Donald Jones (January 24, 1932–November 5, 2004) was an actor and dancer; born in Harlem, he went to the Netherlands in his early twenties and became the first Dutch black star.
Born in Harlem, New York, Jones originally trained to be an advertising designer.[1] He moved to the Netherlands in 1954 with a dance troupe. He was hired by a cabaret company and began a career singing, acting, and dancing. He was hired for the very first Dutch television show, the 1950s television hit Pension Hommeles (written by Annie M.G. Schmidt), in which he played Dinky Henderson, who sings the Cor Lemaire song "Ik zou je het liefste in een doosje willen doen,"[2] a Dutch hit and now one of the standards in the musical comedy genre.[1] This made Jones the first black star in the Netherlands.[2]
Jones played in many Dutch shows, movies (Grijpstra & De Gier, 1979), and theatrical productions, and in television shows such as Mik & Mak and Pipo de Clown.[2]
He married Dutch actress Adèle Bloemendaal; they were the first well-known mixed couple in the country.[1] Their son, John (born 1963[3] ), is an actor and comedian.[2] Donald Jones died in Amsterdam of a heart attack.