'Speurder Jim' ('t Kapoentje #15, 13 April 1950).
François Cassiers, or Cois Cassiers in short, was a Belgian comedian, best-known for his collaborations with his brother, Jef Cassiers, with whom he formed the duo De Woodpeckers. During the 1940s and 1950s, they were a popular theatrical act. Around the same time, Cois Cassiers was also active as a freelance comic artist, drawing four one-shot adventure stories serialized in the children's magazine 't Kapoentje.
Early life and career
François Cassiers was born in 1927 in Antwerp's Seefhoek neighborhood. Two years later, his younger brother Jef (10 July 1929 – 1 June 1987) was born. Their father worked in the laboratory of the photographic company Gevaert (nowadays Agfa Gevaert), and sparked their love for art by taking his sons to museums and theaters. From an early age, the brothers were enchanted by animation, particularly Walt Disney's feature film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937). Together with their father, they made 9 mm amateur live-action and animated shorts. Cois and Jef studied Plastic Arts at the Academy of Antwerp, with Jef continuing his studies at the Academy of Berchem. However, near the end of World War II, their father died at an early age, plummeting the family on the brink of poverty. At the Academy, Jef Cassiers often stole coal to provide some proper heating at home.
Animated Cartoons
After World War II, the Cassiers brothers started collaborating with Marcel Colbrandt, another student from the Antwerp Academy, and the Belgian animation pioneers Henri Winkeler and Wilfried Bouchery (known for his 1947 stop-motion animated film 'The Crab With The Golden Claws' with Hergé's 'Tintin'). In a villa in Keerbergen, owned by Bouchery, the new team established their own animation studio, called Animated Cartoons. However, Animated Cartoons was forced to discontinue their activities after a fire broke out.
Artec-Studio's
Later in the 1940s, Cois Cassiers joined the Artec-Studio's in Antwerp, founded by comic artist Bob de Moor and his brother-in-law John Van Looveren to produce comic features for Flemish newspapers and magazines. Another artist working for the two brothers-in-law was Armand Van Meulenbroeck. During the late 1940s, the team produced a great many comics for titles like Kleine Zondagsvriend and 't Kapoentje. Since the comics signed with "Artec-Studio's", it is difficult to identify who did what. At least the 'Tim en Tom' feature (1949-1951) is believed to be by Van Meulenbroeck, possibly with contributions by Cois Cassiers. Eventually the Artec-Studio's folded in 1950, when Bob De Moor went to work for Hergé.
In 1950, Cassiers created four comic serials under his own name for 't Kapoentje, the weekly comic supplement of the newspaper Het Volk. Appearing with the signature "Cois", the subsequent serials were 'Freddy Zoekt Het Avontuur' (20 April-17 August 1950), 'Speurder Jim' (19 January-28 May 1950), 'De Goudschat van de Walvis' (13 July-28 December 1950) and 'Verloren In De Wildernis' (3 August 1950-18 January 1951).
Compilation record with Woodpeckers sketches.
De Woodpeckers
After World War II, Cois and Jef Cassiers became famous as the comedy duo De Woodpeckers. As true cartoon fans, they based their name on Walter Lantz' Woody Woodpecker and also used a recording of the bird's theme song as their introduction music. Initially, they started performing in bars to receive free drinks, but this led to a professional career, where they became one of the top acts in dancing 'Rhythm Garden' in Merksem and Anton Peters' 'De Cyrano' in Antwerp. Soon they played in theaters all over Flanders.
The comedy of De Woodpeckers owed much of their success to the folksy atmosphere. The Cassiers Brothers spoke in Antwerp slang, and their material relied heavily on farcical situations, slapstick and Jef's ability to pull silly faces. In some sketches, they mimed along with recordings by the humorous musician Spike Jones. Cois was often the straight man to Jef's funny antics, while their difference in height was also used for comedic contrast.
De Woodpeckers additionally appeared in six local comedy films, also starring Jef Van der Heyden and Edith Kiel. Comedian Gaston Berghmans, later famous in his own right, also made his film debut in these pictures. When television made its introduction in Flanders in 1953, the Woodpeckers also appeared in some of its variety shows. Since the public channel N.I.R. (from 1960 on B.R.T.) had a policy to "educate" the masses and insisted on using standard Dutch instead of slang, the brothers spoke in a more "civilized" language than in their theater act. While TV increased their fame, it also meant the end of their Woodpeckers act. Jef Cassiers later reflected: "TV exhausted all our material in only two hours time: sketches on which we could normally rely on for two years, touring the country."
De Woodpeckers: Jef (left) and Cois Cassiers (right).
