Spijkerman made the satirical program at that time Head nails. “We made jokes about all the politicians, and we also imitated Fortuyn,” says the 77-year-old comedian. “He also thought it was masterful. But after the murder of Fortuyn, I had bodyguards for three months. During the broadcasts there were all kinds of guards and security guards. That was a very unpleasant time. We also received letters with bullets and razor blades.”
Fortuyn was shot dead at the Mediapark on May 6, 2002, after he had done a radio interview with Ruud de Wild. After three months, Spijkerman decided that he no longer wanted security guards around him. “I thought: I will no longer dare to go out on the street without people,” he said Of perstribune. “Then I will have to look under the car every time to see if there is anything there. The feeling has also passed.”
Since Fortuyn’s murder, Volkert van der Graaf has always had to look over his shoulder: ‘Why did Pim have to die?’
Attack on Vara building
Spijkerman also recalled an incident that took place on New Year’s Eve 1985. Unknowns then fired shots at the glass facade of the VARA building as a radio broadcast was made by the ANC’s anti-apartheid station, Radio Freedom. “The bullet holes are still in the artwork on Heuvellaan, where VARA used to be,” says Spijkerman.
The comedian thinks it is crazy that Niels van der Laan is now receiving death threats. “He’s acting something, how crazy are they to threaten an actor? As if you’re going to threaten Frank Lammers because he plays a criminal. It’s too absurd for words.” Lammers played drug dealer Ferry Bouman for many years in the successful series Undercover.
Head nails was one of the most watched programs on Dutch television between 1995 and 2005. The program received the Golden Televizier Ring in 2002 and the Silver Nipkow Disc in 2003. Spijkerman was a guest in Of perstribune because it has been forty years since the comedian started his famous radio show Stone and Bone Show.
