1. Ramses Shaffy was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s.
13 Facts About Ramses Shaffy
1. 2.
Ramses Shaffy's father was an Egyptian diplomat Ramses Shaffy Bey, and his mother was a Polish-Russian countess Alexandra de Wysocka.
3.
When she was infected with tuberculosis, Ramses Shaffy was sent to an aunt in Utrecht.
4.
Ramses Shaffy did not finish high school, but he was accepted at the Amsterdam school of theatre arts in 1952.
5.
Ramses Shaffy went to Rome in 1960 aspiring to be a film actor, but was unsuccessful in the endeavour.
6.
Ramses Shaffy's hit song "We zullen doorgaan" was parodied by comedian Andre van Duin in 1975.
7.
Ramses Shaffy temporarily stopped his habit of heavy drinking when he became a member of the Rajneesh movement in the 1980s.
8.
Ramses Shaffy played Don Quixote in the musical De man van La Mancha in 1993.
9.
Ramses Shaffy had to move to a rest home, suffering from Korsakoff-like symptoms, caused by heavy alcohol use.
10.
Ramses Shaffy's memory improved and he sometimes made public appearances again.
11.
On 5 May 2009 it was made public that Ramses Shaffy suffered from esophageal cancer.
12.
Ramses Shaffy died of the disease in the Dr Sarphati House, Amsterdam, where he had lived the last seven years, on 1 December 2009, aged 76.
13.
In 2014, a four-part drama series about the young Ramses Shaffy titled Ramses was produced by the AVRO for Dutch television.