Youp van 't Hek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Youp van 't Hek
Van 't Hek in 2013
Birth name	Joseph Jacobus Maria van 't Hek
Born	(1954-02-28) 28 February 1954 (age 71) Naarden, Netherlands
Medium	Comedian, author, columnist, singer-songwriter, playwright, critic
Years active	1973–present
Genres	Cabaret, observational comedy, musical comedy, cringe comedy, satire, political satire, sarcasm
Subject(s)	Marriage, relationships, family, childhood, midlife crisis, elderly care, high society, everyday life, human behavior, current events, self-deprecation, social criticism, religion, death, Oranjegekte, Dutch culture
Spouse	Debby Petter ​ (m. 1984)​
Children	3
Relative(s)	Tom van 't Hek (brother)
Notable works and roles	Buckler

Joseph Jacobus Maria "Youp" van 't Hek (born 28 February 1954) is a famous Dutch artist. He is known as an author, a writer for newspapers, a singer-songwriter, a playwright (someone who writes plays), a critic, and a former comedian.

Discovering Youp van 't Hek

Youp van 't Hek was born and grew up in a wealthy area near Amsterdam called the Gooi. In 1973, he changed his first name from Joep to Youp. He was one of the people who started a comedy group called Cabaret NAR. Cabaret NAR means "Cabaret Jester," and a jester is like a funny entertainer.

Becoming a Solo Star

In the early 1980s, Cabaret NAR became less popular. So, Youp van 't Hek decided to perform by himself. He became very well-known in 1983 after a lively performance on a TV show called De alles is anders-show on the KRO channel. This show made him famous almost overnight!

The Buckler Joke

In 1989, Youp van 't Hek performed in a special end-of-year comedy show called an "oudejaarsconference." During this show, he made fun of a low-alcohol drink called Buckler. Because of his jokes, sales of Buckler dropped a lot, and the drink was eventually taken off the market. Youp often said this was the best joke of his career.

Saying Goodbye to the Stage

In 2021, Youp van 't Hek announced that he would stop being a comedian in 2024. This was when he turned 70 years old and had been a comedian for 50 years! His final tour started in 2021. His very last performance was on May 25, 2024, at the Carré theater in Amsterdam. On June 1, 2024, his last show was shown on TV by BNNVARA, and more than 2 million people watched it!

Family Connections

Youp van 't Hek also has a famous brother named Tom van 't Hek. Tom was an international field hockey player.

Youp's Theater Shows

Youp van 't Hek has performed in many theater shows throughout his career.

Shows with Cabaret NAR

• Your Youp for you (1973)
• Meer geluk dan wijsheid (More luck than wisdom) (1973)
• Gele ellebogen (Yellow elbows) (1974)
• Blaffende honden (Barking dogs) (1975)
• Alles in Wonderland (Everything in Wonderland) (1976)
• Romantiek met mayonnaise (Romance with mayonnaise) (1977)
• Geen vakantie voor Youp en Jan (No holiday for Youp and Jan) (1978)
• Zat ik maar thuis met een goed boek (If only I were at home with a good book) (1979)
• Zonder twijfel (Without doubt) (1981)

