Johannes Heesters

Johannes Heesters
Johannes Heesters in 1964
Born	Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (1903-12-05)5 December 1903 Amersfoort, Netherlands
Died	24 December 2011(2011-12-24) (aged 108) Starnberg, Germany
Cause of death	Stroke
Residence	Starnberg, Germany
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	Actor singer
Years active	1921–2011
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse(s)	Louisa Ghijs (m. 1930–1985; her death) Simone Rethel (m. 1992–2011; his death)
Children	Wiesje Heesters (born 1931) Nicole Heesters (born 1937)
Parent(s)	Jacobus Heesters Geertruida Jacoba van den Heuvel
Website	www.johannes-heesters.de

Johan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011) was a Dutch-born actor of stage, television and film as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the concert stage, with a career dating back to 1921. Active almost exclusively in the German-speaking world from the mid-1930s, he was a controversial figure for his actions during the Second World War and his success in Nazi Germany. Heesters worked as an actor until his death and is one of the oldest performing stage performers in history.

Heesters was born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, the youngest of four sons. His father Jacobus Heesters (1865–1946) was a salesman and his mother Geertruida Jacoba van den Heuvel (1866–1951), a homemaker.

Heesters was fluent in German from a very early age having lived for several years in the household of a German great uncle from Bavaria. Heesters decided to become an actor and a singer at the age of sixteen and began vocal training. Heesters specialized in Viennese operetta very early in his career, and made his Viennese stage debut in 1934 in Carl Millöcker's Der Bettelstudent (The Beggar Student).

Aged 31, Heesters permanently moved to Germany with his wife and daughters in 1935. His signature role was Count Danilo Danilovitch in Franz Lehár's Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow). His version of Count Danilo's entrance song, "Da geh' ich ins Maxim", was well known. During his time in Germany, he performed for Adolf Hitler and visited the Dachau concentration camp, which made him a controversial figure for many Dutch.Joseph Goebbels placed Heesters on the Gottbegnadeten list as an artist considered crucial to Nazi culture.