Abraham "Appie" Bueno de Mesquita (July 23, 1918 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

– August 19, 2005 in Lelystad) was a Dutch comedian,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and stage artist, well known for his ability to make funny faces. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Bueno de Mesquita was imprisoned in the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on account of being

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, and was scheduled to be deported to Auschwitz. However, the camp commander was looking for musicians. His ability to play a one string cello combined with his mimical talents saved his life. Bueno de Mesquita was one of the first television artists, starring on-screen as early as 1952, Bueno de Mesquita appeared on television as a comedian. In the 1960s, he produced shows with , both on television and in theaters. In 1968, he started working with

Rudi Carrell Rudi Carrell (born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar; 19 December 1934 – 7 July 2006) was a Dutch entertainer. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, he was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in ...

on German television, which he continued doing for 13 seasons. Since his name was hard to pronounce for many Germans, he was known as "the small one with the moustache". He has stated that his success in making Germans laugh sometimes felt like a small revenge. Beside working with Rita Corita and Rudi Carrell, he also worked a lot with , both on television and the theaters. He wrote an autobiography titled ''Cello met één snaar'' (''Cello with one string''). After a long illness with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

and a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

, Bueno de Mesquita died on August 18/19, 2005, in his hometown of Lelystad at the age of 87.

External links

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Varieté-artiest Bueno de Mesquita overleden
(Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bueno De Mesquita, Abraham 1918 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Sephardi Jews 21st-century Sephardi Jews Deaths from brain cancer in the Netherlands Deaths from lung cancer in the Netherlands Dutch male film actors Dutch Sephardi Jews Dutch television personalities Jewish Dutch comedians Male actors from Amsterdam Nazi concentration camp survivors