Born in The Hague, Netherlands on October 24, 1921, Antoon ‘Tom’ Manders was a comedian, cabaret performer, artist, and entertainer who is best remembered for creating the character Dorus. At a young age, Manders revealed himself - through his drawings - to be a natural artist. He attended the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague and worked for an advertiser, designing posters for the company. He also designed decors for theaters and cabarets. By 1953, he helped to design the Saint-Germain-des-Prés at the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. Attracted to the cabaret shows, he began performing there and created a vagrant character that would eventually become known as Dorus. He became so popular that he was offered his own TV show, which ran several years. In 1956, he began collaborating with organist Cor Steyn and wrote and recorded songs for a series called De Showboat. Many of the songs were released as singles including the number 1 hit “Two Moths” (1957) as well as two other Top 10 hits that year: “My Allotment Garden” and “I Knew You Would Come.” Further hit singles included “In the Navy” (1958), “Figaro” (1962), and “There Is No Beer In Heaven” (1970). In the late 1960s, Tom Manders ran into financial problems in the late 1960s trying to bring Dorus to the big screen but settled on doing more television work and bringing Dorus to the stage in his own theater. By 1971, his career had slowed down although he still remained popular to his longtime supporters. In February 1972, Tom ‘Dorus’ Manders was involved in a car accident. While in the hospital, he was diagnosed with cancer. On February 26, 1972, Tom Manders died of a heart attack at the age of 50. He left behind a legacy of television appearances as well as singles, albums (including Een Uur Met Dorus (1965), Geeft Me de Ruimete! (1970), and Er Zit Een Vogelnestje In M’Kop (1971).
