Ronald Edwin Tober (born 21 April 1945) is a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, known for representing the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1968 The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the with the song " Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite having won ...

with the song "

Morgen A Morgen (Mg) is a historical, but still occasionally used, German unit of area used in agriculture. Officially, it is no longer in use, having been supplanted by the hectare. While today it is approximately equivalent to the Prussian ''morgen' ...

Early life

Tober was born in

Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren. Bussum had a ...

, but moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his family at the age of three. He grew up in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Career

Early career

Invited to appear on "The Teen Age Barn", a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

show on the channel

WRGB WRGB (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Schenectady, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CW affiliate WCWN (channel 45). The two station ...

, he performed every week for several years. During this time, he appeared on television as a guest of singer

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, performing "

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, described in the first verse as "the dear Saviour", and frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on the French-language poem ''Minuit, ch ...

" together. He was also a guest star on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

with

George Maharis George Maharis (September 1, 1928 – May 24, 2023) was an American actor, singer, and visual artist who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66 (TV series), Route 66''. Maharis also recorded several pop music ...

and

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and '' Adam-12'', which ...

, and appeared on

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

. Tober went on to perform for several notable people, including Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, Vice-President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, and Governors

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...

and

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

. Tober played the role of Tony in the musical '' The Boy Friend'' and Billy Jester in '' Little Mary Sunshine''. After being introduced to songwriter and record producer

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons. As a songw ...

, Tober recorded his first record in 1959 entitled "Who Taught You How To Love".

Return to the Netherlands

In 1963, while in the Netherlands to visit his grandmother, he appeared on ''Voor de vuist weg'', a television show hosted by

Willem Duys Willem Duys (17 August 1928 – 2 June 2011) was a Dutch people, Dutch radio personality, radio and television presenter, commentator, tennis player and music producer. Duys was born in Bussum. He first started a career as a tennis player. Havi ...

. Based on the positive reactions to his performance, he decided to move back to the Netherlands. He signed with

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phon ...

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

and produced his first Dutch record "Iedere avond" in 1964. In 1966, he participated in the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...

Sopot Sopot (; or ) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomerania Province and has the City with powiat ri ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, with the

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

"Showtime on Broadway". In 1968, he won the Dutch national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

and represented the Netherlands in the

held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with the song "

". He finished in sixteenth place with only one point. Tober has had TV shows with the broadcasting organizations

AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

and KRO, and his guests have included

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than five decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has ...

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager ...

and Nancy Wilson.

Personal life

Tober married Jan Jochems, who he had been in a relationship with since 1968, on 24 February 1998. In 1999, Tober was diagnosed with

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...

and underwent

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. On 27 December 2003, during his 40th year in show business, Tober was invested as a Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gra ...

. Tober's name is also inscribed on the ''Wall of Fame'' in the

Zuiderkerk The Zuiderkerk (, "southern church") is a 17th-century Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembr ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Philanthropy

In 2002, Tober founded the ''Ronnie Tober Foundation'' to help assist people with a

developmental disability Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

through cultural and musical works. In 2007, Tober, his husband, and their friends raised €10,000 for his foundation by completing the

International Four Days Marches Nijmegen The International Four Day Marches Nijmegen (, ) is the largest multiple-day marching event in the world, with tens of thousands of participants. It is organised every year in Nijmegen, Netherlands in mid-July as a means of promoting sport and e ...

Discography

*Who Taught You How To Love – 1959 *Iedere Avond – 1964 *Al Jolson Hits − 1965 *Geweldig − 1965 *Geweldig/Iedere Avond − 1965 *Marijke Uit Krabbendijke – 1965 *Verboden Vruchten – 1965 *Wat Was Jouw Bedoeling – 1965 *The Ronnie Tober Show – 1965 *Tunes van Toen – 1965 *Merci Cherie – 1966 *More Than Love – 1966 *Niets Dan Zorgen Geeft Zij Mij – 1966 *Zij Draagt Mijn Naam – 1966 *De Beste van Ronnie Tober – 1966 *Sopot 1966 – 1966 *Onbereikbaar Ver – 1967 *Put Your Head on My Shoulder – 1967 *Alleluja No. 1 – 1968 *Mexico – 1968 *

