Stef van der Linden

Stef van der Linden 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 fours, made from an old fur coat - did not have a hoarse voice yet. 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 recalls how he quit his job on Sesamstraat, when he found out that Marijke Boon (who played Troel) got paid less than the male performers. After a while, Stef started to feel bad about 'abandoning Tommie', but by that time a replacement puppeteer was found. Eventually Stef got a job working for Klokhuis (an informative TV show for a slightly older audience) in the same studio.

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