Actor and presenter Maarten Spanjer dies
Spanjer was 73 and was known for Taxi, films and television roles.
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Actor and presenter Maarten Spanjer has died at the age of 73. He became best known for the television programme Taxi, in which he conducted conversations with passengers as a disguised taxi driver.
Spanjer was born in Amsterdam and made his breakthrough as an actor with his role in Paul Verhoeven’s Spetters. He later appeared in television programmes and series, including Boks and Laat maar zitten. He also appeared in film adaptations of the Kameleon books.
In Taxi, Spanjer drove through Dutch cities with a hidden camera in the 1990s. The programme combined conversations with unsuspecting passengers with improvisation as a driver. The series won a Golden Rose at the Montreux television festival in 1995.
Alongside his work as an actor and presenter, Spanjer wrote columns and short stories. He published several books and remained visible in recent years as a columnist and television personality.
According to NOS, Spanjer had been ill for some time. The broadcaster based the report of his death on reporting by De Telegraaf and spoke to people involved in his career for a retrospective. The exact medical details are not necessary for the news of his death.
Spanjer belonged to a generation of creators who moved effortlessly between film, television, advertising and writing. His fame did not come from one genre, but from a combination of recognisable characters, improvisation and a direct style with ordinary television passengers.
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The biographical facts come from reporting by NOS and NOS Teletekst. No unverified personal details have been added.