Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
writer.
Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen met een bontjas'' (1980) and ''Hittentit'' (1982).
In Flanders and the Netherlands Urbanus is one of the most popular and famous entertainers of all time.
Career
Urbanus, artist's name of Urbain Joseph Servranckx (
Dilbeek
Dilbeek () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Dilbeek proper, Groot-Bijgaarden, Itterbeek (with Sint-Anna-Pede), Schepdaal (with Sint-Gertrudis-Pede), ...
, 7 June 1949) is a Belgian comedian, singer, guitarist, author of comic books and actor. Originally he used the artist name: Urbanus van Anus. Anus was the name of his former backing group.
In 1973 he began performing
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 ...
and comedy. He became popular in Flanders and managed to duplicate his success in the Netherlands, building a steady career since. He has appeared in TV shows, some which he wrote himself. Urbanus released several musical singles, some of which entered the hit parade.
Urbain went solo in 1974 under the name Urbanus van Anus. After the then BRT (Belgian Radio and Television) asked him for a comic act, he dropped the name "van Anus" and since then it has been simply Urbanus. The first cover of Urbanus live was also drawn by Daniël Geirnaert. His
Christmas song
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
''Bakske Vol Met Stro'' (1979) was controversial for lampooning the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, but also became his
signature song
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
and best-selling record for the very same reasons.
Urbanus considers himself an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, although he wed in the Roman Catholic Church and had his children baptized.
In 2008, he was awarded the
Prize for Liberty
Nova Civitas was a Flanders, Flemish think tank based on the principles of liberalism, classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was ...
by the Flemish think tank
Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas was a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was recognized and supported by the Fl ...
.
Film career
Urbanus starred in three films: ''
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
'' (1987), ''
Koko Flanel
''Koko Flanel'' is a Belgian comedy movie directed by Stijn Coninx starring Urbanus, Bea Van Der Maat, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Herbert Flack and Ann Petersen. The movie was released in 1990 and was until 18 February 2009 the most successful F ...
'' (1990) and ''
Seventh Heaven (1993)''. The two first films were the leaders in the Flemish box offices for many years. His first movie, ''Hector'', directed by
Stijn Coninx
Stijn, Baron Coninx (born 21 February 1957) is a Belgian film director.
Career
He studied film directing at HRITCS (currently Ritcs, at Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel). Baron Coninx is best known for his film ''Daens'', which was nominated for a ...
, won the 1988 international comedy film festival in
Chamrousse
Chamrousse () is a ski resort in southeastern France, in the Belledonne mountain range near Grenoble in the Isère department. It is located in a commune of the same name and is situated on the Recoin at and the Roche Béranger at . The ski- ...
, France.
He also was named best actor by
Radio France
Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...
and
Dauphiné Libéré
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centur ...
. ''Seventh Heaven'' was a
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
. In
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and 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 ...
Urbanus is well-known and very popular since 1974. Although he is most famous as a comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen met een bontjas'' (1980) and ''Hittentit'' (1982).
Urbanus lent his voice to the
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
versions of the
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
movies, ''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
'' and ''
Cars 2
''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated Spy film, spy comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), the second film in the Cars (franchise), ''Cars'' f ...
'', where he was the voice of the character
Mater.
Comics career
Urbanus is script writer of a comics series about a childlike version of himself, ''Urbanus'', which debuted in 1982. The series is drawn by
Willy Linthout
Willy Linthout (born 1 May 1953) is a Belgian comics author, best known for the ''Urbanus'' comics and his graphic novel '' Years of the Elephant''.
Biography
Willy Linthout was born in Eksaarde near Lokeren, Belgium in 1953. He was a mechanic ...
and from the third story on, Urbanus started providing the scenarios.
The comic strip managed to become the longest-running series in the celebrity-inspired genre and new albums are still published to this day.
The comics also sell well in 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 ...
.
Urbanus also writes the gags for the satirical comic ''De Geverniste Vernepelingskes'' (1998), which pokes fun at several Flemish celebrities. It was first drawn by
Jan Bosschaert
Jan Bosschaert (born 15 December 1957) is a Belgian comics artist, painter and illustrator, best known for the comic series ''Sam'' and '' Jaguar'', and his illustrations for the books of Marc De Bel.
Biography
Jan Bosschaert was born in Borge ...
, then
Dirk Stallaert
A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...
and finally
Steven Dupré
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
. Urbanus also writes gags for the children's comics ''Plankgas en Plastronneke'' (2004–2008) and ''Mieleke Melleke Mol'' (since 2003), both drawn by
Dirk Stallaert
A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...
.
Urbanus has also drawn some gag comics himself. He also illustrated many of his own album covers.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Films
Urbanus produced and appeared in several movies:
*''
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
'' (1988)
*''
Koko Flanel
''Koko Flanel'' is a Belgian comedy movie directed by Stijn Coninx starring Urbanus, Bea Van Der Maat, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Herbert Flack and Ann Petersen. The movie was released in 1990 and was until 18 February 2009 the most successful F ...
'' (1990)
*''Les Sept péchés capitaux'' (1992)
*''
De Zevende Hemel'' (1993)
*''Max'' (1994)
*' (2004)
*''
K3 en het IJsprinsesje'' (2007)
Urbanus did voices for the following movies:
*''
March of the Penguins
''March of the Penguins'' ( French ''La Marche de l'empereur'' ; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary dep ...
'' (2005) – narration for the Dutch version
*''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
'' (2006) – voice of
Mater for the Flemish version
References
External links
*
urbanusstrips.blogspot.comUrbanus comic books
{{Authority control (arts)
1949 births
Living people
20th-century Flemish male actors
21st-century Flemish male actors
20th-century Belgian male singers
21st-century Belgian male singers
Belgian atheists
Belgian stand-up comedians
Belgian comedy musicians
Belgian humorists
Belgian pop singers
Belgian rock singers
Belgian singer-songwriters
Belgian male guitarists
Belgian satirists
Belgian surrealist artists
Belgian comics writers
Belgian comics artists
Album-cover and concert-poster artists
Flemish male film actors
Flemish male voice actors
Flemish television writers
People from Dilbeek
Dutch-language singers of Belgium
Surreal comedy
Male television writers
Religious controversies in music
Religious controversies in television
Religious controversies in Belgium
Obscenity controversies in music
Television controversies in Belgium