Dik Bruynesteyn was one of the Netherlands' best known sports cartoonists, and the creator of the popular football comic 'Appie Happie'. He was born Dick Bruijnesteijn in Rotterdam, and published his first cartoon in Dagblad van het Noorden in 1947. While fulfilling his civil service, he succeeded Bob Uschi as the sports cartoonist of De Haagsche Courant in 1948, as well as Sportwereld. He became a full-time illustrator for the journal Het Vrije Volk in 1953. In 1959 he co-founded the sports magazine Sport-Toto for which he made the football strips 'Kris Krek' and 'Otto' (1959-60).
When the magazine went bankrupt, Bruynesteyn created 'Fritzchen Wunder' for the German magazine Der Kicker, while still doing sports illustrations and caricatures for other publications. He also illustrated the Bob Spaak sport's section in Dutch comic magazine Pep..
In 1967 he created 'Appy Happy' for Het Vrije Volk, a comic about a football team. He replaced it with 'Chris Crack' two years later, but returned to 'Appie Happie' in 1970, this time spelled in Dutch. This comic became Bruynesteyn's most famous creation. Based on the events of the day, the strip ran for many years in Het Parool and other regional newspapers.
In addition, Bruynesteyn has been involved in television shows like 'Sport in Beeld' en 'Studio Sport'. During his career, Bruynesteyn has worked as a sports cartoonist for papers like Het Vrije Volk, Parool, NRC and De Pers. He remained active well after reaching the retirement age, and passed away in Hoorn in April 2012.
On 22-23 October 2005, during the Stripdagen in Houten, Bruynesteyn won the Bulletje en Boonestaakschaal, which he received alongside Dick Vlottes and Jan van der Voo.
