Norbert Blüm jumps out of the birthday cake and Gerhard Schröder congratulates him on the phone with the sentence: “I wish that he always grows as old as he looks.” On February 1, 2001, ARD will celebrate Karl Dall’s 60th birthday with a big evening show. In “60 Years Karl Dall” companions celebrate the comedian. The appearance of Paola Felix is ??legendary. The Swiss sings a duet with Dall. But one of the funniest mishaps in German television entertainment occurs in front of the camera.
For the song “Blue Bayou” the stage designers had provided an inflatable floating island with a palm tree and two rubber tubes. Dall and Paola sit down on the rubber part. But even the first verse Paola can not sing to the end. “The way that I often went in my mind,” she begins the first line. Then it happens. With a “whoop” she slides off the island, onto the hose banana and finally down the stairs onto the studio floor. Paola is gone.
The audience cheers. Karl Dall has no idea what is happening to him. But just as quickly as she was gone, the singer pulls herself together, adjusts her dress and takes a seat next to Dall again. As the music continues in the background, she bursts out laughing herself. “Come on, keep singing,” says Dall in his inimitable way. And sure enough, they both finish the song. The spectators appreciated the performance with thunderous applause.
Two things are noteworthy: First, Paola and Karl Dall sang live at the time, the voices were not recorded. That’s why Paola’s laughter could be heard. Secondly, ARD didn’t cut the blunder, even though the show was pre-recorded in Hamburg. Dall and Paola had decided not to repeat it. That’s why there was only this one version, which was then broadcast. Lucky for TV viewers. And a legendary funny TV moment.
