Note on Dutch television: At the time of the research, the Netherlands had three public channels, and three big commercial networks: RTL, SBS6, and Veronica. Programs for the public channels are produced and broadcast by a number of independent broadcasting corporations with their roots in the various “pillars” of Dutch society. Connections with these social groups have become weaker in the course of time. Of the broadcasters mentioned in this appendix, VARA is socialist, KRO Catholic, NCRV is protestant, VPRO formerly protestant, but today intellectual and progressive. TROS, founded in 1964, is a non-denominational popular broadcaster.
Banana Split: Dutch Candid Camera show, based on an American format, which was broadcast intermittently by TROS from 1983 until the early 2000s.
Bijl, Martine (1948-): Singer, actress, cabaret artist, and television personality. After her early singing career, Bijl made several cabaret shows that were stylish and unexpectedly sharp. She was one of the protagonists of the sitcom Het zonnetje in huis [Mr. Sunshine; Literary: The little sun in the house] which was broadcast first VARA, afterwards by RTL4.
Bloemendaal, Adèle (1933-): Extravagant performer, who worked as a singer, actress, comedian, and cabaret artist, covering a wide range of genres and styles, from literary chansons to lowbrow carnival songs, and from television comedy to satirical cabaret shows.
Brandsteder, Ron (1950-): Television presenter who first worked for TROS, presenting shows and quizzes, afterwards for RTL4, where he presented various shows, including several humorous ones such as Moppentoppers.
Carmiggelt, Simon (1913-1987): Writer, best known for his daily columns in the newspaper Parool, which were small sketches, portraits, or observations of his daily life (most of which apparently took place in cafes in Amsterdam), in a highly recognizable humorous, ironical, and somewhat melancholy style. He also had a television program in which he read these columns.
Deelder, Jules (1944-): Poet, writer, performer, and self-proclaimed “night mayor” (which happens to be a pun in English but not in Dutch) of Rotterdam. His presentation as well as his writing is rather absurdist. He has a very distinctive presence and presentation, always wearing a black suit, black glasses, has waxed hair, and speaks in short clipped sentences in a strong Rotterdam accent.
Duin, André van (1947-): One the Netherlands’ best-known comedians, and the favorite comedian of most of the joke lovers, van Duin has his roots in the vaudeville tradition. Van Duin made humorous radio programs, several revue shows, and film comedies; he had a number of hit songs, mostly carnivals songs and parodies of popular songs; and had long running television programs, first on TROS, later on RTL4. His humor is mostly sketch comedy, with van Duin in the role of the comical stupid character.
Dorrestijn, Hans (1940-): Poet, writer, songwriter, and cabaret artist. Known for his glum and depressed presentation, his texts are poetic, depressed, and humorous at the same time. He became known for his weekly satirical reports from “Dorrestijn’s Press Agency”, with absurd fake news items, first on the radio, afterwards in his own show on VPRO television.
Ederveen, Arjan (1956-): Comedian, actor, cabaret artist. Co-starred with Tosca Niterink first in a VPRO children’s program, then in Borreltijd [Time for a drink] and Creatief met kurk [Creative with cork], absurdist parodies of an afternoon talk show and of a home decorating and crafts show, respectively. In the 1990s, he made Thirty Minutes, a series of carefully acted fake documentaries, one of which, featuring a farmer who is made over into an African because he was “born in the wrong body”, is described on page 79 of this book.
Finkers, Herman (1954-): Cabaret artist with a dry, deadpan style. His humor is never topical or satirical, but instead based on wordplay, absurdist logic, and unexpected associations. He is from Twente, a rural region in the east of the Netherlands, and has a clear regional accent. His regional background is often mentioned as the reason for his (self-consciously) dry and slow presentation. He has worked together with Brigitte Kaandorp, whose style shows some resemblances to his own.
Flodder: Originally a very successful 1986 film comedy about an extremely low-class family moving to a very rich neighbourhood. The film, which was a huge success, was followed by two sequels, then made into a sitcom aired by Veronica, a public broadcaster aimed mostly at young people. The films and the series portrays the Flodder [mess, riffraff] family, a dysfunctional family featuring, amongst others, a cigar-smoking mother, a swindling son named Johnny, a very stupid son named Kees and an oversexed daughter also named Kees. The humor of Flodder is probably described best as self-consciously and exaggeratedly vulgar.
van Gogh, Theo (1957-2004): Controversial film maker, TV presenter and columnist, who had a brief stint as presenter of a willfully offensive satirical dating show on SBS6 called De Hunkering [The yearning], which lasted for one year (the year the Dutch survey was done). He has been the centre of public outrage various times because of his satirical columns. In 2004, he was assassinated by a Muslim fundamentalist who objected to his film Submission (which, incidentally, was not humorous or satirical at all).
