Thomas J. Kinne (born 26 February 1961 in Niederbieber-Segendorf, today part of Neuwied, Germany)[1] is a German translator, author, editor, proofreader, travel writer, movie expert, and comic-book collector.

His work included dubbing scripts for American TV series such as Cheers and Hill Street Blues,[6] but he also translated German entertainment programs as well as historic and scientific documentaries into English for broadcast outside of Germany.

[2] Kinne graduated magna cum laude in 1994 with a thesis on elements of Jewish tradition in the works of Woody Allen, placing current films and television series in a wider cultural and literary context that dates back as far as the Bible.

In the same year, he taped an appearance on Tic Tac Toe, the German version of Tic-Tac-Dough, where he won the maximum of three episodes and left as undefeated champion.

In the Cash Builder round, he answered 12 questions correctly, setting a new record for the German show, and in the Final Chase, he and two other contestants beat “chaser” Sebastian Jacoby for a total haul of €37,500.

[15] Two months after the program had aired, Kinne appeared on episode 25 of Der Quiz-Champion, in which contestants have to win five consecutive “duels” against celebrity experts in various fields (in this case: film and television, sports, literature, geography, and history).

[23] On 20 September 2022, he appeared with his daughter Alisa on Doppelt kocht besser, a cooking contest based on the French show Chéri(e), c’est moi le chef !, internationally known as My Wife Rules, on Sat.1.