Dutch-American actor Rutger Hauer writes his memoirs

Since 1981 a Hollywood mainstay

AMSTERDAM - International film actor Rutger Hauer (61) is penning his memoirs due for publication in the Fall of 2006. Proceeds of the sale of the books will benefit The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, a fund set up to help women and children infected with the hiv or aids virus.

Hauer, who gained wide fame in the Netherlands in the 1960s when he played the protagonist of the Dutch television series ‘Floris’, went on to become a mainstay of Dutch, European and U.S. cinema. Among the best-known Dutch Hauer films of the early 1970s are ‘Turkish Delight’ and ‘Soldier of Orange.’ One of his last Dutch films was the police drama ‘Grijpstra and De Gier’ in 1979. In ‘Soldier,’ based on the best-selling autobiography of Erik Roelfzema Hazelhoff, Hauer’s co-star was Jeroen Krabbe, who later also acted in many well-received Dutch, European and U.S. films.

In 1981, Hauer left for Hollywood to establish himself as a U.S. actor. That year he acted in his first American film, Nighthawks. Since then, Hauer, whose daughter Aysha also is an actress, has made over 75 films and television mini series, both in the U.S. and Europe. Currently he can be seen in the new film ‘Batman Returns.’