Haenen, Paul (1946-): Cabaret artist, writer, and playwright, who had a television show on VPRO television at the time of the survey, entitled Haenen voor de nacht [Haenen before/for the night]. Haenen is known for the mild irony of his own persona, and for the rather extrovert emotionality of the various types he impersonates, the most famous of which are the high-strung, highly emotional, but warm female character Margreet Dolman, and the long-winded, well-meaning Reverend Gremdaat. He is also is the Dutch voice of Bert on Sesame Street.
van ’t Hek, Youp (1954-): Arguably the most popular Dutch cabaret artist of the 1990s and early 2000s, van ’t Hek manages to appeal to a wide variety of people. The main theme of his shows is rebellion against the bourgeois and their lifestyle, with recurring pleas for a passionate life (“Live your life as if it were your very last day”). Ironically, his shows also have become very popular among the people whom he ridicules: bourgeois with pearl necklaces and checkered trousers; people who have forfeited their ideals; and people who drink non-alcoholic beer – he is held responsible for the failure of Heineken’s non-alcoholic beer brand. He is also known for his rather straightforward language, and his rather harsh comments on others, including the members of his audience. Since 1989, he has done the traditional New Year’s Eve TV monologue various times with great success. He also has a weekly column in NRC Handelsblad.
Hermans, Toon (1916-2000): Comedian, clown, performer, and poet (who did not appreciate being referred to as cabaret artist) who was extremely popular until very late in life. Hermans was known for his clownish humor, and his acts which went on for a very long time, apparently about nothing which but managed to make the audience weep with laugher. His performances ranged from nonsensical to poignant and, at times, sentimental. However, Hermans was not interested in satire or topical humor, and for this reason, he was wary of the “cabaret” label.
De Hunkering. See: van Gogh, Theo.
Jekkers, Harry (1951-): Cabaret artist and singer, whose cabaret shows are witty, personal, and slightly nostalgic in tone, often referring to his youth in The Hague. The monologues are interspersed with songs that are remarkably well sung and well written for a cabaret artist.
de Jonge, Freek (1944-): The most popular and influential highbrow cabaret artist of the Netherlands, de Jonge started his career in the late 1960s as part of a duo, Neerlands hoop [The Netherlands’ hope]. First with his partner, and on his own after 1979, de Jonge set the standard for Dutch cabaret for a long time with his the high speed, chaotic presentation, recurrent use of shock effects, and a mixture of satire and more poetic texts. Progressive and critical in the early years, more reflexive, and at times almost clownish later in his career, de Jonge always remained something of a moralist. He also wrote novels, made two films, was a television presenter, and did a more “alternative” New Year’s Eve monologue on VPRO several times.
Jiskefet: Sketch comedy program broadcast by VPRO television in the 1990s and 2000s, made by Herman Koch, Kees Prins, and Michiel Romein. The sketches of Jiskefet range from completely absurdist to exaggerated-but-lifelike, but their humor invariably has a slightly uncomfortable touch. Their greatest success was a series called Debtors Creditors [Debiteuren Crediteuren], about people working in an office who only spoke in stock phrases and made each other’s lives miserable, which was felt by many people to be very recognizable and true to life (see also Chapter 4).
Kaandorp, Brigitte (1962-): Cabaret artist with a willfully unpretentious, personal, sometimes disarmingly clumsy, but also dry and absurdist style and a deadpan presentation. She is often mentioned, along with Herman Finkers, as a representative of the anti-shock, anti-topical cabaret of the 1980s, but Kaandorp’s absurdism is more personal and down to earth than Finkers’ rather abstracted version.
Kan, Wim (1911-1983): The most prominent cabaret artist of the Netherlands for a long time. He did a traditional comic monologue on New Year’s Eve intermittently from 1954 to 1982, first on radio, later on television, which almost literally reached the entire country. He was especially known for his jokes about politicians, who would come to his shows to enjoy the jokes he was making at their expense.
van Kooten, Kees (1941-) and Wim de Bie (1939-), also known as Koot and Bie: Cabaret artists/ satirists, mainly known for the television programs which they made for VPRO television from 1974 till 1998. Before that, they worked together in various radio shows and other television programs. Their shows were satirical but seldom explicitly political. They were based on impersonations of well-known people, especially politicians, but mainly on their own types, often very lifelike characters which kept returning over the years.
de Leeuw, Paul (1962–): Comedian, television presenter, singer, who had a daily late night show during the survey, and has presented various talk shows and quiz shows since then. He is known for his direct and confrontational, though disarming, interviewing style and his general irreverence to each and everyone. His humor and language at times is coarse, and not appreciated by all (he was fired by NCRV for his jokes). He also made a successful film about the exploits of two of his best known characters.
