Life
Theo van Gogh was born in The Hague, Netherlands. His father, Johan van Gogh, was a member of the Dutch secret service ('AIVD', then called 'BVD'). Theo's uncle, also named Theo, was executed by the Germans as a resistance fighter during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. Theo's great-grandfather was the art dealer Theo van Gogh, brother of the world-renowned artist Vincent van Gogh.
After dropping out of law school at the University of Amsterdam, Van Gogh became a stage manager. His self-proclaimed passion was film-making, and he debuted as a director with the movie Luger (1981). He was awarded a Gouden Kalf for Blind Date (1996) and In het belang van de staat ("In the Interest of the State") (1997). For the latter, he also received a "Certificate of Merit" from the San Francisco International Film Festival. As an actor he appeared in the production De noorderlingen ("The Northerners", 1992).
After that, he worked for television. Van Gogh also wrote provocative columns for Metro and other newspapers. He wrote polemic prose. His website was called De Gezonde Roker ("The Healthy Smoker"). The site's name, which is also the title of one of his books, was an allusion both to his notorious chain smoking and to the "politically correct" negative stance towards smoking in society.
His last book (2003) was Allah weet het beter (Allah Knows Better), in which he strongly condemned Islam. He was a well-known critic of Islam, particularly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He supported the nomination of the liberal (former PvdA Labour Party), Somalian-born female politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali for Dutch parliament.
Read more about this topic: Theo Van Gogh (film Director)
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“A moment that gave not only itself, but
Also the means of keeping it, of not turning to dust
Or gestures somewhere up ahead
But of becoming complicated like the torrent
In new dark passages, tears and laughter which
Are a sign of life, of distant life in this case.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“The work of adult life is not easy. As in childhood, each step presents not only new tasks of development but requires a letting go of the techniques that worked before. With each passage some magic must be given up, some cherished illusion of safety and comfortably familiar sense of self must be cast off, to allow for the greater expansion of our distinctiveness.”
—Gail Sheehy (20th century)
“In every woman’s life there is one real and consuming love. But very few women guess which one it is.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)