Toon Hermans

Toon Hermans (born Antoine Gerard Theodore Hermans, 17 December 1916 - 22 April 2000) was a noted Dutch comedian, singer and writer. He was also beloved in Flanders and performed in Belgium, Germany and Austria, with an attempt at a 1968 Broadway show. He was born in Sittard and 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" of Dutch cabaret during the 1950s and 1960s.

While Sonneveld became known for more searching cabaret and Kan focused on political satire, Hermans remained true to simple home-grown humour and the ability to make people laugh. His one-man shows usually consisted of stories based on the life of his youth in a small town in Limburg, interspersed with simple, charming, crystal clear songs about life, love and happiness. His fan base remained very large and his road shows continued to attract very large crowds. His one-man show in 1967 was supposedly watched by 6 million people, half the population of the Netherlands at the time.

After the death of his wife and lifelong companion Rita Weijtboer in 1990, 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 entitled "Ik heb je lief", whose first half consisted only of songs that were tributes to love. 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. He also published several hand-drawn cartoons, the so-called Clownerietjes, illustrating his puns and poems, and was active as a hobby painter. His honours included the Golden Harp and the Gouden Televizier-Ring.