Toon Hermans
Encyclopedia
Antoine G. T. "Toon" Hermans (17 December 1916 – 22 April 2000) was a noted Dutch
comedian
, singer and writer
. He was born in Sittard
, now part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen
.
Toon Hermans began performing in the 1930s, achieving local, regional and, eventually, national fame in the Netherlands
as a comedian during the post-war decades. Together with Wim Sonneveld
and Wim Kan
he was considered one of the "Great Three" (grote drie) of Dutch cabaret
during the 1950s and 60s.
While Sonneveld became known for more serious, more searching kinds of cabaret
as well as expansion into other areas of amusement such as musicals, and while Kan focussed more and more on purely political satire, Toon Hermans remained true to his one life-time love: simple home-grown humor, the ability to make people laugh. His humor was of a disarmingly genuine kind. His one-man shows usually consisted of stories he would tell, often based on the life of his youth in a small town in Limburg
, with a typical panoplia of family members, neighbours, friends (some enemies), cats and dogs, which he presented in an irresistibly hilarious manner; and interspersed with simple, charming, crystal clear songs about life, love, and happiness.
Subsequent generations of Dutch cabaret
artists, and the theater critics of the 1970s and 80s, were not much impressed by Toon Hermans' unpretentious, politically and socially disengaged entertainment, but his fan base remained very large and his road shows continued to attract very large crowds.
As was the case for other cabaret
artists, the transition from theatrical performance to television shows was associated with ups and downs, and some believe that the most deeply felt and enduring appeal of his shows was lost in the latter medium, but he nevertheless achieved significant successes even on television, his one-man show in 1967 supposedly having been watched by 6 million, that is half the population of Holland at the time.
After the death of his wife and lifelong companion in 1991 it appeared that his career had ended, but in 1992 he surprised friends and foes by starting a new tour with a whole new show, different in nature from any he had done before. While the second half of the program was the same kind of straightforward, nonsensical humor that had always been his hallmark, the first half of the new show entitled "Ik heb je lief" (a deeper statement than "I love you", not unlike "I love thee") consisted only of songs, in a mixture of simple jazz and French-style "chanson", that were tributes to love and, indirectly, to his late wife. To the delight of his fans, he toured with this show for about one year, when one evening in Haarlem
he broke down during the program and had to cancel the remainder of the tour. As he himself explained, the sadness over his loss had finally caught up with him. He was nonetheless able to return to the stage a few years later with a new show, and remained active for several more years until his death in 2000.
Many of his shows have been recorded, starting with his one-man show in 1958. There have also been quite a number of publications of collections of poems of his hand. These collection started with simple poems, or rather, rhymes, that were humorous but sometimes contained a more serious note; but later it appeared that Toon Hermans may have tried to create more serious poetry, which was not altogether successful (and perhaps it was not he, but his publishers, who tried to put this spin on things).
Toon Hermans' humor was typically Dutch, or rather, typical for the southern part of the Netherlands; and was also appreciated in Flanders
. Moreover, during the late 1950s and 1960s he had considerable success touring in Germany
and Austria
with a German-language show. He also produced an English-language show in the late 1960s that was test-run in Canada
but it appears that the show never made it to Broadway
.
Among his many memorable contributions, perhaps none are as widely recognized as the song "Vierentwintig rozen" – "Twenty-four roses", included in many of his one-man shows over the decades. This song consists of a long listing of completely unrelated but numbered items "three little boys playing football in the alley way – 16 sailboats anchored in the sun-lit bay" and on and on and on (and different ones for each new version of his show); and then ending with "and Twenty-four roses, Twenty-four roses, Twenty-four roses – for you". It became almost as a ritual when the first notes of this song were played by the orchestra, the audiences would erupt in a loud ovation, and Toon Hermans would once again delight his audience with his signature mixture of humor, genuine feeling, mastery of words, love of the theater, and love of life..
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, singer and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He was born in Sittard
Sittard
Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...
