Robert Long (22 October 1943 in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

as Jan Gerrit Bob Arend (Bob) Leverman – 13 December 2006 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

) was a Dutch singer and television presenter.

Biography

Under the stage name "Bob Revel" he founded the band The Yelping Jackals in 1963. In 1967 he moved to another band, called Unit Gloria (at that time using the name Gloria). In 1971 he began to sing solo, under the name "Robert Long", a reference to his height. Only a year later he left Unit Gloria to concentrate on his solo career. He started singing in English, but soon after he also began to sing self-written songs in Dutch. His Dutch songs were critical of Dutch society and of American politics. Of his first Dutch album in 1974, ''Vroeger of Later'' (Sooner or Later) more than half a million records were sold and continued to be a best seller for 118 consecutive weeks. During this period the album reached the top of the charts three times. Also his second album ''Levenslang'' (Lifelong) scored well with sales of more than 300,000. In 1977 he was awarded the first of a total of six Edison Music Awards. During the 80s he scored a top 10 hit in the Netherlands with his song "Iedereen doet 't" (Everybody does it). Subsequent albums were also sold well. In the late 80s Long appeared on television presenting a show called ''Mijn geheim'' (My secret). Despite this new career he received some negative reactions, although the show itself was successful. Soon afterwards he switched to another television network, presenting ''Tien voor taal'' (An A for spelling). In 1986 Long began writing columns for the Dutch newspaper

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' (; ), also known by its initialism ''AD'' () is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is headquartered i ...

. A selection of these columns was released in a book in 1990 using the title ''Vandaag geen nieuws'' (No news today). During this period he presented the television show ''Fantastico. T''ogether with Dimitri Frenkel Frank Long composed the Dutch musical Chekhov (based upon the life of the Russian writer

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

), which was a big success in the Netherlands, but the German version in which Long also participated, was less popular. In 1988 Long published his debut novel ''Wat wil je nou''. In 1998 a revealing book containing letters was released. Letters about life, death, love, sex, work and colleagues were made public by him and Cees van der Pluijm using the title ''Beste Robert, Waarde Cees''. On 8 September 2005 Long suffered a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and was treated with

angioplasty Angioplasty, also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, is a minimally invasive procedure, minimally invasive endovascular surgery, endovascular Medical procedure, procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructe ...

. Later that year, on 6 December 2005 Long married his Belgian boyfriend and manager Kristof Rutsaert, 28 years his junior. The marriage ceremony was performed by fellow singer and actor

Gerard Cox Gerardus Antonius "Gerard" Cox (born 6 March 1940, Rotterdam) is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist, actor, and director. For fifteen years, he played the lead character of the Dutch sitcom '' Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon''. Life In 2018, Cox had a l ...

, a close friend of Long. On 4 December 2006 it was announced he was suffering from a

terminal illness Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, rather than fatal injur ...

as he was admitted to hospital with cancer. Robert Long died on 13 December 2006 at 11 pm in a hospital in

at the age of 63.

Discography

Albums

*1974 ''Vroeger of later'' – NED: 2× Platinum *1975–1976 ''Scherts, satire, songs & ander snoepgoed'' (play from a theatre show with Robert Long, Jenny Arean, Jerôme Reehuis and Dimitri Frenkel Frank) *1977 ''Levenslang'' – NED: Platinum *1980 ''Homo Sapiens'' – NED: Gold *1984 ''Dag kleine jongen'' – NED: Platinum *1984 ''Liefste, mijn liefste'' *1986 ''Achter de horizon'' – NED: Platinum *1988 ''Hartstocht'' – NED: Gold *1988 ''Goud op zilver'' – NED: Gold *1989 ''Liedjes uit de krullentijd'' *1990 ''Het onherroepelijke FANTASTICO album'' *1992 ''Voor mijn vrienden'' – NED: Gold *1993 ''Het allerbeste van'' (subtitle: 50 jaar goed ter been en nog geen lintje) – NED: Gold *1994 ''In die dagen'' *1994 ''Uit liefde en respect'' – NED: Gold *1996 ''Nu'' *1997 ''Uit liefde en respect voor Gershwin'' *1999 ''Lang genoeg jong'' *2000 ''Vanavond tussen 8 en 11 LIVE'' *2002 ''Brand!'' *2006 '' 'n Duivels Genoegen''

Singles

*1973 ''Let us try'' *1973 ''I believe in love'' *1984 ''Heeft een kind een toekomst'' *1986 ''Iedereen doet 't'' *1987 ''Geef ons vrede'' *1988 ''Ai lof joe so'' *1988 ''Vanmorgen vloog ze nog''

Theater

* 1974 – Robert Long (met

Cobi Schreijer Cobi or COBI may refer to: People * Cobi (musician) (Jacob Michael Schmidt, born 1986), an American musician * Cobi Crispin (born 1988), an Australian wheelchair basketball player * Cobi Hamilton (born 1990), an American football player * Cobi Jo ...

) * 1975 – Scherts, satire, songs en ander snoepgoed (met Jenny Arean, Dimitri Frenkel Frank en Jérôme Reehuis) * 1976 – En dat is twee (met Nelleke Burg) * 1977 – Levenslang (met Ansje van Brandenberg) * 1978 – Wat ieder meisje weten moet (met Dimitri Frenkel Frank) * 1980 – Duidelijk zo!? (met Leen Jongewaard) * 1982 – Tot hiertoe (heeft de Heere ons geholpen) (met Leen Jongewaard) * 1983 – En het bleef nog lang onrustig in de stad (met Leen Jongewaard) * 1978 – Swingpop (musical) * 1995 – Nu (solo) * 1999 – Lang genoeg jong * 2000 – Cole Porter's songbook * 2002 – Brand (solo) * 2004 – Kerstconcert

TV

*1989–????

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears ''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' is an American animated children's television series created by Jymn Magon and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series, loosely inspired by gummy bear candies, takes place in a fantasy world ...

– Singer Dutch language title song

References

External links

*
Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Robert 1943 births 2006 deaths Dutch pop singers 20th-century Dutch male singers Dutch comedy musicians Dutch folk singers Dutch satirists Dutch satirical musicians Dutch LGBTQ singers Dutch gay musicians Musicians from Utrecht (city) Deaths from cancer in Belgium Gay singers Mass media people from Utrecht (city) 20th-century Dutch LGBTQ people 21st-century Dutch LGBTQ people English-language singers from the Netherlands