Julius Anton Haalmeyer (May 17, 1949 – February 28, 2025) was a Dutch-Canadian costume designer, best known for doing costume design on several iterations of '' SCTV''. Haalmeyer also worked as a costume designer for many movies, television shows, theatre productions, concerts wardrobes for various artists and specials like '' Bridge to Silence'', ''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1947, and ran for 328 performances. It was directed by Elia Kazan ...

'', ''

Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

'', ''Noddy'', the ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is a children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the American bran ...

'' Family Specials, '' Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales'', ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

'', '' Andrea Martin: Together Again'', and ''

Ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

''.

Early life and career

Juul Haalmeyer was born in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, Netherlands in 1949 and immigrated with his family to the United States in the late 1950s. He lived in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

with his family before coming to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia at the age of 18, to avoid being drafted for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He started his career as a costume designer in 1969, working on TV, movies, and theatre in Toronto.

Personal life and death

Haalmeyer was the son of Albert Haalmeyer, an artist and Trudy ( Staats) Hallmeyer, a nurse. He had one sister and a brother. He died of cancer at the age of 75 on February 28, 2025, at a hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

Juul Haalmeyer Dancers

The Juul Haalmeyer Dancers were a woefully inept troupe of variety show dancers on the television

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

show SCTV. They premiered on series 4, cycle 1, episode 8, titled ''Bouncin' Back to You with The Tubes''.

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian and American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She started her career in sketch comedy, sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before expanding her career taking dra ...

wanted bad dancers for the ''Bouncin' Back to You'' segment with Lola Heatherton. O'Hara auditioned professional dancers, but they couldn't dance poorly, so she asked Haalmeyer, the show's costume designer, to put something together with whoever was available. O'Hara named the dance group The Juul Haalmeyer Dancers because it sounded similar to the

June Taylor Dancers Marjorie June Taylor (December 14, 1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs. Early life Taylor was bo ...

. The dance group changed with each episode they appeared on, with Haalmeyer being the only constant. The dancers were made up of the show's cast members who weren't busy elsewhere, the show's writers, and miscellaneous crew members who were available. All the dancers were dressed identically, with Haalmeyer creating the costumes. The choreography and dance routines were kept simple and jointly developed by the dancers. The signature exit move — fingers pointing down while backing up — was developed by

Eugene Levy Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Known for portraying flustered and unconventional figures, Levy has won multiple accolades throughout his career including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and ...

. The character of "Juul Haalmeyer" was allowed to develop over the course of several episodes and was seen on occasion without the dance troupe. In his final appearance, he and SCTV character Lola Heatherton revealed that they were in a relationship.

Appearances

The Juul Haalmeyer Dancers only appeared on these six episodes of SCTV. * Series 4, cycle 1, episode 8 — ''Bouncin' Back to You with The Tubes'' — (24 July 1981) * Series 4, cycle 2, episode 1 — ''CCCP 1 with Al Jarreau'' — (16 October 1981) * Series 4, cycle 2, episode 7 — ''SCTV Staff Christmas Party'' — (18 December 1981) * Series 4, cycle 3, episode 3 — ''The People's Global Golden Choice Awards with Third World'' — (1 May 1982) * Series 5, cycle 4, episode 4 — ''Jane Eyrehead with Robin Williams and America'' — (26 November 1982) * Series 5, cycle 4, episode 6 — ''Christmas with Catherine O'Hara and Andrae Crouch'' — (17 December 1982) Juul Haalmeyer also appeared as "himself" (i.e. in character, but without the dance troupe) in: * Series 4, cycle 2, episode 3 — "Zontar with Bonar Bain and Natalie Cole" — (30 October 1981) * Series 4, cycle 3, episode 1 — "The Great White North Palace with Tony Bennett" — (16 April 1982) Haalmeyer can also be glimpsed as an extra in a handful of other episodes.

Charity

Haalmeyer was active in charity work, donating costumes to groups such as the acrobatic/dance group ''Fantasy Flyers''.

Filmography

COSTUME DESIGN: YEAR PRODUCER PRODUCTION / PERFORMER CATEGORY # Shows 1999-2000 IMG Skate The Nation with Brian Orser & International Champions Skating Tours
1998-99 PBX/BBC/TVO Noddy Children's Series (44 episodes) * Received EMMY Award for Costume Design Jayne Eastwood, Sean McCann
1994-95 CATALYST / PBS Shining Time Station Children's Special
1993-94 ALLIANCE / FAMILY Mighty Jungle Sitcom (22 episodes)
1993 TOUCHSTONE / DISNEY Cool Runnings, John Candy - Personal Assistant
1989-92 CBC / SALTER STREET FILMS Codco Comedy Series (47 episodes) - Cathy Jones, Greg Malone, Tommy Sexton, Mary Walsh
1990-91 BILL GRAHAM / IMG Skating I & II North American Tour with Brian Boitano / Katarina Witt
1991 McKENNA / GLOBAL / HA! Peeping Tom Comedy Pilot
1989 NORSTAR / SIMPSON / SAGAR Prom Night III – The Last Kiss Film
1989 CDN. CENTRE FOR ADVANCED FILM STUDIES Exposed Film - Co-designed with Sylvie Bonniere
1989 CBS / SHOWTIME Together Again Comedy Special with Andrea Martin
1989 CBS / WHITLEY / SHOWTIME Second City 15th Anniversary Comedy Special with SCTV & Second City Alumni
1988 FAR NORTH / FRIES / CBS Bridge to Silence Movie of the Week with Lee Remick, Marlee Matlin
1988 MALABAR / PITTSBURGH L.O. Annie Get Your Gun Stage Musical
1988 MALABAR / MUNI – ST. LOUIS Grease Stage Musical
1987-88 ALLIANCE / CBS Diamonds Drama Series (22 episodes)
1987 WHITLEY / H.B.O. The Enigma of Bobby Bittman Comedy Special with Eugene Levy
1987 CBC / ROTHMAN Rendezvous 87 Variety Special
1987 CINEMAX Max Campaign Commercials
1986 BRANDMAN / WHITLEY / UNIVERSAL Long Day's Journey Into Night Drama Special with Jack Lemmon / (Key to Willa Kim)
1986 BRANDMAN/WHITLEY/UNIVERSAL/PBS/G.W. All My Sons Drama Special with Aidan Quinn / Michael Learned / James Whitmore
1986 SHOWMAKERS Hollywood Then & Now Stage Productions
1985 SHOWTIME / INTERCHANGE The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood * Winner of A.C.E. Award for Costume Design Comedy Special – Film
1985 SHOWTIME / CBC The Martin Short Comedy Special Comedy Special with SCTV Cast & Christopher Guest
1985 TAFFNER / CTV / G.W. Check It Out Sitcom (start-up)
1985 SHOWMAKERS Young & Alive Stage Production
1980-85 SHOWMAKERS Mary Kay Industrials
1984 ALNDON / CBC Claus Mission Christmas Special
1984 SHOWMAKERS Ontario Bicentennial Tour Stage Production
1984 CANDY / HBO / WHITLEY The Last Polka Comedy Special with John Candy and Eugene Levy
1981-84 OLD FIREHALL / NBC / CINEMAX S.C.T.V. Comedy Series with John Candy / Joe Flaherty / Eugene Levy / Andrea Martin / Rick Moranis / Catherine O’Hara / Martin Short / Dave Thomas
1978-84 BALMUR / CBS / CBC Anne Murray Concert Wardrobe
1980 ESSEX / CBS Castle Rock Drama Special
1980 VALENTINE / TWP Valentine Brown Stage Production * Nominated for Dora Mayor Award for Costume Design
1980 OSMONDS / CTV Big City Comedy Show Comedy Series (12 episodes) with John Candy
1980 CBC Mr. Smith Goes To The Movies Variety Special
1980 SALOME BEY ENTERTAINMENT Indigo Cabaret
1980 ANDROCLES Dinah Christie & Friends Cabaret
1979 OECA Read All About It Children's Series (22 episodes)
1979 CJOH / CTV The Magic Show Variety Special
1979 CJOH / CTV Beauty & The Beast Ballet
1979 WOLF RISSMILLER Jethro Tull – Storm Watch World Tour
1976-78 CHAMPLAIN / CTV The Julie Show Variety Series (44 episodes)
1976-78 CHAMPLAIN / CTV Loto Canada Variety Specials (10 episodes)
1977 DISTORTED REFLECTIONS Dolly Parton Concert Wardrobe (with Patrick Reeves-Aaron)
1976 CBC / HARTLEY The Shari Lewis Special Variety Special
1976 CTV / GLENWARREN The David Steinberg Show Comedy Series (22 episodes)
1976 CTV / BLYE / GLENWARREN The Bobby Vinton Show Variety Series (24 episodes)
1975 HALLMARK / CBS / G.W. Valley Forge Drama Special (Key to Anne Roth)
1975 ABC / CTV Welcome To My Nightmare Variety Special with Alice Cooper
1975 CHAMPLAIN / CTV Kidstuff Children's Series (44 episodes)
1975 OECA Portrait Of The Novel Drama Anthology (6 episodes)
1975 OECA Monkey Bars Children's Series (12 episodes)
1974 NBC / CTV / G.W. Razzle Dazzle Variety Series (12 episodes) (Key to Ret Turner)
1974 ABC / CTV Salem Village Movie of the Week
1973 HALLMARK / FOX The Borrowers Children's Special * Nominated for an EMMY Award, Costume Design with Eddie Albert, Tammy Grimes, Dame Judith Anderson
1973 CTV / WESTINGHOUSE Norman Corwin Presents Anthology Drama Series (22 episodes)
1973 JAN KADAR / PBS The Blue Hotel Film Drama Special
1973 ABC / CTV / G.W. Jack Lemmon – George Gershwin Variety Special (Key to Theoni Aldredge)
1971 ABC / CTV / G.W. Rollin’ On the River Variety Series (32 episodes) with Kenny Rogers & The First Edition (Key to Aleida MacDonald)
1971-74 CTV The Pig & Whistle Variety Series (66 episodes)
1971 NBC / CTV / ROTHMAN / G.W. ½ The George Kirby Comedy Hour Variety Series (18 episodes)
1969-70 MALABAR COSTUMES LTD. International Operas and Musicals Coordinated 200+ productions
1969–present NUMEROUS COMMERCIALS AND INDUSTRIALS
1971–present VARIOUS ARTISTS & SKATERS Performance & Competition Wardrobe & Commercials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haalmeyer, Juul Canadian costume designers 1949 births 2025 deaths Canadian theatre designers