Tony Corsari, the pseudonym of André Parengh (Tienen, 12 November 1926 – Ghent, 2 September 2011), was a popular presenter, quizmaster and singer during the pioneering years of Flemish television. Magic was one of the many talents with which he captivated his audience.
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From civil servant to all-rounder
André Parengh was born in Tienen in 1926, the son of Felix Parengh and Palmyre Louise Scaut. He studied administrative law for three years in Leuven and Brussels and by day worked as a civil servant at the COO, first in Tienen and later in Brussels.
From an early age he had a pronounced love of show business. As a teenager he was already part of a dance orchestra and played piano, violin, saxophone, clarinet and accordion. He acted with 'Vermaak na Arbeid' in Tienen, performed in revues at the Brussels Folies Bergère and in operettas, and drew cartoons for French-language daily and weekly papers.
Breakthrough on Flemish television
By 1954 he was already performing as a presenter of cabaret and variety; a tour with Ray Franky in 1955 became his breakthrough on the then still young Flemish television. Nic Bal and Paul Van Dessel saw him at work at the Apollotheater in Antwerp with Malando's well-known tango and rumba orchestra. In May 1955 he made his debut as Tony Corsari in the variety programme De Teleshow. He chose the stage name, full of vowels, because Dutch speakers could pronounce it more easily than André Parengh.
From 1955 to 1964 he was a quiz presenter at the NIR (the BRT from 1960), with programmes such as 100.000 of niets and Eén tegen allen, and talent shows such as Ontdek de ster and De Muziekkampioen. He wrote his own scripts and even sang the theme tune of De Muziekkampioen. On television he was known as the man who could do everything: sing, dance, act, perform magic, present, draw cartoons and play sketches. When something went wrong, he could improvise his way out flawlessly.
Singer and hall artist
In the evenings Corsari travelled the country for hall performances as a compère, cabaret artist, actor, magician and singer. In his record year of 1969 he performed 296 times — a pace that vividly illustrates his boundless drive for the stage.
As a singer he scored major Flemish hits with 'Waarom zijn de bananen krom?' (1963) and 'Het minirokje' (1967). These were songs that generations of Flemings could sing along to and that made his name known well beyond the quiz studio. His popularity was so great that the cartoonist Marc Sleen featured him as a caricature in the 1962 Nero album De Witte Parel, and that in 2003 Bart Peeters brought him back in front of the camera to sing 'Waarom zijn de bananen krom?' once more for '50 years of Flemish television'.
A reclusive legend
In 1964 he deliberately ended his television career and chose his job at the public welfare commission, today's OCMW, where he rose to director-general in Brussels. For 33 years he did not appear on screen, but in the evenings he continued to perform in Flemish halls. It was only from 1997 that Luc Appermont occasionally coaxed him back in front of the camera.
In August 2011 his home town named him an Honorary Citizen of Tienen; at the same ceremony, aged 84, he also married. Shortly afterwards he died in Ghent. The VRT broadcast a tribute under the title 'Tony Corsari: één voor allen', and the talk show Café Corsari (2012–2015) was named after him — a lasting tribute to one of the founding fathers of Flemish entertainment.
Tony Corsari embodied the all-round entertainer for whom no stage talent was too much — magic included. You will recognise that same versatility and flawless stage presence in the work of Sudesh Roman.