Johny Voners(1945-2020)
- Actor
Whoever thinks of Flemish actor Johny Voners, a pseudonym of Johny Hoebrechts, probably remembers unmotivated sergeant, disaster of a goalkeeper and drunk harlequin Xavier who needs even less introduction than the sitcom. A dishonor to Voners, whose massive career began in the 1960s. A jack of all trades, at a young age Voners co-starred in youth-targeting whodunit Axel Nort (1966), as detective Dirk Talboom. In 'Axel Nort', he served as a sidekick to Nand Buyl, one of his mentors at the drama school he attended, Royal Conservatory Brussels. He denounced bureaucracy in comedy show De collega's (1978) as sub-head of the Finance Department Thierry De Vucht. In later years, he became active as a singer notably covering French-Armenian singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour's repertoire with Voners' distinctive voice range resembling that of Aznavour. He was previously married to Anne-Mie Volders and Janine Bischops. He was the first main cast member of the long-running sitcom F.C. De Kampioenen (1990) to pass away. Voners died from skin cancer at the age of 74, on March 17, 2020 in Waregem, Flanders, Belgium.
