Actor, director and playwright Helmert Woudenberg died suddenly on Thursday at the age of 78. His son informed the ANP news agency. Woudenberg was in the middle of a theater tour with the play Blind. He died of a heart attack.
After studying at the Amsterdam Theater School, Woudenberg founded the well-known theater collective Het Werktheater. He became known for his roles in feature films Blue Movie, Max Havelaar and Amsterdamned. He also appeared in several TV series, including Cops Maastrichtin which he played the role of Commissioner Eugène Hoeben.
The actor was born in Germany in 1945 and was the grandson of NSB leader Hendrik Jan Woudenberg and the son of former Waffen-SS member Jan Woudenberg. He played about this family history in the performance in 2004 Livable from his friend Ischa Meijer, who survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.