Frank Aendenboom

Frank Aendenboom (24 October 1941 – 31 March 2018) was a Belgian stage, movie and television actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1960.

Theatre career Aendenboom started drama training in 1960 at the then very young Studio Herman Teirlinck, which was not officially recognized at the time. In 1964, he joined the KNS in Antwerp as an actor. There, he impressed in many great plays by Molière, Shakespeare, Chekhov and other classical playwrights. A year later, the young actor was known all over Flanders. This was due not only to his performances on stage, but especially to the youth series Johan en de Alverman, which the BRT released as a successor to Kapitein Zeppos, the television series that brought immense popularity. The series also appeared on Italian, German and Swedish television.

He experienced his breakthrough as a stage actor in 1974 with his portrayal of The Poor Killer by Czech author Pavel Kohout directed by Walter Tillemans. This allowed him to win the DR. Oscar De Gruyter prize.

Television career After his time on stage, he began to focus more and more on television for more commercial channels.

In the early 1980s, he was increasingly seen on television and in the cinema, in over 40 films, including playing the lead role of the tragic character Georges in Hugo Claus' Flemish film Vrijdag (1980). He also played the role of Robrecht van Bethune in The Lion of Flanders (1985), also directed by Hugo Claus. Other film roles included Achiel Mattheusen in Hector (1987) and Kamiel Frateur in Frits & Freddy (2010). On television, he starred, among others, in the successful series Lili en Marleen (1994-2010), in which he played the character Rik, the rag-and-bone man and owner of the house with the café on Koolkaai in Antwerp. He continued to play this role for 130 episodes. Other well-known series he starred in were Matroesjka's (2005), the series about trafficking in women, and Crimi Clowns (2012-2018). Aendenboom was also the narrator in the 1998 musical Snow White and in the 2001 musical Robin Hood. He was also the narrator in the 2011 musical Alice in Wonderland. All three productions were by Studio 100.

Retirement When he announced his retirement from his long and rich career in theatre, television and films on 3 September 2014, he did so with a certain professional detachment. He argued that acting was for him a profession like any other. In fact, he largely saw it purely as a way to make a living, and then said a final goodbye to big business and to his successful career of almost 55 years. He had problems due to diabetes, which he had suffered from for 20 years, and decades of smoking. During his final years, Aendenboom led a somewhat reclusive life. Frank Aendenboom died unexpectedly in his sleep on the night of 30–31 March 2018.

Filmography

Movies

1962: De Wrok van Achilleus 1965: De Mooiste Ogen van de Wereld 1965: Sweet Mystery of Life 1966: Anna Kleiber 1966: Als het kindje binnenkomt 1966: Starkadd 1968: De Geboorte en Dood van Dirk Vandersteen jr. 1968: Hebben 1968: Warenar 1968: Het Huis met de Kamers 1969: Klucht van de brave Moordenaar 1971: Een Zachtmoedige Vrouw 1972: Driekoningenavond 1973: Harlekijn, kies je Meester 1974: Ter ere van... 1974: De Vrek 1974: Hobson's Dochters 1976: De Torenkraan 1976: Voorjaarsontwaken 1976: De Nachttrein naar Savannah Georgia 1977: In Perfecte Staat 1978: Gejaagd door de winst (of het ABC van de moderne samenleving) 1979: Mijn Vriend 1979: Thérèse Raquin 1980: Hellegat 1980: Vrijdag 1981: De Man die niet van Gedichten hield 1981: Een Familie 1982: La Musica 1982: De Waanzin van Huigen van der Goes 1985: De Leeuw van Vlaanderen 1986: Paniekzaaiers 1986: Het gezin van Paemel 1987: Skin 1987: Hector 1989: Blueberry Hill: A Love Story from the Fifties 1989: Het sacrament 1995: She Good Fighter 1995: Brylcream Boulevard 2010: Frits & Freddy 2013: Crimi Clowns: De Movie 2016: Crimi Clowns 2.0: Uitschot 2016: Pippa

Television series

1960: Het geheim van Killary Harbour 1961: Tijl Uilenspiegel 1962: Zanzibar 1965: Johan en de Alverman 1978: Dirk van Haveskerke 1986: Het Wassende Water 1987: De Dwaling 1991: Ramona 1991: De Bossen van Vlaanderen 1994: De Put 1994: Heterdaad 1994-1999, 2003, 2006-2007, 2009-2010: Lili en Marleen 1996, 2002: Wittekerke 2000-2002: Simsala Grimm 2003-2005: Hallo België! 2005: Russian Dolls: Sex Trade 2012-2017: Crimi Clowns