Didi Hallervorden was born in Dessau, Germany, to a middle-class family with two sisters. He spent his early childhood in his hometown before his family moved to Quedlinburg due to air raids. After the war, Hallervorden returned to Dessau and completed primary school as one of the top students in the district.
Despite his academic achievements, the SED leadership initially refused to allow Hallervorden to attend high school. His father fought tirelessly to get his son transferred, and eventually, Hallervorden graduated from high school at the age of 17.
Hallervorden then studied Romance languages at East Berlin's Humboldt University and worked as an interpreter, leading him to flee to West Berlin in 1958 after he got into trouble with the authorities for not adhering to the guidelines of the "workers' and farmers' state".
At the Free University of Berlin, Hallervorden continued his studies in Romance studies, journalism, and theater studies. He soon turned his passion for theater into a career, securing a training position with Marlise Ludwig at a renowned private school in Berlin.
Hallervorden co-founded the political-satirical cabaret "Die Wühlmäuse" with colleagues in West Berlin and wrote around two dozen programs. He toured Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark, and soon received offers from radio and television stations. However, he also got into trouble and was banned from appearing at all stations for five years due to censorship violations.
After the ban, Hallervorden achieved many successes again, including his own TV shows, such as "Nonstop Nonsens", which earned him the media award "Bambi" in 1981. He released numerous long-playing records, singles, and films, including "Alles im Bucket" (1981),"Didi, the Doppelgänger" (1984),and "Didi, the Expert" (1988).
Hallervorden was married twice, first to his long-time stage partner Rotraud Schindler, with whom he had two children, Dieter (1963) and Nathalie (1966),and then to Elena Blume, with whom he had a son, Johannes (1998). He also has another daughter, born in 1986.
In 1994, Hallervorden returned to ARD and created the political-satirical series "Spott-Light", which became a long-lasting success and ran until the new millennium. He received the "telestar" in 1996 for moderating the session "Do you understand fun?".
Throughout his career, Hallervorden received numerous awards and honors, including the honorary prize of the "German Comedy Prize" in 2004, the honorary award of the "Bavarian Cabaret Prize" in 2005, and the honorary citizenship of the city of Dessau in 2006.
In addition to his work in television and cabaret, Hallervorden has also appeared in several films, including "The Child" (2012),"His Last Race" (2013),and "Honey in the Head" (2014).
