Arjen Lubach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arjen Lubach
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Lubach in 2016
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| Born | Arjen Henrik Lubach 22 October 1979 Groningen, Netherlands |
| Pen name | Slimme Schemer |
| Occupation | Writer, comedian, television presenter, musician |
| Alma mater | University of Groningen |
Arjen Lubach is a famous Dutch comedian, writer, music maker, and TV host. He was born on October 22, 1979. From 2014 to 2021, he hosted a popular weekly TV show called Zondag met Lubach (Sunday with Lubach) on NPO 3. This show was known for its funny and smart look at the news.
After that, from February 2022 to October 2024, he hosted De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach (The Evening show with Arjen Lubach) on NPO 1. Right after his last episode, he shared exciting news. He and his team are starting a brand new show called LUBACH at RTL in spring 2025.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Arjen Lubach was born in Groningen, Netherlands. He grew up in a small town called Lutjegast until he was 15 years old. His parents were both lawyers. His father was also a professor at the University of Groningen.
Arjen and his two brothers grew up outside the main village. He sometimes felt different because his family did not speak the local Gronings dialect. He described himself as a "complex" kid who liked to stay indoors. Even though he was sometimes bullied, he remembers his childhood as a good time.
Family and Faith
His family was very religious. The children went to a Protestant primary school called "School with the Bible." They prayed daily and read from the Bible. They also went to church every Sunday.
When Arjen was 11, his mother became very sick with cancer. She passed away a year later. Losing his mother, who he was very close to, affected him deeply. It also made him question his religious beliefs. After primary school, he went to Maartenscollege in Haren. This choice was partly because his father had promised his dying mother to raise the children religiously.
College and New Paths
At Maartenscollege, Arjen met his first big love. Many characters in his later stories were based on her. He then started studying Spanish at the University of Groningen. When he stopped believing in religion, he felt that life had no meaning. This led to a short "existential crisis." Later, he decided to find his own meaning in life.
Arjen then left his studies. He worked as a taxi driver in Groningen for a few months. After that, he was a harbourmaster on the island of Vlieland. He then began studying philosophy. In his second year, while also studying Swedish, he met Janine Abbring. They took a spontaneous trip to Denmark and wrote their first hit song there.
Arjen Lubach's Career
Arjen Lubach has had a very busy career in many different areas. He is known for his writing, theatre performances, radio shows, and especially his television work.
Writing Books and Articles
In August 2006, Arjen's first book, Mensen die ik ken die mijn moeder hebben gekend (People I Know Who Knew My Mother), was published. In April 2008, his novel Bastaardsuiker (Brown Sugar) came out. His next novel, Magnus, was published in March 2011. In 2013, he released the thriller IV, which was nominated for a big award called the Gouden Strop.
He also writes for VPRO radio and columns for CJP magazine. He has written opinion pieces for NRC Next and scripts for movies and plays. Arjen also worked as a freelance writer for radio and TV shows like Vara Laat and De Wereld Draait Door.
Theatre Performances
In 2001, Arjen joined a theatre group called Op Sterk Water. He performed with them at big festivals like Lowlands and in theatres across the Netherlands and Belgium. He left the group in June 2014 to host a talk show.
In the summers of 2009, 2011, and 2013, Arjen performed with comedian Tim Kamps. Their show was called Het Monica da Silva Trio. They also toured with this show in theatres during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Radio Shows
Arjen started his radio career at OOG Radio, a local station in Groningen. He volunteered there for two years, hosting a daily show. In 2003, he got a late-night show called Arjen L on 3FM. He also worked as a sidekick for other radio hosts like Claudia de Breij. In 2007, he contributed weekly to the VPRO radio program De Avonden on Radio 6.
Internet and Television Success
Since 2005, Arjen has run a comedy website called Buro Renkema with Edo Schoonbeek and Pieter Jouke. Some of their funny videos were shown on TV shows. In 2007, a bank tried to sue them for a parody video, but Buro Renkema refused to take it down, and the bank eventually gave up.
In early 2007, Arjen was a judge on the show Lama Gezocht. From late 2007, he hosted De Nieuwste Show for BNN. He also co-produced funny "Rap service" videos for the AVRO show Koefnoen. In 2010, Arjen took part in the TV show Wie is de Mol?. In June 2010, he helped start the website Recensiekoning (Review King), where he often writes.
Arjen wrote scripts for TV films like De Goudfazant (The Golden Pheasant) and Midzomernacht (Midsummer Night). Midzomernacht was shown at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2011. In 2012, he wrote the script for the TV film Honderden Brommers (Hundreds of Mopeds).
