Ramses Shaffy
| Ramses Shaffy | |
|---|---|
Ramses Shaffy, ca. 1965
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| Background information | |
| Born |
29 August 1933 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Died | 1 December 2009 (aged 76) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Genres | Chanson |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, actor |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1955–2009 |
| Labels | PolyGram |
| Associated acts | Liesbeth List |
Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch singer and actor. He became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, Vecht, Huil, Bid, Lach, Werk en Bewonder", "We Zullen Doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Sammy" and "Laat Me". He frequently collaborated with Dutch singer Liesbeth List.
Shaffy was born in Paris, in the suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine. His father was an Egyptian diplomat and his mother was a Polish-Russian countess. He grew up with his mother in Cannes. When she was infected with tuberculosis, Shaffy was sent to an aunt in Utrecht. Eventually, he ended up in a foster family in Leiden.
He did not finish high school, but he was accepted at the Amsterdam school of theatre arts in 1952. In 1955, he made his debut with the Nederlandse Comedie. He went to Rome in 1960 aspiring to be a film actor, but was unsuccessful in the endeavour. In the 1960s, Shaffy had a relationship with Dutch actor Joop Admiraal (1937–2006). In 1964 he founded Shaffy Chantant, a theatre group, which led to his first collaborations with Liesbeth List. He worked with Dutch pianist Louis van Dijk. Among others, Thijs van Leer was a member of the group for a short period of time. With Liesbeth List, Shaffy recorded the classic song "Pastorale". His hit song, "We Zullen Doorgaan" was parodied by comedian André van Duin in 1975. He temporarily stopped his habit of heavy drinking when he became a member of the Rajneesh movement in the 1980s.
In the 1980s, Shaffy returned to the stage and the set as an actor. He played Don Quixote in the musical De man van La Mancha in 1993. Pieter Fleury made a documentary about Shaffy in 2002, Ramses. It won a Golden Calf, the award of the Netherlands Film Festival. The film shows Shaffy's life in a rest home in Amsterdam. He had to move to a rest home, suffering from Korsakoff-like symptoms, caused by heavy alcohol use.
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