Aart Staartjes (1 March 1938 â€" 12 January 2020) was a Dutch actor,
director, television presenter and documentary maker from Amsterdam.
He was well known for his role on Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production
of Sesame Street. On this show, his character's name was Meneer Aart
(Mr. Aart) and in this persona he authored a book called Meneer Aart:
Leven en werken van de man die geen kindervriend wil heten (Mr. Aart:
Life and work of the man who does not want to be named a friend to
children).Staartjes used to present the annual arrival of Sinterklaas
in the Netherlands.Aart Staartjes was born in Nieuwendam, a
neighbourhood of Amsterdam-Noord. He had an older brother, and a
younger sister. They lived in a house on the Nieuwendammerdijk. His
father, his grandfather, and an uncle of his worked in a carpentry
shop located behind the house. Staartjes started his primary education
at the age of eight. After that, he went to the mulo in Amsterdam,
followed by the Kweekschool, a teachers' college. He dropped out of
the Kweekschool in 1958, and went to the theatre school instead. He
graduated in 1961.After graduation from the Toneelschool, Staartjes
performed with various companies including the Nieuw Rotterdams Toneel
en Studio. Staartjes made his debut in 1961 in Meneer Topaze, based on
a play written by Marcel Pagnol in the 1930s.[citation needed] He
performed in a number of TV shows, and in 1967 starts the show Woord
voor Woord for the Interkerkelijke Omroep Nederland, in which he does
bible readings. He is the voice of Rocus, de vrije vogel (the free
bird), for the children's show Fabeltjeskrant. Aart Staartjes Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter