Wim T. Schippers

Dutch artist, author, actor and producer, born on 1 July 1942 in Groningen, Netherlands, and currently residing in Amsterdam. The spanwidth of his career is enormous, but he's probably best known as creator of legendary tv shows like Hoepla or the Fred Haché Show, host of popular 1980's radio show Ronflonflon, and as voice actor for Ernie and Kermit in the Dutch edition of Sesame Street. His influence on the Dutch language is equally profound, as he has created several expressions. Initially, in the early 1960s, Schippers had started out as a visual and conceptual artist, publishing an A-dynamic Manifesto in 1961 and performing at a number of Fluxus festivals. In media, Schippers has almost exclusively worked for the VPRO broadcasting network, also hosting the Nationale Wetenschapsquiz between 1994 and 2002. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, VPRO broadcast a lengthy interview / documentary by Ronald Snijders.