Wim Sonneveld

Wim Sonneveld (born Willem Sonneveld, 28 June 1917 - 8 March 1974) 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, and he is generally viewed as a Dutch cultural icon for his work and legacy in theatre, musicals and music. He was born in Utrecht to Gerrit Sonneveld and Geertruida van den Berg, and was the class clown at school.

In 1932 he started singing in an amateur choir, the Keep Smiling Singers, and in 1934 he teamed up with Fons Goossens to form a duo. After a journey through France in 1936 he settled in Amsterdam, working as an administrator during the day and singing chansons in the evening. Between 1943 and 1959 he staged a great number of shows with his own cabaret association Rim Ram, including Alleen voor dames (1943, text by Hella Haasse), Tingeltangel (1945) and Waar de blanke top der duinen (1954). A famous creation of his was Willem Parel, a street organ grinder who brought him great success on VARA-radio in the early 1950s and was made into the 1955 film The Wondrous Life of Willem Parel.

Sonneveld appeared in films including The Pink Hippopotamus (1956), Silk Stockings (1957) and Wasp End (1957), and played Dr. Higgins in 702 performances of the musical My Fair Lady. From 1962 he went solo with television shows such as Doe es wat, meneer Sonneveld and Blijf in Holland (1963). On 20 February 1974 he suffered a heart attack while driving from Amsterdam to Rotterdam; a second heart attack on 8 March proved fatal, and he was buried at the Roman Catholic Cemetery Buitenveldert.