Herman van Veen (1945) grew up in Utrecht, where he also attended the conservatory.

In 1965, he made his theatre debut with the solo programme 'Harlekijn' (Nobody's servant, nobody's boss). Since then, he has travelled the world with his shows.
He is a regular guest at the Royal Theatre Carré Amsterdam (now 620 times), the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp, among others. Played series on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall New York, concerts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London and is a frequent guest in Paris (Olympia, La Salle Gaveau, Théâtre de la Ville) and the Comédie des Champs-Elysées.

Some one hundred and eighty CDs, some eighty books, two dozen plays and a lot of paintings have appeared from his hand.

For both his artistic and humanitarian work, he often received flowers. Among others, he is a holder of the Verdienstkreuz am Band des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau and in that of the Nederlandse Leeuw. Herman holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Free University of Brussels. From the Club of Budapest, he received the Planetary Consciousness Award. In France Le Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros de Littérature Musicale. June 2021, in Germany, he received the Joachim Ringelnatz Literatur Preis. And in 2023, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dutch collecting societies.

Herman is father of four children, grandfather of three grandchildren and stepfather of the animated orphan Alfred Jodocus Kwak and the still-yet-born fairy tale character Anne the Puss.