Gaston Berghmans

Gaston Berghmans, quite possibly Belgium's greatest comedian of all time, was born in 1926 in Merksem, a community which is part of the city of Antwerp. He had a very normal and healthy childhood and attended middle school to become a craftsman, just like his father before him. Right before the Second World War, Gaston had been starring in some local plays in his off-time, and decided to become a professional comedian during the War, quitting his job as a handyman on ships in the port of Antwerp. In this period in his life, he met up with some guardian angels that would procure his future in the entertainment industry. Later, he met up with Leo Martin, also born in Antwerp, but raised in Brussels. Together they formed the legendary comedy duo 'Gaston & Leo', that toured around theaters all over the country and made TV appearances with hilarious sketches.

Gaston Berghmans first met Leo Martin in 1957 in the Billiard Palace, where the orchestra of Willy Rockin played. Martin played the saxophone and clarinet and Berghmans performed some sketches with him. In the 1960s Martin leaded his own orchestra, which made it easier to get Berghmans and their sketches involved, mainly as prologues for the musical moments. These performances were the foundation of what would be later become 'Gaston & Leo'.

Gaston Berghmans was the eldest son in a family with two children. His sister, Paula, is four years younger and has been living in the U.S. since 1959.

They also made some features movies including _"Zware jongens" (1984)_, _"De Paniekzaaiers" (1986)_ and _"Gaston en Leo in Hong Kong" (1988)_.

Their last big thing together was a Sunday evening sketch show called _"Gaston & Leo Show" (1989)_, which aired from 1989 until 1993, when Leo died of cancer. When asked about this period later in his life, Gaston said that he felt like he had died along with his friend.

After losing Leo, Gaston starred in his own television show (_"Gaston Berghmans Show" (1994)_) for a few years, but he realized that things would never be the same again.

After retiring from sketch comedy television in 2000, he only made a limited number of on-screen appearances, mostly in shows that tributed him.

In 2005 he finished at No. 459 in the Flemish version of The Greatest Belgian, outside the official nomination list.

In 2006 King Albert II awarded Berghmans the title Commander in the Order of the Crown.

Has released part 1 of his biography "Mijn leven als komiek: de jonge jaren" ("My Life as a Comedian: The Wonder Years"). [September 2007]

In 2008, he ended his acting career in the way he wanted to, with a large dramatic movie part in _"Christmas in Paris" (2008)_. That picture however flopped, making people demand him to get into another final project. Gaston kept refusing this, saying his health did not longer allow him to do so.

On 27 March 2009 Gaston Berghmans received the Flemish TV Stars Career Star 2009 during a Flemish Television Academy gala.

During the months before his death, Berghmans was preparing a brief comeback. He was set to star in a few comedy sketches of What If? (2011), but passed away before they were recorded.