Köpcke wanted to make a commercial training in his hometown of Hamburg, when he was drafted in 1941 to the Reichsarbeitsdienst.

In 1978, the Tagesthemen news analysis programme was introduced, in which the newsreader played a background role to the main presenter.

During the first broadcast, Köpcke protested by demonstratively shuffling his papers and by coughing.

In German-speaking countries, he set standards for the appearance and operation of newscasters.

He died four years after his retirement at the age of 68 years from cancer just two days short to his 69th birthday, shortly after the death of his wife, broadcasting colleague Gertie Kelkenberg.