Biography

Jeroen van Merwijk was a Dutch comedian, painter, and songwriter. He had thirteen individual theater tours between 1986 and 2019. He wrote the lyrics and music for the anti-apartheid song 'Zuid-Afrika' ('South-Africa') (1984), which was recorded by Karin Bloemen, who also performed it in front of Nelson Mandela in 1994. In February 2020, Van Merwijk announced that he had colorectal cancer and cancelled his theater tours. He died in his hometown Sainte-Juliette, France on 3 March 2021, aged 65. A few days after his death, a sign with lyrics of Van Merwijk was placed at train station Utrecht Centraal to honor him.