After his studies at the HBS he did an entrance exam for the school of
acting but he failed. In spite of that he didn't give up and soon he
was accepted in "het Nederlandsch toneel" and there he made his debut
in Waremar. He had a few jobs on the side that time, as he couldn't
earn a living as an actor.
Then in WWII he refused to report to the Kultuurkamer, a German
organization for the registration of all people with a cultural or
artistic occupation. Instead he went into hiding. This stopped his
acting career for as long as the Netherlands were occupied by the
Germans.
After the war he played a lot of comedy theater and participated in
several radio programs. In 1953 he joined the cabaret group of Wim
Sonneveld and got national fame for the first time.
In 1955 he started his role in the TV-series "Swiebertje" as the
leading role. Swiebertje lasted until 1975. The series became legendary
and even many years later people still called him Swiebertje, in fact
he kept the "nickname" until he died. That was also the reason for him
to leave for England in 1975. There he got the chance to do some
serious acting. After about five years in which he traveled back and
forth between the Netherlands and England he returned to the
Netherlands. He then returned to comedy theater and movies. In spite of
health problems and even heart surgery he refused to give up acting and
even started a "new" career when he played in a series of serious
plays directed by Ivo ten Hove. He enjoyed that so much that he never
returned to comedy theater again.
In 2001 he played in a theater production called "Blijvend Applaus". In
this play he celebrated both his 80th birthday and his 60 year theater
anniversary.
In September 2005 he died in a nursing home.
Joop Doderer married three times. His first marriage with Conny Stuart
only lasts for a few years. His second marriage lasts about ten years
and his wife gives birth to a daughter. When he was 52 he married Esther
who was only 21 at that time. In spite of the age difference the
marriage lasted and they were very happy together and had a son and
daughter.