– 1968 *Someday – 1968 *Ronnie's Songparade – 1968 *Ronnie's Songparade 2 – 1968 *Arrivederci Ans – 1969 *M'n Papegaai – 1969 *Wiederseh'n – 1969 *Waar Zijn de Dagen – 1969 *Ronnie Tober Successen – 1969 *Christina – 1970 *Carmen – 1971 *Laat Me Niet Alleen – 1971 *Voor Sandra – 1971 *Kerstfeest Met Ronnie Tober – 1971 *Een Vuist Vol Hollandse Hits! – 1971 *Alle 13 Goed deel 1 – 1971 *Met Een Roos in Je Blonde Haren – 1972 *Joseph, Joseph – 1972 *Petite Mademoiselle – 1972 *Ronnie & Gonnie – Met liedjes het land in – 1972 *Alweer Alle 13 Goed – 1972 *Het Beste Uit...Muziek in uw Straatje – 1972 *Gitte, Bitte – 1973 *Petites Mesdemoiselles – 1973 *Yesterdays Dreams – 1973 *Hollands Kwartet – 1973 *Vol Met Super! deel 1–1973 *Een Witte Eend – 1974 *Mama Weet Wat Goed Is – 1974 *Koelewijk Behoeft Geen Frans – 1974 *Met Vlag en Wimpel! – 1974 *Prima! Prima! – 1974 *Alleen – 1975 *Een Heel Gelukkig Kerstfeest – 1975 *Een Witte Eend – 1975 *Naar de Kermis – 1975 *Petite Mademoiselle – 1975 *Alle 13 Goed! deel 8 – 1975 *Liedjes van Johnny Holshuysen – 1975 *Tanz Mit Mir Samba Margarita – 1976 *Pootje Baaien – 1977 *Rosemarie – 1977 *Speel Nog Een Liedje Orgelman – 1977 *Dat Was 'n Kus – 1978 *15 Jaar Ronnie Tober – 1978 *De Zon in M'n Hart – 1979 *Glory Glory Halleluja – 1979 *You Are My Sunshine – 1979 *Love me with all of your heart – 1980 *De Zon in M'n Hart – 1980 *Ik Ben Zo Eenzaam Zonder Jou – 1981 *Dubbel Goud – 1981 *Christmas Around The World – 1981 *Olé Espana – 1982 *Zomer, Zon en Witte Stranden – 1983 *Leven Met Jou – 1986 *Afscheid Nemen Doet Pijn – 1987 *Lolita – 1987 *De Nacht Van M'n Dromen – 1988 *Holland Amerika Story – 1988 *Voor Altijd en Eeuwig – 1988 *25 Jaar Ronnie Tober – 1988 *Zilver – 1988 *4 Gouden Hits – 1989 *Morgen Schijnt de Zon Voor Jou – 1989 *Jij Bent 't Helemaal – 1990 *Zoals ik ben – 1990 *'n Lange Hete Zomer – 1991 *Ronnie Tober & Gonnie Baars – 28 Populaire Liedjes – 1991 *Ronnie Tober Nu – 2008 *Ronnie Tober & Willeke D'estell – Kom in m'n armen – 2010 *Ronnie Tober & Willeke D'estell – De zomer komt weer gauw – 2011 *De Mooiste Duetten Aller Tijden – 2011 *Terug in de Tijd – 2011 *Er is niemand zoals jij – 2012 *Ronnie Tober & Belinda Kinnaer – Het zijn van die kleine dingen – 2012 *Marco de Hollander & Ronnie Tober – Twee artiesten, hand in hand – 2012 *Kom in mijn armen vannacht – 2012 *Altijd – 2012 *Dank U Majesteit – 2013 *Duet with René Riva *Majesteit, ik vind u geweldig – 2013 *Van Toen naar het Heden – 2013 *Duet with Edwin van Hoevelaak *Ronnie Tober & Friends – 2013 *Ronnie Tober & Belinda Kinnaer – Geluk − 2014 *Vaarwel, Adios... – 2015

References

Other sources

Biography
(in Dutch)

External links

Official website
(in Dutch)
Ronnie Tober Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tober, Ronnie 1945 births Living people People from Bussum Dutch LGBTQ singers Dutch gay musicians Gay singers Philips Records artists 20th-century Dutch LGBTQ people 21st-century Dutch LGBTQ people Eurovision Song Contest entrants