Ageeth Scherphuis

Ageeth Scherphuis (30 March 1933 – 16 April 2012) was a Dutch journalist who broke into television, initially as an announcer. She went on to work in children's television. Subsequently she worked as a television reporter, moderator, commentator and programme maker, achieving a number of significant "firsts for a woman" in the process. In her later career she used her fame to become an articulate advocate for feminist causes. Posthumously it is both for her television work and as an influential women's rights advocate that she is remembered and, by admirers, celebrated.

Biography Provenance and early years Alberta Geertruida "Ageeth" Scherphuis was born, the elder of her parents' two daughters, at Zaandam, a commercially dynamic town with a rich maritime history. it was not directly through her foreign language skills that Ageeth Scherphuis made her way in life. Instead, by 1953 she had decided to pursue a career as a journalist. The editor-in-chief shared in the widespread view that being both a woman and a journalist at the same time was problematic: Scherphuis joined as an editorial assistant. She persisted, however, submitting for publication a report on the placement of a new rooster-figure on the church tower at Zaandam. During the rest of her time with De Typhoon she produced contributions on an eclectic mix of topics, amply demonstrating her journalistic aptitude. She herself would later describe journalism as "a sort of addiction" ("een soort verslaving"). She was an instant hit with viewers: this continued to amaze her through early part of her career.

That year she became the permanent replacement for Mies Bouwman as a television announcer with AVRO. (Mies Bouwman, on returning to the television studios, also continued to enjoy a successful television career. ) Scherphuis was now "the face of AVRO" and on 21 September 1967 she became the first television announcer in the Netherlands to appear on the small screen in colour. She wore a lemon-yellow dress for the occasion, which involved introducing an interview with a government minister called Leo de Block. The Minister for Economic Affairs had apparently not planned for the technological advance with such care: his uncompromisingly dark grey suit attracted comment.

Following her 1956 breakthrough into television Scherphuis quickly tired of appearing on the small screen simply an announcer. She was keen to expand her television career: but that was not easy. In 1984 she would tell an interviewer: "I was there because of how I looked, and there was not much more for me to do. In retrospect, I figured that became the basis for my feminism". ("Ik was daar vanwege mijn uiterlijk en iets anders viel er niet te doen.) Ik denk achteraf dat daar de basis ligt voor mijn feminisme". Involvement in more television productions followed. These included the news programme "Scala" and arts-culture programmes such as "Kunstgrepen" and "Uit de kunst". During the 1970s she was increasingly involved not just fronting television programmes, but also in making and producing them. In this she was, according to at least one commentator, ahead of her time. Scherphuis herself saw the series as an important turning point in the on-going debate on women's rights: "In my opinion we set something rolling with it: thoughtful consideration about the situation and position of women". Scherphuis retired, formally, in 1998, but continued to contribute to Vrij Nederland on a freelance basis for two more years.

The year after death of her son by her first marriage Scherphuis remarried, on 15 July 1961. Bert Sprenkeling (1934-2012), her second husband was a newspaper photographer with the centre-left daily newspaper Amsterdam-based newspaper, Het Parool. Scherphuis relocated the short distance from Zaandam, and the couple made their home near the Rijksmuseum in south-central Amsterdam. By the time the marriage was dissolved, on 16 July 1969, it had been blessed through the birth of the couple's daughter.