Actor and comedian Jan Blaaser, having made his television debut on Tom Mander's "Een Avond in Saint Germain des Prés", was by 1963 starring in his very own TV special. Filmed in The Singer Concertzaal, Laren, the subject of tonight's show revolves around the different kind of people you see on the street. After a brief introduction and the title song, Jan Blaaser gives a friendly greeting to an older lady passing by, who promptly misunderstands him and soon a group of bystanders joins in on the commotion. It is immediately apparent that although Blaaser is the star, he has surrounded himself by quite a large cast of other comedic actors (Johan Sirag is amongst the group of nosy pedestrians). Subsequently, Blaaser and Piet Hendriks play two barflies, then several people recognize Jan on the street (though one mistakes him for Rijk de Gooyer).
Up next is a sketch set on the ever popular park bench. Jan explains how he sits on a park bench each day waiting for a girl called Pauline he was supposed to meet there years earlier. When another girl, also called Pauline, shows up to wait for her fiancé, Jan asks her to sing a duet with him. This is followed by a sketch set in a dating service. Next up, in a slight departure from the overriding theme, a Shirley Bassey-esquire Diva enters center stage, only to break out in an old Dutch standard. Blaaser follows this by singing one of his own compositions, urging people to go outside. The number is interspersed with a couple of jokes.
Having now completely abandoned the 'people on the street' theme, Jan is introduced as the famous French artiste 'Jean Blaseur' and performs a chanson d'amour. Finally he waxes psychological before saying goodnight. This half hour of black and white comedy and music gives a good impression of the kind of material Jan Blaaser was writing and performing at the time, some 15 years before he became a full time 'Caberatier'. The show is of course very old fashioned and family friendly. Some of the humor reminds me of the kind of stuff they do on Sesame street (or at least they did before Elmo took over). The difference being of course that 'Jan en Alleman' was written for grown ups. Still, it's good to know this kind of Television history is being preserved in Hilversum at the institute for Beeld & Geluid, which is where the programming for Hilversumbest (the golden oldie channel on which I caught this show) is put together.
8 out of 10
