Dolf Brouwers (31 August 1912 â€" 23 September 1997) was a Dutch
comedian, singer, and television actor who rose to fame late in life
playing the character Sjef van Oekel in the 1970s satirical television
shows aired on VPRO, written and directed by Wim T. Schippers, Ruud
van Hemert, Gied Jaspars, and Wim van der Linden.Born in Utrecht in
1912, Brouwers grew up in The Hague and held various jobs including
hairdresser, travel guide, and vacuum cleaner salesman. He loved
operetta and tried without success for a career as a singer, having
only one minor hit. In 1972 he was discovered when he auditioned as an
extra for the Wim T. Schippers television show De Fred Hachéshow (he
was friends with the show's lead actor, Harry Touw), and quickly rose
to prominence. Schippers created the character Sjef van Oekel for
Brouwers, who returned in two later Schippers shows, Barend is weer
bezig (1972â€"1973) and Van Oekel's Discohoek (1974).[1]The van Oekel
character was ancillary in De Fred Hachéshow and Barend is weer
bezig, both of which had Barend Servet as the lead, but central in Van
Oekel's Discohoek, where he played the host of a music show on
television that parodied popular music programs of the era. In Het is
weer zo laat! (1974) Brouwers, who was 67 at the time, plays Waldo van
Dungen, a bumbling and chaotic nightclub owner. Formerly a waiter at
the club, van Dungen had married a rich admirer, Gé Braadslee, who
buys it for him; he renames it Waldolala.[1]As van Oekel and van
Dungen, Brouwers was a striking character with a large television
presence, and equipped with large glasses, a tuxedo, and a "Hitler
mustache". His sense of humor corresponded with Schippers'; both were
extraordinarily fond of and gifted in creating puns and using
unorthodox and humorous syntax and diction.[1]
comedian, singer, and television actor who rose to fame late in life
playing the character Sjef van Oekel in the 1970s satirical television
shows aired on VPRO, written and directed by Wim T. Schippers, Ruud
van Hemert, Gied Jaspars, and Wim van der Linden.Born in Utrecht in
1912, Brouwers grew up in The Hague and held various jobs including
hairdresser, travel guide, and vacuum cleaner salesman. He loved
operetta and tried without success for a career as a singer, having
only one minor hit. In 1972 he was discovered when he auditioned as an
extra for the Wim T. Schippers television show De Fred Hachéshow (he
was friends with the show's lead actor, Harry Touw), and quickly rose
to prominence. Schippers created the character Sjef van Oekel for
Brouwers, who returned in two later Schippers shows, Barend is weer
bezig (1972â€"1973) and Van Oekel's Discohoek (1974).[1]The van Oekel
character was ancillary in De Fred Hachéshow and Barend is weer
bezig, both of which had Barend Servet as the lead, but central in Van
Oekel's Discohoek, where he played the host of a music show on
television that parodied popular music programs of the era. In Het is
weer zo laat! (1974) Brouwers, who was 67 at the time, plays Waldo van
Dungen, a bumbling and chaotic nightclub owner. Formerly a waiter at
the club, van Dungen had married a rich admirer, Gé Braadslee, who
buys it for him; he renames it Waldolala.[1]As van Oekel and van
Dungen, Brouwers was a striking character with a large television
presence, and equipped with large glasses, a tuxedo, and a "Hitler
mustache". His sense of humor corresponded with Schippers'; both were
extraordinarily fond of and gifted in creating puns and using
unorthodox and humorous syntax and diction.[1]
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