Willibrord Frequin (6 September 1941 – 26 May 2022) was a Dutch journalist and television presenter.

Biography

Frequin was born in

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

, the son of Louis Frequin, an Editor-in-chief. He was raised in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

. Frequin attended the Canisuis College, a boarding school. He was a journalist for the

Katholieke Radio Omroep KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations b ...

since 1963, in which Frequin was also an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

at the NOS Studio Sport. In his life, he met head of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and sovereign of the

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. In 1976, Frequin was the only journalist to ask the

prince consort A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as ''prince''. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be ...

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen J ...

regarding his part in the

Lockheed bribery scandals The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused considerable pol ...

. Frequin worked for the

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...

RTL 5 RTL 5 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched on 2 October 1993, during the 4th anniversary of its sister channel. It mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also reality shows, comedy, travel, international show ...

and

SBS6 SBS6 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is a part of Talpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are Net5, Veronica, and SBS9. History SB ...

, where he served as a television presenter for programs. He worked for at least a year as a columnist for the magazine Panorama. In 1995, Frequin had made numerous appearances in the news for which he was being chased by a man with a

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

. He came off unscathed. In 2002, Frequin was arrested in Tokyo for "shooting" two paratroopers jumping off a skyscraper. In the same year on 20 December 2002, he had offset the house of politician and economist

Wim Duisenberg Willem Frederik "Wim" Duisenberg (; 9 July 1935 – 31 July 2005) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 1 June 1998 until 31 October 2003. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). Du ...

and his wife

Gretta Duisenberg Gretta Duisenberg-Nieuwenhuizen (born 6 November 1942) is a Dutch pro-Palestinian political activist. She is the widow of Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) politician Wim Duisenberg, who was also the first president of the European Central Bank. Biogr ...

with an Israeli flag for which he had rented a large aerial platform and Frequin also announced a playful action with a flag.Frequin 'vlagt' huis Duisenberg, NRC, 21 December 2002Frequin arrested for 'playful' action, Telegraaf, 21 December 2002 He did not want to remove the flag or leave the premises on a summons from the police. Frequin was arrested then released after a few hours and the flag was confiscated. In 2018, Frequin had a collaboration with

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 ...

Peter Faber Peter Faber, SJ (, ) (13 April 1506 – 1 August 1546) was a Savoyard Catholic priest, theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, along with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Pope Francis announced his canonization in 2013. Life Ea ...

and Barrie Stevens, in which they made an appearance in the program '' Beter Laat Dan Nooit''. He then had another collaboration with them in 2020 in the same program. According to the

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...

interview, Frequin had revealed that he was suffering from heart failure and

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, stating that he only has a few months to live. He was married four times. Frequin died in May 2022 of

Laren, North Holland Laren () is a town and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the Gooi region, it is the oldest town in the area. Together with its neighbor Blaricum, Laren is one of the most affluent towns in the Netherlands. ...

, at the age of 80.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frequin, Willibrord 1941 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Dutch journalists 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Dutch journalists 21st-century Roman Catholics Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the Netherlands Dutch columnists Dutch investigative journalists Dutch male journalists Dutch radio journalists Dutch radio presenters Dutch television directors Dutch television journalists Dutch television presenters Dutch reporters and correspondents Dutch Roman Catholics People from Arnhem