Overview

• Holbe passed away on 15 August 2025 at his Frankfurt home surrounded by family, his daughter told dpa.
• He rose to fame as presenter of ZDF’s Starparade from 1968 to 1980, showcasing stars like ABBA, Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra to millions.
• During the 1980s he helped launch RTL’s private-TV era, fronting its 1987 breakfast television debut and earning a Grimme-Preis for his talk show Die Woche.
• He later produced series on paranormal phenomena, including Unglaubliche Geschichten and Phantastische Phänomene, a phase marked by a 1990s book controversy over alleged antisemitic content.
• After retiring from broadcasting in 2003, Holbe authored family-oriented non-fiction and fiction works, notably the 1997 sci-fi novel Niemand stirbt für immer.