Born on April 14th, 1935, in Zofingen, Switzerland, Erich von Däniken was educated at the College St-Michel in Fribourg, where already as a student he occupied his time with the study of the ancient holy writings. While managing director of a Swiss 5-Star Hotel, he wrote his first book, Chariots of the Gods, which was an immediate bestseller in the United States, Germany, and later in 38 other countries.
In the United States, Erich von Däniken won instant fame as a result of the television special “In Search of Ancient Astronauts,” based upon his first book. In 1993, the German television station SAT-1 started a twenty-five part TV series with and by Erich von Däniken, entitled “Auf den Spuren der All-Mächtigen” (Pathways of the Gods). In 1996, the American TV company ABC/Kane produced a one-hour special, filmed all over the world, entitled “Chariots of the Gods – The Mysteries Continue”. This film was broadcast on the ABC network on September 26th 1996. In 1996/97 ABC/Kane produced another documentary with Erich von Däniken (seen on the Discovery Channel). In Germany, the biggest TV network, RTL, showed the film on November 26th, 1996. 7,7 million viewers in Germany alone watched the program. Today, Erich von Däniken continues his filming with ABC and RTL. In addition, ANCIENT ALIENS the documentation of the History channel started in 2010 and is currently airing with past seasons available as reruns on the History Channel.
Erich von Däniken’s latest book latest book is: Twilight of the Gods: The Mayan Calendar and the Return of the Extraterrestrials. In this book Erich von Däniken meticulously investigates the mysteries surrounding the Mayan calendar, its amazing connection to the Ancient Astronaut Theory, and tantalizing information on the extraterrestrials prophetic return to Earth. In late 2011 von Däniken’s Odyssey of the Gods will also be re-released with new information on the history of the Greeks and possible locations to Atlantis. An overview on all publications of Erich von Däniken including a link to the Swiss Natrial Library collecting all translation is listed on the bibliography page.
Erich von Däniken’s publications are available from legendarytimesbooks.com, the online bookstore of his international research association A.A.S. R.A. / legendarytimes.com.
Erich von Däniken’s books have been translated into 32 languages, and have sold 65 million copies worldwide. From his books two full-length documentary films have been produced: Chariots of the Gods and Messages of the Gods. Of the more than 3,000 lectures which Erich von Däniken has given in 25 countries, over 500 were presented at universities. Fluent in four languages, Erich von Däniken is an avid researcher and a compulsive traveler, averaging 100,000 miles each year to remote spots of the Earth. This enables him to closely examine the phenomena about which he writes.
Today, Erich von Däniken lives in the small mountain-village of Beatenberg in Switzerland (40 miles from Berne, above the city of Interlaken). In 2003 the “Mysteries of the World Theme Park”, the Mystery Park, initialized by Erich von Däniken opened in Interlaken, Switzerland. A platform for the presentation and research of the mysteries of the world, including Paleo-SETI, the so called Ancient Astronaut Theory. 2009 the theme park changed its name from “Mystery Park” to “Jungfrau Park”.
Erich von Däniken has been married to Elisabeth Skaja since 1960. He has one daughter, Cornelia (born 1963), and two grandchildren. Von Däniken is a hobby-chef and a lover of Bordeaux wines.
Ted’s interview with Erich on March 25, 2016