Arjen was a make-up artist Van Kooten & De Bie for 25 years: ‘We really abused ‘t Gooi, in the good sense of the word’

From son Frank and mother Carla van Putten who shop in Bussum to VVD member R. Hafkamp of the Laren immigration service on the Brink. Many fragments by Kees van Kooten and Wim de Bie were recorded in ‘t Gooi. Arjen van der Grijn was their make-up artist for 25 years. On the radio program NH Throw the Lunch Club he talks about Wim de Bie’s death earlier this week and how ‘t Gooi inspired the comic duo.

From 1973 to 1998, Arjen van der Grijn accompanied the comic duo as a make-up artist. The death of Wim de Bie was also unexpected for him. “I heard on the radio on Monday morning that Wim had died.

In the days that followed, Arjen thought a lot about Wim. “You spend the whole week working on it. I live in the north and walked through Leeuwarden and saw a feral man and then I think I see the Dirk type walking.”

‘t Throw

Many Gooiers recognize the places where Van Kooten and De Bie made their recordings. The reason that there was a lot of filming in ‘t Gooi was mainly a practical one. “We all lived in that area. Wim lived in the Spiegel, Kees lived in Hilversum near Wisseloord, I lived in Muiderberg at the time, producer Maud Keus lived in Amsterdam and sound engineer Roel Bazen lived in Muiden,” he sums up. “It was mainly practical. We exhausted ‘t Gooi a bit and abused it, in the good sense of the word.”

Yet ‘t Gooi could also be a source of inspiration for the duo. For example, the type Dirk is based on a somewhat neglected and confused man from Bussum. In any case, Bussum was often used as a recording location. For example, Frank and Carla van Putten and former German teacher Otto den Beste went shopping there.

Certain types have also acquired a kind of cult status at the location of the recordings. The fragment in which De Bie plays the jovial Laren VVD member R. Hafkamp is still very recognizable among Laren VVD members. “I understand that very well. That is bizarre,” laughs Van der Grijn.

‘modest cog’

Yet Arjen remains very modest about his contribution to the work of Van Kooten and De Bie. “I am now very proud of what we have done, but I was only a modest cog. I only took care of the headlines, but the boys were fantastic. They were both equally sweet to me and unfortunately one is no longer.”