Erik de Vogel

Erik de Vogel (b. 1961) is a Dutch actor who played the Hoofdpiet (Head Pete) on a few winter holiday specials of Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street, in the 1990s. He portrayed the role of Sinterklaas' most important helper on several Dutch shows from 1994 to 1997.

He is best known for playing the popular character of Ludo Sanders on Goede tijden, slechte tijden (or GTST), the longest running soap series of the Netherlands. His partner is GTST co-star Caroline De Bruijn. In 2009 he was awarded the Society Award in the city of The Hague.

De Vogel succeeded Frits Lambrechts as the performer of the Hoofdpiet in 1994, and played the role for four years. He had to quit playing the Hoofdpiet, because his GTST character had gained popularity and people kept yelling "Ludo!" during the 1997 broadcasting of Sinterklaas' entry to the Netherlands, causing NPS to decide to look for a new actor to play the part. Erik van Muiswinkel took over the role of Hoofdpiet in 1998.