Willem Edsger "Bill" van Dijk (born 22 December 1947) is a Dutch singer and musical performer. He is best known for his rendition of the ''

Wilhelmus "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus" ( nl, Het Wilhelmus, italic=no; ; English translation: "The William"), is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572 ...

'' (the national anthem of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

), which he performed on countless occasions in football stadiums. Moreover, Van Dijk worked on various musical productions. In 1982, he represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. His song, "Jij en ik", written by Dick Bakker (music), Liselore Gerritsen (lyrics) and Peter Schön (musical arrangement), failed to make an impression in Harrogate: it finished 16th with only 8 points. He performed voices on ''

Sesamstraat ''Sesamstraat'' () is a Dutch television series in the Netherlands, and a spin-off of the U.S. children's program ''Sesame Street''. In its early days the show was broadcast in Flanders (Belgium) as well. It is the second longest-running foreign ...

'', the Dutch co-production of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

''. Van Dijk did the voices of

Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt Franklin is a Muppet who was featured on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'' during the early 1970s. Fictional character biography He is purple with shaggy black hair that stands on end. His name is a play on the name ...

Clementine A clementine (''Citrus × clementina'') is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange ( ''C.'' × ''deliciosa'') and a sweet orange (''C. × sinensis''), named in honor of Clément Rodier, a French missionary who fir ...

, and many of the rock singers on the show (such as Little Chrissy and Bip Bipadotta). He was active on Sesamstraat until the early 1990s. Van Dijk portrayed the title character in both the Dutch and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

productions of '' Cyrano: The Musical'' in the early 1990s. He also played one of the lead roles in the Dutch production of the musical ''

HAIR Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' in the early 1970s, performing in Amsterdam at The Desmet Theatre and touring throughout the country. He also played

Clopin Clopin Trouillefou (, literally "Lame Fear-Fool") is a fictional character first created in the 1831 novel ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' by French author Victor Hugo, and subsequently adapted. In the novel In the story, Clopin disrupts Pierre ...

in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film) ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' is a 1996 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 34th Disney animated feature film and the seventh produced during the Disney ...

in the Dutch version.

References

1947 births Living people Dutch male musical theatre actors Musicians from Rotterdam Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1982 Nationaal Songfestival contestants {{Netherlands-actor-stub