Stef van der Linden

Stef van der Linden was a Dutch voice actor.

He played Tommie on Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street, from 1976 to 1977. The original Tommie—a teddy-bear type creature that walked on all fours and was made from an old fur coat—was yet to develop a hoarse voice. Stef gave him a high enthusiastic voice instead. His catchphrase was "Weerrrrr niet gelukt!" ("Failed again!") whenever one of his inventions exploded.

In an interview, Stef recalled how he quit his job on Sesamstraat when he found out that Marijke Boon (who played Troel) was paid less than the male performers. After a while, Stef started to feel bad about "abandoning Tommie", but by then, a replacement puppeteer had been found.

Eventually, van der Linden got a job working for Klokhuis, an informative TV show for a slightly older audience, filmed in the same studio.

Stef's Tommie can be heard on the original Sesamstraat soundtrack.

Stef van der Linden died on december 27 2006.
 
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