Sjef van Oekel was a TV comedy character created by Dutch artistWim T. Schippers and played by Dutch comedian, singer and actorDolf Brouwers (1912–1997). Van Oekel started as a side character inDe Fred Hachéshow in 1972 but became such a cult figure that he gained his own television show,Van Oekel's Discohoek, songs and even acomics series, all written by Schippers.[1]
Wim T. Schippers created Sjef van Oekel in 1972 as a Belgianfrench fries salesman from the villageReet. Schippers had never visited Reet, but had seen the name on a company manufacturing car accessories and enjoyed thedouble entendre of the name ("Reet" means "crack" or "buttcrack" in Dutch).[2] In line with his character's origin Van Oekel originally used a Flemish accent, but quickly dropped this in favor for his own Dutch accent.
Van Oekel is typically dressed in a fine blacktuxedo and always talks and behaves in a refined manner, complete witharchaisms. However something always went wrong during his presentations, either on the set or he himself tripped or wentnauseous. Situations like these always lead to his well-knowncatch phrase: "Ik word niet goed!" ("I'm starting to feel not well!"). Whenever Van Oekel said this he usually used a handkerchief to clean off the sweat on his forehead. In one controversial episode he threw up in the bicycle bag of his sidekick Evert van de Pik (played by Jaap Bar), which outraged Dutch journalistHenk van der Meyden so much that he started an unsuccessful campaign to get the program banned. Other well-known catch phrases of Van Oekel were "Als het ware..." ("As it were...") and "Pardon...reeds" ("Pardon... already").
The character made his debut in 1972, inDe Fred Hachéshow, a controversial television show created byWim T. Schippers. He later returned in two later Schippers shows,Barend is weer bezig (1972–1973) andVan Oekel's Discohoek (1974).[3]
The van Oekel character was ancillary inDe Fred Hachéshow andBarend is weer bezig, both of which had Barend Servet as the lead, but central inVan Oekel's Discohoek, where he played the host of a music show on television that parodied popular music programs of the era.
Van Oekel quickly became acult figure with viewers. Brouwers recorded many Schippers-penned and other songs, most of which comic and dramatic. WithManke Nelis he recorded "Vis wordt duur betaald" (#46 in the Dutch charts in 1988[4]), but his best known song is probably "Vette jus" ("[Sauerkraut with] greasy gravy"), a dish still associated with him in a song that is little more than a list of Dutch dishes.[5][6][7] The song was first performed on the 1973 Christmas special forBarend is weer bezig; it was written by Schippers,Gied Jaspars, andClous van Mechelen.[8]
In 1976Wim T. Schippers andTheo van den Boogaard drew acelebrity comic series based on the character. Many stories and gags feature Van Oekel embarrassing other people or meeting rather eccentric and exhibitionistic people himself. Sjef van Oekel quickly became notorious for featuring very risqué subject matter, including religion, pornography,pedophilia, prostitution, vulgar language, and so on. The stories were published inDe Nieuwe Revu and sold well enough to be translated in French ("Léon Van Oukel", later "Léon La Terreur"), German ("Julius Patzenhofer", later "Leo, der Terrorist"), Danish and Spanish.[9]
Van Oekel made a few media appearances in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but by 1984 this came to a halt too. Brouwers felt increasingly exploited by Schippers, especially regarding the comics series. In 1989 he dragged Schippers and Van den Boogaard to court because the comics frequently portrayed him in vulgar situations without him earning a penny from it. The judge ruled in favor of Brouwers and decided that the series could continue, but the character was no longer allowed to be portrayed in "obscene or pornographic situations". A financial settlement was also agreed on.[10][11]
Whether van Oekel was just used or also abused by Schippers and others was the topic of a 2004 theater production. According to Hein Janssen, writing inde Volkskrant, it is certainly true that Brouwers jumped at the opportunity to become a celebrity, but the extent to which Schippers and the other writers and directors pushed Brouwers (he balked, for instance, at having to simulate sex with an inflatable doll) is questionable.[12]