Liberg, Hans (1954-): Dutch cabaret artist, mostly known for his mingling of high and low cultural forms and references, and his use (or pastiche) of classical music in his shows.
Maassen, Theo (1966-): Cabaret artist, not very well known at the time of the Dutch study, who has become very popular since then, especially among younger people.
Millecam, Sylvia (1956-2001): Comedian, actress, and presenter, known for her types and impersonations, for instance in the KRO program Ook dat nog! [That’s the limit!]
Moppentoppers: Television joke telling contest aired by commercial network RTL4, produced by Endemol, presented by Ron Brandsteder.
Ookdatnog! [That’s the limit!] Highly popular television show broadcast by KRO, the public Catholic broadcasting corporation, in which comedians enacted (true) conflicts about all forms of consumer conflicts, ranging from conversations with unhelpful help desks to more serious forms of swindle. One of the performers in Ook dat nog! was Sylvia Millecam.
Oppassen!! Rather traditional, long-running Dutch family sitcom, aired by VARA, the socialist public broadcasting corporation, featuring a family cared for by two grandfathers. The name is a pun on opa’s [grandpas] and oppassen [babysitting].
Over de roooie: Reality show, broadcast by commercial network SBS6, in which people on the street were dared to do unpleasant or embarrassing tasks (e.g. biting other people’s toe nails) in order to win 1,000 guilders (rooie is slang for 1,000 guilders; over de rooie means “over the edge”; and the three o-s are a reference to the numeral 1,000)
Gerard Reve (1923-2006): One of the most important Dutch writers of the twentieth century. Even though he was primarily a “serious” novelist, he was appreciated by many people for his humorous and ironical style.
Schippers, Wim T. (1942-): Artist, television writer, actor, presenter. Schippers started as an artist (one of his art works was a peanut butter floor); he created a number of television variety shows for VPRO in the 1960s and 1970s, including the first show to feature a naked woman, had a weekly radio show for the VPRO, and wrote a comedy series for this broadcasting corporation. He also wrote a play for dogs (as actors) which was actually performed. Schippers is known for his playful and absurd language, which is full of neologisms. His style and general outlook is absurd, anarchistic, and highly original. Schippers also does the voice of Ernie in the Dutch version of Sesame Street.
Schmidt, Annie M. G. (1911-1995): Grande dame of Dutch humor, who wrote cabaret texts, musicals, songs, plays, (humorous) poems, television series, and children’s books and poetry, many of which were highly successful. It is hard to summarize Schmidt’s sense of humor, but it generally characterized by a mildly rebellious tone, sharp observation and witty and playful language use. She is well-known for her motto, more controversial at the time than it appears today, that “Laughter is allowed by God”.
Schouten, Tineke (1954-): Comedian (she decidedly does not consider herself a cabaret artist), who has been very successful with shows with punny titles like “all you need is lach” [lach=laughter] since the early 1980s. She is known for her impersonations and types, her strong Utrecht accent, and her parodies of popular songs and performers.
Sonneveld, Wim (1917-1974): Cabaret artist, actor, and singer, and one of the most prominent entertainers and performers of his time. Sonneveld did many cabaret shows, with others and by himself, had a long standing slot on VARA radio in the 1950s, and played roles in many musicals (esp. My fair lady), films, and television programs. He is remembered most for some of his types and for his songs, both humorous and serious.
Tailleur, Max (1909-1990): Jewish entertainer and joke teller, who became known for his “Sam and Moos” jokes, which he published in his many joke books, and told, in a strong Amsterdam-Jewish accent, in his own theatre in Amsterdam, and on the geinlijn, a phone number one could call to hear a new joke every day.
Teeuwen, Hans (1967-): Cabaret artist who was just getting known during the time of Dutch study, but has become extremely popular since then, especially among young people. Teeuwen’s humor is a prime example of “hard” humor: confrontational, shocking, and at times distinctly (and self-consciously) unpleasant. However, Teeuwen’s shows can also be absurdist, nihilistic, unexpectedly sensitive and reflexive, or, at times, experimental and outright weird.
van Vliet, Paul (1935-): Cabaret artist and actor, who has been performing since the 1960s, mainly known for his poetic songs, and his humorous types.
van Waardenberg, Martin (1956-) and Wilfried de Jong (1958-): Cabaret artists whose performances were irreverent, rough and very physical.