Paul Haenen ɔɫ 'haːnə(n)(born 30 April 1946) is a Dutch comedian and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

Career

Paul Haenen is a well-known comedian in the Netherlands and also provides the voices of

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was original ...

and other minor characters 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 ...

'', since Sesamstraat's first season in 1976.

Wim T. Schippers Willem Theodoor "Wim T." Schippers (; born 1 July 1942) is a Dutch artist, comedian, television director, and voice actor. During the 1960s, he worked mostly as a visual artist, associated with the international Fluxus-movement. As a television w ...

is responsible for his counterpart

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

. Haenen also translates many of the American Sesame Street songs into Dutch so that they can be used in the Dutch version of the show. It is told that

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

was so impressed by the performances of Haenen and Schippers, that they are the only Bert and Ernie in the world who are allowed to write their own material. Subsequently, Haenen and Schippers have recorded a whole series of self written Bert and Ernie record albums, and they also appear as Bert and Ernie in interviews. Haenen was also the voice of

Edna Mode Edna "E" Mode is a fictional character in Pixar's animated superhero film ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and its sequel ''Incredibles 2'' (2018). She is an eccentric fashion designer renowned for designing the costumes of several famous superheroes, ...

in the Dutch version of

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah V ...

. Haenen uses several other alter egos in his comedy performances, most notably Margreet Dolman (a likeable woman of middle age with remarkable optimism, but lacking knowledge of technology) and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man Father Gremdaat (''Dominee Gremdaat'', who preaches like a pastor about what is wrong with society, and how people should behave instead, with a number of standard expressions).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haenen, Paul 1946 births Living people Dutch male comedians Dutch cabaret performers Dutch male voice actors Male actors from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch people