Drs. P

Heinz Hermann Polzer (German pronunciation: [haɪnts ˈhɛrman ˈpɔltsər]; 24 August 1919 – 13 June 2015), better known under his pseudonym Drs. P (Dutch pronunciation: [dɔktoːˈrɑndʏs peː]), was a Swiss singer-songwriter, poet, and prose writer in the Dutch language. Other pseudonyms were Geo Staad, Coos Neetebeem (a variant of the name of Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom) and drandus P.

Life and career

Heinz Hermann Polzer was born on 24 August 1919 in Thun in Switzerland. He had a Dutch mother and an Austrian father who was naturalized to become Dutch. However, born in Switzerland, Polzer had Swiss nationality, which he never changed. After his parents divorced and when he was 3 years old, he and his mother moved to the Netherlands, where he grew up. His mother tongue was Dutch. He achieved a master in economy at the Economische Hogeschool of Rotterdam (currently Erasmus University Rotterdam). Therefore, he could use the academic title of doctorandus (drs.).

In 1942, during the nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he wrote a children's story about Dolf & Ben (Hitler & Mussolini) who were punished by Uncle Sam. He was caught and put to jail in the Oranjehotel for four months, which was extended with two months after he drew a card game with Hitler and Mussolini as jokers. After his release from prison, he fled to Switzerland, where he served in the military from 1942–1944. In 1945, he went to Paris to serve in the Red Cross. After the German capitulation, he went back to the Netherlands.

In 1954, Polzer went to Indonesia, where he worked for an advertising company. He started to write songs. From 1965, he became generally known, after a TV appearance in the show of Willem Duys. Duys called him Drs. P, which he continued to use as his pseudonym. His songs have been covered by other singers, such as Adèle Bloemendaal. In addition, he wrote texts for cabaret by Hetty Blok, Gerard Cox, and Albert Mol.

In 1998, he gave his last concert. A book with the text of all his songs appeared at the same date.

During his lifetime he has written hundreds of songs, thousands of poems, and a lot of prose under the pseudonym Drs. P. "Veerpont" (Ferry; about a ferry going back and forth), "Dodenrit" (Death Ride; about children that are thrown from a sledge by their parents, for wolves to eat them), and "De Zusters Karamazov" (The Karamazov Sisters) are among his better known humoristic songs. Drs. P sung them with his characteristicly cracking voice. He wrote a collection of poems in double dactyl (Olleke bolleke in Dutch). Other poetry forms he invented were the balladet and the triolet.

A recurring theme was vegetables. He wrote a song about brocolli, and about typical Dutch vegetables "Knolraap en lof, schorseneren en prei".

Drs. P. died at the age of 95 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Prizes

• De Nieuwe Clercke-Pico Bello-prijs (1979)
• Cestoda-prijs (1986)
• Kees Stip-prijs (1986)
• Golden Harp (1991)
• Edison Award (1992)
• Tollens Prize (2000)
• Special charter of the Dutch Language Union (2009)