Solo Performances

Youp van 't Hek performing in 1988

• Man vermist (Man missing) (1982)
• Gebroken glas (Broken glass) (1983)
• Verlopen en verlaten (Down and out) (1984)
• Tunnel zonder vluchtstrook (Tunnel without emergency lane) (1986) - This was a show he did with another actor, Onno Molenkamp.
• Hond op het ijs (Dog on ice) (1987)
• Oudejaarsconference 1989 (1989)
• Alles of nooit (All or never) (1991)
• Ergens in de verte (Somewhere in the distance) (1992)
• Spelen met je leven (Playing with your life) (1994)
• Oudejaarsconference 1995 (1995)
• Scherven (Shards) (1996)
• De waker, de slaper & de dromer (The guard, the sleeper & the dreamer) (1998)
• Mond vol tanden (Oudejaarsconference) (1999)
• De wereld draait door (Life goes on or The world is going crazy) (2000)
• Youp speelt Youp (Youp playing Youp, Oudejaarsconference) (2002)
• Prachtige paprika's (Wonderful sweet peppers) (2003)
• Schreeuwstorm (Shoutstorm) (2006)
• Troost (Comfort, Oudejaarsconference) (2008)
• Omdat de nacht (Because the night) (2009)
• De tweede viool (The second violin, Oudejaarsconference) (2011)
• Wigwam (2012)
• Mooie verhalen (Beautiful stories) (2014)
• Wat is de vraag? (What is the question?, Oudejaarsconference) (2014)
• Licht (Light) (2015–2017)
• Een vloek en een zucht (Oudejaarsconference) (2017)
• Met de kennis van nu (2018–2020)
• Korrel zout (Oudejaarsconference) (2020)
• De laatste ronde! (The last round!) (2021–2024)

Youp's Music

Youp van 't Hek has also created music for the songs in his shows. A key person in his music career has been Ton Scherpenzeel, who wrote almost all of his songs. Youp's songs often feature instruments like piano, accordion, violin, and acoustic guitar. This shows his love for classical music. A famous example is his song "Flappie," which tells a story about Christmas.

Youp's Columns and Books

Since 1988, Youp van 't Hek has written regular articles, called columns, for a newspaper called NRC Handelsblad. He first wrote about sports, and later about general topics. Many of these columns have been published as books. He also wrote other types of books, including a children's book!

Sports Columns

• Niks spel, knikkers (Not the game, the marbles) (1989) - This means winning is more important than just playing.
• Het hemd van de leeuw (The undershirt of the lion) (1990)
• Sportgek (Mad about sports) (1990)
• Floppie, Yourie en andere helden (Floppie, Yourie and other heroes) (1992)
• Eerst de man, dan de bal (First the player, then the ball) (1993)
• De selectie (The selection or The squad) (1997) - This book is a collection of his best sports columns.

General Columns

• Amah hoela (1994) - This title is a playful way of saying "no way."
• Ik schreeuwlelijk (I bigmouth) (1995)
• En het bleef nog lang onrustig in mijn hoofd (And my mind remained restless for a long time) (1996)
• Majesteit, (Majesty,) (1997)
• Fax (1998)
• Zaterdag (Saturday) (1999)
• Het zal me jeuken (I couldn't care less) (2000)
• Iedereen is in de war (Everybody is confused/crazy) (2001)
• 166x Youp (2001) - A collection of his best columns.
• Het platte land (The flat land) (2002) - This refers to the Netherlands.
• Liegangst (Fear of lying) (2003)
• Hartjeuk en zieleczeem (Heart itch and soul eczema) (2004)
• Het leven is wél leuk (Life IS fun) (2005)
• Oelikoeli en andere goden (Oelikoeli and other gods) (2006) - Oelikoeli is a god Youp made up.
• Youp is leuk? (Youp is fun?) (2007) - Another collection of his best columns.
• Iedereen is eigenaar van iets (Everybody is the owner of something) (2007)
• Bacteriën moeten ook leven (Bacteria have to live too) (2008)
• Omdat jij mijn beste vriend bent (Because you're my best friend) (2009)

Other Books

• Rijke meiden (Rich girls) (1991) - A book of short stories.
• Liedjes van A tot Z (Songs from A to Z) (2003) - An alphabetical collection of his song lyrics.
• Komen & gaan, een week scharrelen rond Gare du Nord (Coming and going, a week of wandering around Gare du Nord) (2004) - A book of poetry.
• De wonderlijke broertjes Pim en Pietje (The amazing brothers Pim and Pietje) (2004) - This is a children's book!
• Bob & Youp (2009) - This book has photographs by Bob Bronshoff, and Youp wrote columns inspired by the pictures.