Kees van Maasdam (1928 - March 31, 2019) married his partner
Herman Stok in 2000, after 50 years together.Husband Herman Stok
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Prinsengracht, 1017 KP Amsterdam, Netherlands
Kees van Maasdam (1928 - March 31, 2019) married his partner
Herman Stok in 2000, after 50 years together.
Kees van Maasdam was a presenter and announcer, who had been interested in radio from an early age. Together with friend and later partner Herman Stok, he came up with the idea for a youth broadcaster. To this end, they set up the Jaro (Youth Amateur Radio Broadcaster) which had its office in the house of Van Maasdam's mother. There they could use a room. Other well-known radio makers, such as Joop van Zijl and Dick Verkijk, also participated in the programs of the Jaro before they later became nationally known.
The programs, initially recorded on lacquer records, had not only reached the listeners nationwide (via the VPRO), Radio Bremen was also interested and had broadcast programs. In the attic they set up a studio with a signal that was also used in Hilversum. A youth broadcaster for all young Europeans with its own transmission frequency was not possible without the support of politicians and so shortly after the war the Jaro was eventually abolished.
On the initiative of Herman Broekhuizen and with the support of the AVRO board, the idea of Stok and Van Maasdam in a somewhat modified form became reality under the name Minjon. They could later use the experience they gained with it as professionals employed by the VARA. Van Maasdam went to work at the youth department of the VARA and when the regular presenter of the youth program Op de disselwagen dropped out, he proposed Herman Stok as a replacement. Stok was doing so well that he eventually became a permanent employee.
With Stok, Van Maasdam founded the management agency "Pop Studio" and they represented, among others, the Torero's, a successful Hilversum band. Van Maasdam did broadcasting services for the VARA and presented in the 1970s the program A remarkably cheerful varied visite, a request record program from the country where the listener could request between twelve and two records and ccould also have a chat with Van Maasdam. The program was mainly broadcast from cafes in the Achterhoek and Twenthe. The bar owners liked to have the program broadcast from their bar because it generated advertising and extra revenue.
A number of van Maasdam's exclamations during Merry Visit became nationally known: "The sweat is in my skirt ties" and "Get off my back" if the audience became too intrusive. Originally, the program was produced by Co de Kloet and later by Willem van Beusekom, who also fell in during Van Maasdam's illness and holidays. The last broadcast was in December 1975 from Hengelo (O) and was a special one. Van Maasdam promised the permanent team of technicians of the program that it would be their best broadcast and he knew that.
Van Maasdam and Stok left VARA in 1988, when director Marcel van Dam had to cut back to keep VARA afloat.
Kees van Maasdam had been available for everything at the radio and had also presented the programs Ringo and Music from studio one. Later he worked in the music department of the VARA.
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