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Hildebrandt was born in Bunzlau, Lower Silesia, Weimar Germany (now Boleslawiec, Poland), where he attended school. During World War II, he initially served as a Flakhelfer in the Luftwaffe, but after four months, he was conscripted into the German Wehrmacht in the same capacity.
In June 2007, a year after the revelations about Günter Grass's Waffen-SS involvement, documents surfaced showing that several notable German intellectuals, including Siegfried Lenz, Martin Walser, and Dieter Hildebrandt, had been Nazi Party members. The documents indicated their membership occurred at a young age during the latter part of the Nazi regime—Hildebrandt’s application was dated 19 February 1944, when he was 16, and he was admitted on 20 April 1944, Hitler’s 55th birthday. Both Lenz and Hildebrandt claimed they were unaware of having submitted an application or of their membership at that time. Historians like Norbert Frei and Götz Aly suggested that some local Nazi officials may have submitted mass applications without the knowledge of the individuals involved.
On 8 May 1945, Hildebrandt was captured by the United States Army but was released a few months later.
Following the war, Hildebrandt completed his schooling and relocated to Windischeschenbach in Bavaria. In 1948, he began studying theatre sciences in Munich. While studying, he founded a student cabaret troupe called "Die Namenlosen" in Schwabing. After graduation, Hildebrandt collaborated with Sammy Drechsel to establish and develop the Münchner Lach- und Schießgesellschaft, a successful cabaret venue where he worked alongside artists such as Klaus Havenstein and Bruno Jonas. He ended his partnership with Drechsel in 1972 to pursue work in radio and television.
From 1973 to 1979, Hildebrandt was the presenter and writer of the cabaret show "Notizen aus der Provinz" (Notes From The Province), broadcast by ZDF. His show "Scheibenwischer" (Windscreen Wiper) premiered in 1980 on SFB and continued airing until 2003. In 1974, Hildebrandt and Werner Schneyder launched the "Autorenkabarett," which ran until 1982.
Hildebrandt was married to Irene Mendler from 1956 until her death in 1985, and they had two daughters, Ursula and Jutta. In 1992, he married German actress Renate Küster. He passed away in Munich on 20 November 2013, just days after the public learned that he had been diagnosed with cancer, a condition he reportedly had known about since the summer.
