Ursul de Geer in 2016
Television maker Ursul de Geer (74) has passed away. The presenter had been seriously ill for some time and died in his hometown of Amsterdam.
De Geer had his own talk show, but was best known to the general public as the presenter of the TV program It’s fantastic here. In that program he ventured into the “sodom and gomorra of the summer holidays” where he followed Dutch holidaymakers and partygoers. Especially in Spanish coastal towns.
Watch part of an episode set in Salou, Spain below.
De Geer was born in Zeist into a noble family. He was the son of the painter Louis de Geer and Maria Elisabeth van der Tak.
After finishing high school he studied economics and andragogy and joined the student theater. Afterwards he acted with the theater companies Toneelgroep Centrum, de Nieuwe Komedie and Persona. He has also appeared as an actor in films, such as Splashes and The Fourth Man, both directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Bon Bini Holland
Later he directed book adaptations like Her name was Sarah, Stoner and The attack. The last performance was nominated for the 2011 Audience Award.
In 2014 he played a judge on the television series Danni Lowinski and in 2015 he was last seen as an actor on television in a supporting role in the Dutch comedy Bon Bini Holland.
‘Most beautiful roles’
A few weeks ago, he held a farewell meeting for thirty family members and friends in the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg. “An extremely impressive meeting,” said actor Huub Stapel who was present.
He has known De Geer since the second year of drama school. “Then I saw the play in Hasselt Rosa Leaves which I was very impressed and that was directed by a certain Ursul de Geer. Later I played two of my best roles under his direction myself Napoleon and The Transformation of a Marriage. “
They had regular contact over the past ten to fifteen years, says Stapel. The friendship has always remained. Until he got sick. “Then it really happened at the speed of light.”