, now part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen
Sittard-Geleen
Sittard-Geleen is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It was formed in 2001 from the former municipalities Sittard, Geleen and Born....
.
Toon Hermans began performing in the 1930s, achieving local, regional and, eventually, national fame in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as a comedian during the post-war decades. Together with Wim Sonneveld
Wim Sonneveld
Willem 'Wim' Sonneveld was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch cultural icon for his work and legacy in theatre, musicals and music...
and Wim Kan
Wim Kan
Willem Cornelis "Wim" Kan was a Dutch cabaret artist. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld, he is considered to be one of the Great Three of Dutch cabaret....
he was considered one of the "Great Three" (grote drie) of Dutch cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
during the 1950s and 60s.
While Sonneveld became known for more serious, more searching kinds of cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
as well as expansion into other areas of amusement such as musicals, and while Kan focussed more and more on purely political satire, Toon Hermans remained true to his one life-time love: simple home-grown humor, the ability to make people laugh. His humor was of a disarmingly genuine kind. His one-man shows usually consisted of stories he would tell, often based on the life of his youth in a small town in Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
, with a typical panoplia of family members, neighbours, friends (some enemies), cats and dogs, which he presented in an irresistibly hilarious manner; and interspersed with simple, charming, crystal clear songs about life, love, and happiness.
Subsequent generations of Dutch cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
artists, and the theater critics of the 1970s and 80s, were not much impressed by Toon Hermans' unpretentious, politically and socially disengaged entertainment, but his fan base remained very large and his road shows continued to attract very large crowds.
As was the case for other cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
artists, the transition from theatrical performance to television shows was associated with ups and downs, and some believe that the most deeply felt and enduring appeal of his shows was lost in the latter medium, but he nevertheless achieved significant successes even on television, his one-man show in 1967 supposedly having been watched by 6 million, that is half the population of Holland at the time.
After the death of his wife and lifelong companion in 1991 it appeared that his career had ended, but in 1992 he surprised friends and foes by starting a new tour with a whole new show, different in nature from any he had done before. While the second half of the program was the same kind of straightforward, nonsensical humor that had always been his hallmark, the first half of the new show entitled "Ik heb je lief" (a deeper statement than "I love you", not unlike "I love thee") consisted only of songs, in a mixture of simple jazz and French-style "chanson", that were tributes to love and, indirectly, to his late wife. To the delight of his fans, he toured with this show for about one year, when one evening in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
he broke down during the program and had to cancel the remainder of the tour. As he himself explained, the sadness over his loss had finally caught up with him. He was nonetheless able to return to the stage a few years later with a new show, and remained active for several more years until his death in 2000.
Many of his shows have been recorded, starting with his one-man show in 1958. There have also been quite a number of publications of collections of poems of his hand. These collection started with simple poems, or rather, rhymes, that were humorous but sometimes contained a more serious note; but later it appeared that Toon Hermans may have tried to create more serious poetry, which was not altogether successful (and perhaps it was not he, but his publishers, who tried to put this spin on things).
Toon Hermans' humor was typically Dutch, or rather, typical for the southern part of the Netherlands; and was also appreciated in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. Moreover, during the late 1950s and 1960s he had considerable success touring in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
with a German-language show. He also produced an English-language show in the late 1960s that was test-run in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
but it appears that the show never made it to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Among his many memorable contributions, perhaps none are as widely recognized as the song "Vierentwintig rozen" – "Twenty-four roses", included in many of his one-man shows over the decades. This song consists of a long listing of completely unrelated but numbered items "three little boys playing football in the alley way – 16 sailboats anchored in the sun-lit bay" and on and on and on (and different ones for each new version of his show); and then ending with "and Twenty-four roses, Twenty-four roses, Twenty-four roses – for you". It became almost as a ritual when the first notes of this song were played by the orchestra, the audiences would erupt in a loud ovation, and Toon Hermans would once again delight his audience with his signature mixture of humor, genuine feeling, mastery of words, love of the theater, and love of life..