On August 31, 2012, he won the TV show De Slimste Mens (The Smartest Human). From the 13th season of Wie is de Mol?, Arjen hosted MolTalk on Radio 1. In 2013, Arjen and linguist Paulien Cornelisse started a monthly language segment on De Wereld Draait Door.
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On November 9, 2014, the first episode of Zondag met Lubach aired. This was a satirical talk show where he humorously looked at the week's news. In one episode in March 2015, he joked about the Dutch monarchy. He even called himself "Pharaoh of the Netherlands." Because of this, he was named Republican of the Year 2015 by the New Republican Society.
In early 2017, a video from Zondag met Lubach called "The Netherlands welcomes Trump in his own words" became hugely popular. It made fun of United States President Donald Trump while also making fun of the Netherlands. The video was watched over 73 million times worldwide. It even inspired other countries to make similar funny videos.
Music Career
In 2001, Arjen Lubach and Janine Abbring had a hit song called Jelle. They used the name Slimme Schemer ft. Tido. This song was a funny parody of the famous song Stan by Eminem and Dido. It was about a fan named Jelle who was upset that a singer didn't reply to his messages.
In 2014, the artist Kygo released a song called Firestone. Arjen Lubach and Martijn Konijnenburg had written this song together. They later found out the song was sold without their knowledge. Arjen wrote about this story in his 2020 book, Stoorzender.
In 2015, Arjen secretly released a song called "Justified (Sunrise Funk)" under the name Hartebees. It became a hit! A radio host discovered Arjen was the artist because his name was listed as the producer. In July 2016, it was revealed that Arjen Lubach is part of a dance music duo called The Galaxy. This DJ duo released their Bass Country Club EP in 2015. They released their second EP, Moon & The Stars EP, in late 2016.
Arjen Lubach's Views
Arjen Lubach has shared his thoughts on several important topics.
On Monarchy and Religion
Arjen describes himself as a strong republican. This means he believes a country should be led by elected officials, not a king or queen. He has often spoken against the Dutch monarchy.
He also finds belief in a God to be interesting and has spoken out against extreme religious practices. Looking back at his own time as a believer, Arjen called it "the biggest brainwash ever." He felt religion made him feel very guilty about living in "sin." He found it "outrageous" that he was taught to pray, but he doesn't blame his parents. He felt a huge sense of freedom and calm when he stopped believing. He is now an atheist.
On Food and Environment
Arjen Lubach is a vegetarian. In a ZML episode in November 2015, he joked about vegetarians. However, he also argued that everyone should eat less meat, mainly to help the environment. He then ate half a sausage slice and threw the other half away.
In a September 2017 ZML episode, Arjen strongly criticized animal suffering in factory farming. He talked about the 2017 fipronil eggs problem, many farm fires that killed animals, and bad treatment of animals on farms and in slaughterhouses. He then jokingly launched a fake label for animal-unfriendly meat. He commented that he no longer buys "real meat." A month later, he joked that his workplace canteen had many meat dishes, wondering if they knew he didn't eat meat.
On Politics and Economy
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, Arjen supported the Dutch government's firm stance against a proposed European loan system called Eurobond. He blamed citizens of Southern European countries for electing politicians who were against strict financial rules for many years.
Awards and Nominations
Arjen Lubach has received many awards and nominations for his work:
- 2001: Nominated for a Top of the Pops Award for Jelle.
- 2005: Nominated for a Marconi Award for his radio show Arjen L.
- 2007 & 2008: Nominated for a Dutch Bloggie for Buro Renkema.
- 2008: Nominated for the Halewijnprijs for Bastaardsuiker.
- 2012: Longlisted for the Gouden Boekenuil and Dioraphte Jongeren Literatuurprijs for Magnus.
- 2012: Won the Publieksprijs Dioraphte Jongeren Literatuurprijs for Magnus.
- 2013: Nominated for the Gouden Strop and won the Crimezone Debuutprijs for IV.
- 2015: Received an Honourable mention from the Nipkowjury for Zondag met Lubach.
- 2015: Nominated for the Televizier Aanstormend Talent Award.
- 2015: Won Republican of the Year by the New Republican Society.
- 2015: Won Liberal of the Year 2015 by the JOVD.
- 2016: Won the Zilveren Nipkowschijf for Zondag met Lubach.
- 2016: Won Freethinker of the Year by De Vrije Gedachte.
- 2016: Won Skeptic Pyramid Pendulum by Stichting Skepsis.
- 2017: Won the Gouden Televizierring 2017 for Zondag met Lubach.
- 2018: Won the House of Animals awards' professional jury prize for a Zondag met Lubach segment on factory farming.
