Wim Kan

Who was Wim Kan?

Willem Cornelis "Wim" Kan was a Dutch cabaret artist. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld, he is considered to be one of the Great Three of Dutch cabaret.

In 1933 Wim Kan married cabaret star Corry Vonk and in 1936 together they established the ABC Cabaret, which soon became one of the most successful Dutch cabaret groups, in which several artists debuted who later became famous.

In 1940 the ABC Cabaret was touring the Dutch East Indies, and because of the German invasion could not return to the Netherlands. After the Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies, Wim Kan and his wife were deported to camps at the Burma Railway. Because of his experiences at these camps he later agitated against Hirohito's visit to the Netherlands in 1971.

Wim Kan is possibly best known as the originator of the tradition of the so-called "Oudejaarsconferences". These are performances of political cabaret on New Year's Eve, discussing the events of the past year. Wim Kan made the first oudejaarsconference in 1954, which was broadcast on radio. His first televised oudejaarsconference was in 1973, scoring an audience measurement of 75% and record appreciations rating of 8.8. Although he actually made only 5 television conferences, they made such an impact that many people remember it as a yearly tradition. Many politicians had worries about what Wim Kan would say about them, but it was considered that the worst thing that could happen to them was that they were not mentioned at all - this was taken as a sign that a politician's career was over.