Film producer Rob Houwer, known for, among others, Turkish Delight and Soldier of Orange, passed away on Friday at the age of 87. This was confirmed on Sunday to the ANP by Ineke van Wezel, who worked with Houwer for many years, after reports from Het Parool.
In the last century, Houwer produced films by directors such as Paul Verhoeven and Volker Schlöndorff. In the sixties, he was best known for producing German films such as Mord und Totschlag.
In the early seventies, he produced Paul Verhoeven’s directorial debut, What Do I See!?, and then Turkish Delight, based on the novel by Jan Wolkers. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film. With over 3.3 million visitors, this film is still the most visited Dutch cinema film of all time. Verhoeven and Houwer continued to collaborate and made, among others, Katie Tippel (1975), Soldier of Orange (1977), and The Fourth Man (1983).
In 1993, Houwer received a Golden Calf for Best Film for the film adaptation of the book The Small Blonde Death by Boudewijn Büch. The film, starring Antonie Kamerling and Olivier Tuinier, was directed by Jean van de Velde. In 1999, Houwer received another Golden Calf, this time for Turkish Delight as ‘film of the century’.
For his work, Houwer was knighted as an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. On November 4, 2022, he was officially presented with the UNESCO flag, with the film Soldier of Orange being included as cultural heritage in the Dutch Memory of the World program of UNESCO.
Houwer passed away in Amsterdam on Friday, July 4, from old age. He is survived by six children.