Alarm für Cobra 11 (guest appearance) RTL 3 September 2009
5 gegen Jauch RTL 4 September 2009
The Oliver Pocher Show Sat.1 October 2009 - March 2011
Samstag LIVE! Sky Deutschland since August 2011

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVDs

Awards

2004

2005

2006

2008

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Sex vor der Ehe ist verwerflich... muss aber leider manchmal sein Bild.de
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ YouTube Video vom Acting by Bärbel Schäfer
  4. ↑ February 12, 2008: Who's Riding My Coattails Now? - Oliver Pocher
  5. ↑ „Jeder kann blöd sein“
  6. ↑ Spiegel.de
  7. ↑ Spiegel.de
  8. ↑ Report by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe
  9. ↑ Clip from the Attack at YouTube
  10. ↑ Sarah Connor vs. Oliver Pocher - Krieg im TV
  11. ↑ Article in the "Hamburger Abendblatt"
  12. ↑ http://www.mtv.de/charts/Jahrescharts2008

External links