page_title: Bassie & Adriaan
section_title: 1997-2003: Farewell tour and Aad van Toor's illness
hierarchical_section_title: Bassie & Adriaan / History / 1997-2003: Farewell tour and Aad van Toor's illness
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Bassie &amp; Adriaan in 2017
context_page_description: Bassie & Adriaan was a television programme series focusing on the adventures and lives of a circus duo consisting of clown Bassie and acrobat Adriaan, played by real-life circus duo Bas and Aad van Toor.
  Written by Aad van Toor and originally produced by Joop van den Ende, the first series became a television hit in the Netherlands in the spring season of 1978. At its peak, the show attracted over three million viewers, which was noted to be "a lot" for a children's programme. The show ran for nine series, with the last original episode airing in 1996. Between 1980 and 1982, the Van Toor brothers ran their own independent circus, which was named Circus Bassie & Adriaan, which later became a subsidiary of Circus Renz.
context_section_description: In October 2002 Bassie & Adriaan announced their farewell tour. The final show, planned for January 4, 2004, was to include a guest appearance by the three crooks, however the tour prematurely ended on July 31, 2003 as Aad van Toor was diagnosed with cancer. At the end of the last show, when his relatives brought him flowers, he burst into tears. "You want more?" he asked as usual. "Well so do I, but unfortunately I'm sick. I have to go to hospital".
caption: Bassie & Adriaan at the opening of their exhibition on July 8, 2017
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