"Tatort" inventor Gunther Witte died
The "Tatort" inventor Gunther Witte is dead. The former WDR head of television drama, who once developed the concept for the famous crime series, died unexpectedly last Thursday in Berlin at the age of 82, as WDR announced in Cologne on Monday.
The broadcaster learned this from the family. "With his unique invention of the "Tatort" series, he has had a more lasting impact on WDR and German television than almost anyone else: Sunday, 8.15 p.m. is still "Tatort" time on the first channel," explained Director General Tom Buhrow. Witte grew up in Berlin and went to the West after studying theater studies and working in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz). He joined WDR in the early 1960s, initially as an editor and dramaturge, before becoming head of the television drama department in 1979. He developed the concept for "Tatort" in 1969 and the first episode, "Taxi nach Leipzig", was broadcast a year later. (SDA)
