Wim Sonneveld

Wim Sonneveld as Frater Venantius (1963)

Willem (Wim) Sonneveld (born June 28, 1917 in Utrecht , † March 8, 1974 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer . Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is one of the big three of Dutch cabaret.

biography

Willem Sonneveld had four siblings and was raised Protestant; his family ran a grocery store . His mother died when he was five years old and he was primarily raised by his two older sisters. From September 1929 to July 1932 he attended the day school for trade and administration in Utrecht; then he worked as an employee in a biscuit factory, then as an office clerk at GGD in Utrecht and finally until the beginning of 1936 for a publishing house. The discovery that he was homosexual made him - in the society of the time - "a lonely, misunderstood person".

In 1923 Sonneveld sang with an amateur group and in 1934 he performed with Fons Goossens . Sonneveld made his first real acting experience in 1936 in the Hollandsche Schouwburg on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Roman Catholic association "Hulp in de huishouding". In September 1936, Sonneveld started the cabaret ensemble “De Rarekiek” together with Huub Janssen and also worked in France . After the outbreak of World War II , he returned to the Netherlands and played in revue roles. His group Cabaret Wim Sonneveld , founded in 1943, existed until 1959. From 1952 he and two colleagues ran the Theater De La Mar , which opened with the premiere of Het meisje met de grote voeten .

In 1947, Sonneveld was baptized a Catholic. His then partner Huub Janssen had convinced him to do this. Later he was in a relationship with the journalist Friso Wiegersma ; at times the three men lived together.

The versatile entertainer played Professor Higgins (1960–1962) in My Fair Lady , toured solo and also appeared on television. Sonneveld played and sang pieces by well-known authors such as Annie MG Schmidt and Simon Carmiggelt . Conny Stuart was one of his sketch partners . With his character Frater Venantius he wrote Dutch cabaret history: The somewhat silly "singing Frater uit Schin op Geul ", who philosophized on the wisdom of creation and reported on monastic life, offended many Catholics; Sonneveld received thousands of letters with threats and insults.

In 1974 Sonneveld suffered a heart attack and died a few days later in a hospital in Amsterdam.

A cabaret award named after him has been awarded annually since 1988.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		NL
1974	Willem Duys' muziek-mozaïek-10 maart 1974	NL1 (10 weeks) NL
	Story presenteert: The best van ...	NL4 (7 weeks) NL
1979	Het Beste van Wim Sonneveld	NL8 (21 weeks) NL
1985	'n herinnering aan	NL38 (11 weeks) NL
1994	Haal het doek maar op - Hoogtepunten uit zijn theater shows	NL41 (6 weeks) NL
1999	Wim Sonneveld voor altijd	NL33 (9 weeks) NL
2010	Zijn 100 best songs from A tot Z	NL50 (2 weeks) NL
2015	Op de plaat - De complete reeks	NL46 (1 week) NL

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		NL
1965	Brother Venantius	NL10 (15 weeks) NL
1966	Tearoom Tango (Je lifts me belazerd)	NL11 (12 weeks) NL
1968	De Kat Van Ome Willem	NL2 (10 weeks) NL	with Hetty Blok, Leen Jongewaard, De Jonkies & orkest olv Harry Bannink
	In Een Rijtuigje	NL12 (6 weeks) NL	with Leen Jongewaard
1974	Het Dorp	NL27 (5 weeks) NL

Web links

Commons : Wim Sonneveld  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münst: Sonneveld, Wim. In: uni-muenster.de. Retrieved August 17, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Wim Ibo: Sonneveld, Willem (1917-1974). In: resources.huygens.knaw.nl. November 12, 2013, accessed August 17, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: NL albums NL singles
4. ↑ Awards for Music Sales: NL