Television career
Following the credo "if you can't beat them, join 'em", the Cassiers brothers decided to work for television instead. Cois became a cameraman for the Flemish public network B.R.T., while Jef worked as a director and actor. They made sketch comedy shorts based on 'Het Manneke' (sometimes spelled as 'Het Manneken'), a character played by Jef Cassiers with a characteristic long scarf. Cois sometimes played bit parts, like a meddling policeman. Some of the gags were written by Hugo Renaerts, who later scripted comics for Frank Sels and Studio Willy Vandersteen. Broadcast between 1961 and 1963, the slapstick sketches were usually programmed right before the news. Thanks to the pantomime comedy, 'Het Manneke' was easily syndicated to foreign television stations, including NBC. However, the "middle man" of this financial deal with NBC eventually disappeared without a trace, bringing Jef Cassiers into serious debt and trouble with the Belgian tax authorities.
In 1962, 'Het Manneke' was also adapted into a gag-a-day comic strip, published in the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws and the magazine Kwik. Jef Cassiers wrote the gags, with Pil as the original artist until in 1962 he passed the pencil to Paul Ausloos and Mark Payot. The comic ran until 'Het Manneke' was canceled on TV. In 1963, the gags were collected in two books by Zuidnederlandse Uitgeverij.
Jef Cassiers' fame increased when he played the role of the funny dwarf De Alverman in the children's TV series 'Johan en de Alverman' (1965-1966). The show was not only a success in Flanders, but also in The Netherlands and Italy. It also spawned a comic strip adaptation, 't Alvermanneke' (1966-1967), serialized in De Weekbode. The comic combined publicity stills and photos from 'Johan en de Alverman' with drawn backgrounds by Wally Van Looy. The BRT network registered a complaint, claiming copyright infringement. However, Cassiers could prove that the word "alverman" had already been part of Dutch vocabulary to describe a "good-natured gnome" long before the TV series aired. Jef Cassiers played the part of Blabber the spy in 'Midas' (1967-1968). Despite his media fame, he got annoyed that people recognized him in the street or constantly expected him to make jokes. From the 1970s on, he therefore became more preoccupied with behind-the-scenes work, producing children's TV shows and more general entertainment productions.
Meanwhile, Cois Cassiers remained a reliable cameraman on other TV productions. He helped out with the human interest show 'Echo' (1961-1973), and often travelled across the country to shoot his items with interesting common people.
Final years and death
Cois Cassiers, just like his brother Jef, struggled with alcoholism throughout most of his life. In 1971, he passed away at age 44. His brother's death shocked Jef, who decided to get a grip on his own drinking behavior. Both siblings were passionate about drawing. Cois made many portraits and paintings, and Jef enjoyed drawing cartoons, even next to his signatures for fans. However, their media activities prevented them from making this a long-term graphic career.
Later career of Jef Cassiers
In 1983, Jef Cassiers directed the children's TV science fiction series 'Xenon' (1984). A comic book adaptation, drawn by Guido Malisse, a set designer for the B.R.T., was considered. Since Malisse needed more photographic reference material and a different script, Cassiers promised to help him. However, since the comic book couldn't be finished before the final episode of 'Xenon' was broadcast, the project was canceled.
In 1984, Jef Cassiers finally fulfilled a lifelong dream: make a full-length animated feature film, 'Jan Zonder Vrees', incidentally the first Flemish animated feature film too. Based on the folklore character Jan Zonder Vrees, particularly the children's stories written by Constant De Kinder, the film was directed by Jef Cassiers and Dirk De Paepe, while people like Borge Ring, Nicole Van Goethem and Marc Verhaegen worked on the animation. Cassiers also provided the storyboards. In earlier decades, the folkloric character had already inspired several comic strip adaptations, among others by Roderyck, Jan Waterschoot, Willem Dolphyn and Joke. Unfortunately, the film didn't earn its money back at the box office, leading up to PEN's bankruptcy. However, the picture has remained popular in TV reruns.
Although Jef Cassiers considered making another animated feature, this time an adaptation of Frederik Van Eeden's children's novel 'De Kleine Johannes', he needed a proper financial investor first. The project never came to fruition. In 1987, Jef and his son Guy Cassiers appeared on stage together in an adaptation of Harold Pinter's 'The Birthday Party' (translated as 'De Moed Om Te Doden'). One night, Jef suddenly had a black-out and ran off stage. His son kept the show going until his father reappeared and said the performance had to be canceled: everybody could ask for their money back. At first, the audience laughed, thinking it was a joke, but they started booing once it became clear that Cassiers was serious. It turned out he had undiagnosed terminal cancer, which already started affecting his memory. He died in 1987, at age 57.
Cois Cassiers.