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Aart Staartjes: Dutch Sesame Street star dies in a traffic accident

Aart Staartjes as Meneer Aart on Sesamstraat
Aart Staartjes, Dutch Sesame Street star, dead at 81. Pic credit: Sesamstraat/YouTube

Aart Staartjes, the actor known as Meneer Aart (Mr. Aart) on the Dutch version of Sesame Street, called Sesamstraat, has died in a traffic accident at the age of 81. The accident occurred on Friday, January 10, 2020, according to multiple Dutch news sites.

The cause of death was injuries he suffered in the traffic accident in Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands. The accident involved a car and the moped Staartjes was riding.

A Google translation of the Dutch police tweet reporting Staartjes’ death reads:

“On the Harlingerstraatweg #Leeuwarden A serious accident occurred between 2:15 PM and a car this afternoon. A person was taken seriously injured to a hospital. The police have started an investigation into the cause of this accident.”

“The driver of the moped car is an 81-year-old man from #Dronryp. #Leeuwarden.”

The 81-year-old driver of the moped was later confirmed to be Staartjes.

Tributes pour in on Twitter

Many Twitter fans who grew up watching the beloved actor on Sesamstraat, a spin-off of the U.S. children’s show Sesame Street,  have been paying tribute on Twitter. The hashtag #AartStaartjes has been trending on the social media platform.

Aart Staartjes bio

According to his bio on IMDb, Aart Staartjes was born in March 1938, in Nieuwendam, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands. He was an actor, director and TV presenter.

He was known for his roles in TV shows such as De film van ome Willem and J.J. de Bom voorheen: De kindervriend, according to IMDb.

He played Meneer Aart in the TV movie Open huis in Sesamstraat and voiced Old Vincent in the Dutch movie, The Rotterdam Bombing (2012). His movie credits also included Spaak and Bloody Marie.

Aart made his debut on Sesamstraat in 1984.

A biography of Aart Staartjes by Sietse van der Hoek was published in 2002.

Aart Starrtjes leaves behind his wife, Hanna, and three children from a previous marriage.

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