Youp van 't Hek

Joseph Jacobus Maria "Youp" van 't Hek (born 28 February 1954) is a Dutch author, columnist, singer-songwriter, playwright, critic and former comedian. He was born and raised in the Gooi, an upper-class region to the southeast of Amsterdam. In 1973 he changed his name from Joep to Youp. He was one of the founding members of Cabaret NAR (Cabaret Jester), and in the early 1980s, as Cabaret NAR's success declined, Van 't Hek moved on as a solo artist.

His big break came in 1983 on KRO's De alles is anders-show, where his energetic performance made him a household name overnight. In his 1989 "oudejaarsconference" (end-of-year show), he ridiculed Buckler, a low-alcohol beer brewed by Heineken; as a result, sales plummeted and the brand was eventually withdrawn from the market. Van 't Hek has often cited this as the best joke in his career.

In 2021, Van 't Hek announced that he would stop as a comedian in 2024, when he turned 70 and had been a comedian for 50 years. The tour of his last show started in 2021. On May 25, 2024, he gave his last performance in the Carré theater in Amsterdam, and on June 1, 2024, his last show was broadcast by BNNVARA, watched by 2.3 million people. He has written columns for NRC Handelsblad since 1988, and his songs have largely been composed by Ton Scherpenzeel, keyboardist of Kayak. Van 't Hek is the brother of field hockey international Tom van 't Hek.