Willem Duys
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with Willem RuisWillem RuisKlaas Willem Ruis was a Dutch game show presenter on Dutch public television. He presented the Willem Ruis Show for the KRO and the Willem Ruis Lottoshow, 5 tegen 5 and the Sterrenshow for the VARA...
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Willem Duys (17 August 1928 – 2 June 2011), was a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
radio
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
and television presenter, commentator, tennis player and music producer.
Duys was born in Bussum
Bussum
Bussum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History:Bussum was first mentioned in 1306. In this time, Bussum was a large heathland with many small farms, sheep pens and forests as is shown on old maps. Since Bussum is situated near the fortified town...
. Having made the final NK Older Youth (Van Lennep Cup) in 1946, he won the Spieghel Hilversum and Heide B tournament, took the semi-finals Plaswijck Kralingen and won the B tournament in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. He also reached the final three men's doubles Flehite A with Peter Scholtz and was 1956 men's singles champion Unilever (following Jan de Soet).
After retiring from tennis in mid 1956 Duys began writing for various music magazines and was invited to act as an announcer on AVRO
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
in 1956. He became a television presenter in 1959. From 1963 till 1979 he presented the TV program "Voor de Vuist Weg", generally considered to be the first talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on Dutch television. In 1974 he received the Gouden Televizierring for this program. He regularly presented the Grand Gala du Disque and was a commentator for large tennis matches. For eight years (1962, 1963, 1974-1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983) he was the regular Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
Commentator for Dutch television viewers. Duys also presented the Sunday morning radio show "Muziek Mozaïek" for four decades. A TV version of that show ran for six seasons. In 1999, after a cerebral infarction
Cerebral infarction
A cerebral infarction is the ischemic kind of stroke due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. It can be atherothrombotic or embolic. Stroke caused by cerebral infarction should be distinguished from two other kinds of stroke: cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid...
, he retired. He worked for the AVRO
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
for more than forty years.
Willem Duys lived alternately in Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
Saint-Paul or Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, it is well-known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries such as Fondation Maeght which is located nearby.The property...
and Naarden and thereafter in Hilversum. He died in Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
on 2 June 2011 from a lung infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
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