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Johannes Heesters

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Johannes Heesters (born December 5, 1903) is a Dutch actor, singer, and entertainer who can look back on an 83-year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. As of 2004, Heesters holds the record of being the oldest performer worldwide who is still active, both on the stage and on television.

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Johannes Heesters (born December 5, 1903) is a Dutch actor, singer, and entertainer who can look back on an 83-year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world.

But is he a celebrity in the DL sense of the word?

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Joopi Heesters (as he is known) is a very fit old man. He regularly does sport, and has a wife who is a good bit younger than he is (which may or may not be beneficial for his continued longevity).

 

I can't see him dropping off just yet, but at his age you can't expect many more years.

 

It'd be a bit of a risk putting him on the list, as there is no guarantee that the UK press would pick up on his death.

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Mr. Heesters has been mentioned previously here under the "World's Oldest" thread. By complete fluke, I happen to compare him to John Mills - Let us hope he is EXACTLY like John Mills!

 

DWB :)

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Johannes Heesters (born December 5, 1903) is a Dutch actor, singer, and entertainer who can look back on an 83-year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world.

But is he a celebrity in the DL sense of the word?

I don't know. What's worse, I don't know him.

 

A web search shows that his working in Nazi-Germany ruined his reputation in the Netherlands, after which he was forgotten there.

 

regards,

Hein

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A web search shows that his working in Nazi-Germany ruined his reputation in the Netherlands, after which he was forgotten there.

He still has the right credentials to be a pope, given the latest offering..... :)

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I would imagine very few DL members outside Holland have ever heard of him, so sorry, he's no chance of making the 2006 list.

 

And I'm not being Dutch-o-phobic.

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Turns 102 today. Apparentely he's been in a few non-dutch films like... uh... "The Moon Is Blue" as "uncredited tourist.

 

Has a wife who's 46 years younger than him. Can you imagine being married to someone who was a senior citizen before you graduated from college?

 

Or being the favourite actor of Adolf Hitler? I really do love IMDB.

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Heesters has just been awarded the Regenbogen Award for lifetime achievement sort of thingy.

 

regenbogen.jpg

 

There was a picture of him in yesterday's Bild Zeitung sitting cheerfully with his Mrs. and clearly enjoying a glass of beer.

 

No sign of any decline in old Jopie apart from the onset of blindness. I wonder if Clive Dunn will be that sprightly at 102?

 

Daresay.

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Or being the favourite actor of Adolf Hitler? I really do love IMDB.

 

Scholars of the German language may enjoy the following quotation from the Führer:

 

"Heesters, äch bän särr zufrrädän! Äch komme wiedärr!"

 

You had to be there, I suppose.

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This could be an early lead on a death...or maybe it's just a hoax. Anyway, Wikipedia's recent deaths page was reporting that Johannes Heesters has died. No results appear on google news, and wikipedia lists the death as "citation needed". Did someone with insider information give us early word of the death...or is it just a prankster?

 

See here for the wikipedia recent deaths page

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I don't reckon he's dead yet.

 

The Bild Zeitung gave him a brief mention on June the 25th, and Focus Online reported about an exhibiton of his life's work which opened in the Berlin Academy of the Arts on the 2nd of July.

 

He's been vigorously denying reports that he's on the way out, and in May he went on a TV show subtitled "How old are you Really?" and undewent some tests to ascertain his "true" age based on his state of health.

 

Not sure what they came up with though.

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This could be an early lead on a death...or maybe it's just a hoax. Anyway, Wikipedia's recent deaths page was reporting that Johannes Heesters has died. No results appear on google news, and wikipedia lists the death as "citation needed". Did someone with insider information give us early word of the death...or is it just a prankster?

 

See here for the wikipedia recent deaths page

 

I've checked through the blog searches as well, as they seem to bring up some news, but nothing. I think it's just Iain having a laugh again.

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A spot of IP analysis points the finger less at iain, and more at an unidentifiable individual residing in or near Washington State, USA.

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Google displays no evidence of his death. It could very well be a hoax or a mistake, or it is possible that he is long forgotten and may only get a small obituary in a paper somewhere. The reports of his death may not have even hit the net. I still take it as if he's alive.

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I reckon someone has confused him with Rudi Carrell, another ancient Dutch celebrity well-known in the German entertainment industry.

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Mr. Heesters got a mention today on Radio 3 on a programme repeated from January marking the 100th anniversary of the first performance of "The Merry Widow".

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Guest Mike

He certainly deserves a place in the deathlist 2007. :P He's the oldest preformer worldwide who's still active! It's true that Hitler went to his shows a couple of times, but that doens't make him his favourite actor does it?

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For those of you who have a little faith in wrongipedia (or, alternatively, those who wish to translate his web page from German) it is claimed that he celebrated his 103rd birthday with a concert.

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that doens't make him his favourite actor does it?

 

No more than it makes Kurt Waldhiem his blue-eyed boy.

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Guest RightThere

Is this really the first time someone reacts on the report of a LIVING 104 year old man since December 2006 :banghead:

 

Weird.

Last time I heard off he him he broke his ribs wouldn't take long now.

 

(I excually hope he makes the 2009 list as worlds oldest entertainer)

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Is this really the first time someone reacts on the report of a LIVING 104 year old man since December 2006 :banghead:

 

Weird.

Last time I heard off he him he broke his ribs wouldn't take long now.

 

(I excually hope he makes the 2009 list as worlds oldest entertainer)

I am agreeing with RightThere, off course.

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Is this really the first time someone reacts on the report of a LIVING 104 year old man since December 2006 :banghead:

 

Weird.

Last time I heard off he him he broke his ribs wouldn't take long now.

 

(I excually hope he makes the 2009 list as worlds oldest entertainer)

 

When's the last time you heard? The last time I heard, he did another concert for his 104th birthday (which would have been early December 07), so either he recovered, or this happened really recently. Do you have a link?

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Guest RIGHTTHERE
Is this really the first time someone reacts on the report of a LIVING 104 year old man since December 2006 :banghead:

 

Weird.

Last time I heard off he him he broke his ribs wouldn't take long now.

 

(I excually hope he makes the 2009 list as worlds oldest entertainer)

 

When's the last time you heard? The last time I heard, he did another concert for his 104th birthday (which would have been early December 07), so either he recovered, or this happened really recently. Do you have a link?

 

I saw it on Dutch teletext in a short article a few months ago that he had to cancel/delay his first Dutch performance in years because he had broken his ribs.

I don't know how he is doing now.

 

(But I still don't understand that the THE WORLDS OLDEST FUNCTIONING ENTERTAINER was forgotten for such a long time.)

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