Toon Hermans (Sittard, 17 December 1916 – Nieuwegein, 22 April 2000) was a melancholic Dutch cabaret artist who makes audiences roar with laughter as he privately ponders the depths of human existence. Hermans is widedly regarded in the Dutch cabaret world as a consummate one-man entertainer who is a master of intelligent one-liners and humorous ballads. "Sadness has made me wealthier than pleasure," Hermans said in a 1997 interview. "Suffering is not senseless."
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Toon Hermans (Sittard, 17 December 1916 – Nieuwegein, 22 April 2000) was a melancholic Dutch cabaret artist who makes audiences roar with laughter as he privately ponders the depths of human existence. Hermans is widedly regarded in the Dutch cabaret world as a consummate one-man entertainer who is a master of intelligent one-liners and humorous ballads. "Sadness has made me wealthier than pleasure," Hermans said in a 1997 interview. "Suffering is not senseless." Born Antoine Gerard Theodore Hermans, the entertainer began his career drawing commercial ads and designing storefront displays. After winning a clown competition and starting his own theater review, he moved to Amsterdam in 1942 to perform in the companies of Dutch directors Carl Tobi and Floris Meslier. By the late 1950s, he was drawing huge audiences with his one-man show, a format virtually unknown in the Netherlands at the time. Together with Wim Sonneveld and Wim Kan he was called "de Grote Drie" (The Big Three).
