Bart Frederikus de Graaff (;In isolation, ''Frederikus'' is pronounced . 16 April 1967 – 25 May 2002) was an influential

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

television presenter, comedian and creator, as well as the founder and chairman of the public broadcasting network BNN.

Early life

Bart Frederikus de Graaff was born on 16 April 1967 in Haarlem in the

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. Because of a car accident in his youth in 1976, De Graaff suffered from serious

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

for most of his life. This also caused a growth disorder which caused de Graaff to appear much younger than his actual age. In his career as a television presenter he often used childlike appearance to his advantage. For instance, when he hosted the children's TV show ''B.O.O.S.''.

Career

In 1997, he founded a public broadcasting network, Bart's News Network (BNN). After his death, it was renamed to Bart's Neverending Network. Targeted at a youthful audience, the network quickly became known for its sometimes provocative programming. A television show '' De Grote Donorshow'' (''The Big Donor Show'') by BNN won an Emmy Award for Best Non-scripted Entertainment.

Death

At the end of 1997 De Graaff received a donor kidney and was for a time able to live a relatively normal life. In 1999 the

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

was

rejected ''Rejected'' is an animated film directed by Don Hertzfeldt that was released in 2000. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the following year at the 73rd Academy Awards, and received 27 awards from film festivals ...

and his health deteriorated quickly. De Graaff died on 25 May 2002 at the age of 35.

References

External links

* 1967 births 2002 deaths Deaths from kidney failure Dutch male comedians Dutch people of Indonesian descent Dutch television presenters Dutch children's television presenters Dutch public broadcasting administrators Kidney transplant recipients People from Haarlem 20th-century comedians {{Netherlands-tv-bio-stub