Donald Towe Jones (January 24, 1932 – November 5, 2004) was an American-Dutch actor, singer and dancer; born in Harlem, he went to 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 ...

in his early twenties and became one of the first Dutch black stars.

Biography

Born in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Jones originally trained to be an advertising designer. He moved to the

in 1954 with a dance troupe. He was hired by a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

company and began a career singing, acting, and dancing. He was hired for the very first Dutch television show, the 1950s television hit ' (written by Annie M.G. Schmidt), in which he played Dinky Henderson, who sings the song " Ik zou je het liefste in een doosje willen doen," a Dutch hit and now one of the

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

in the musical comedy genre. This made Jones the first black star in the Netherlands. Jones played in many Dutch shows, movies (''

Grijpstra & De Gier ''Grijpstra & De Gier'' is a 1979 Dutch crime film directed by Wim Verstappen. It is based on the eponymous novel series by Jan Willem van de Wetering (although his name is usually styled Janwillem van de Wetering), specifically ''Het lijk in d ...

'', 1979), and theatrical productions, and in television shows such as ' and ''

Pipo de Clown Pipo de Clown is a character created by writer and artist Wim Meuldijk, which became famous as the lead character of a popular early Dutch television series also written by Meuldijk, and which was subsequently popularized in movies and on records. ...

''. Jones was one of the artists who recorded the song ''Shalom from Holland'' (written by

Simon Hammelburg Simon Hammelburg (Amsterdam, February 28, 1952 – Marbella, June 15, 2022) was a Dutch entertainer, songwriter, journalist, and Holocaust educator. He died in Marbella 15 June 2022. Prior to the first Gulf War (1991) Hammelburg produced th ...

and Ron Klipstein) as a token of solidarity to the Israeli people, threatened by missiles from Iraq, during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Personal life

He married Dutch actress ; they were the first well-known mixed couple in the country. Their son, (born 1963), went on to become an actor and comedian.

Death

Donald Jones died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

of a heart attack on November 5, 2004 at the age of 72. He was cremated and the ashes were placed at the Westgaarde Cemetery.

References

External links

* * 1932 births 2004 deaths People from Harlem Dutch male film actors Dutch male television actors 20th-century Dutch male singers Dutch male dancers American emigrants to the Netherlands Naturalised citizens of the Netherlands Dutch people of African-American descent American male film actors American male television actors American male dancers African-American male actors 20th-century African-American male singers African-American male dancers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Dutch male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers {{Netherlands-actor-stub