Kurt Krömer

With his absurdist sensibilities and nerdish image, German comedian Kurt Krömer achieved unexpected mainstream success. Born November 20, 1974, in Berlin, Krömer embodied the classic class clown from his earliest school days and, beginning in his teens, directed all his focus toward comedy as a profession. Theater studies followed, after which years of refining his stand-up material in near-total obscurity gave way to a devoted cult audience sparked by his 1995 residency at Berlin’s Chamäleon Varieté, where the punk scene embraced him most passionately. By the close of the decade he had become a regular on the television talk-show circuit while also headlining the renowned Quatsch Comedy Club. Top honors at the annual Köln Comedy Festival arrived in 2000; two years later he was given his own network series, Die Kurt Krömer Show. A follow-up program, Bei Krömers, debuted in 2005, and the next year Krömer released the best-selling comedy LP Na Du Alte Kackbratze!