Klaas Willem Ruis (29 March 1945 in Haarlem – 4 August 1986 in

Dénia Dénia ( es, Denia) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage ...

) was a Dutch game show presenter. He presented the ''Willem Ruis Show'' for the

KRO KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also respo ...

and the ''Willem Ruis Lottoshow'', ''5 tegen 5'' and the ''Sterrenshow'' for the VARA. He died of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

during a vacation in Spain. By 1981, Ruis moved from the

to the VARA, trading in his ''Willem Ruis Show'' for the ''Willem Ruis Lottoshow''. Ruis was unhappy with his director at the KRO, who he felt did not allow him to show off all his talents, and got a contract with the VARA, which was losing viewers to the competition and was looking for a star to bolster its roster. He was paid a salary unheard of at the time (Hfl 300,000 per year, high enough to lead to questions in parliament). He also tried a career in movies, but his only appearance, in the Belgian/Dutch production '' Het Beest'' (1982), could not save the movie from becoming a "legendary flop". He explained that his career in television was not going to last forever, and his side step to cinema was a career plan for the long-term.

References

External links

*
Willem Ruis Biography
at the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision *
"De herinnering is springlevend", radio documentary about Willem Ruis
1945 births 1986 deaths Dutch game show hosts People from Haarlem {{netherlands-tv-stub