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Donald Jones (actor)

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Donald Jones
Jones in 1983
Born
Donald Towe Jones

(1932-01-24)January 24, 1932
Harlem, New York City
DiedNovember 5, 2004(2004-11-05) (aged 72)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
  • singer
Years active1954–2004
Spouse
(m. 1963)
ChildrenJohn Jones [nl]

Donald Towe Jones (January 24, 1932 – November 5, 2004) was an American-Dutch actor, singer and dancer; born in Harlem, he went to the Netherlands in his early twenties and became one of the first Dutch black stars.

Biography

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Born in Harlem, New York Jones originally trained to be an advertising designer.[1] He moved to the Netherlands in 1954 with a dance troupe. He was hired by a cabaret company and began a career singing, acting, and dancing. He was hired for the very first Dutch television show, the 1950s television hit Pension Hommeles [nl] (written by Annie M.G. Schmidt), in which he played Dinky Henderson, who sings the Cor Lemaire [nl] song "Ik zou je het liefste in een doosje willen doen,"[2] a Dutch hit and now one of the standards in the musical comedy genre. This made Jones the first black star in the Netherlands.[2]

Jones played in many Dutch shows, movies (Grijpstra & De Gier, 1979), and theatrical productions, and in television shows such as Mik & Mak [nl] and Pipo de Clown.[2] Jones was one of the artists who recorded the song Shalom from Holland (written by Simon Hammelburg and Ron Klipstein) as a token of solidarity to the Israeli people, threatened by missiles from Iraq, during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Personal life

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He married Dutch actress Adèle Bloemendaal [nl]; they were the first well-known mixed couple in the country.[1] Their son, John Jones [nl] (born 1963),[3] went on to become an actor and comedian.[2]

Death

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Donald Jones died in Amsterdam of a heart attack on November 5, 2004, at the age of 72. He was cremated and the ashes were placed at the Westgaarde Cemetery.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Rubing, Lies (November 8, 2004). "Donald Jones overleden". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Retrieved March 2, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d "Donald Jones overleden". de Volkskrant. November 7, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  3. ^ "Verjaardagen 29 september". Haarlems Dagblad. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
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Media related to Donald Jones at Wikimedia Commons