Dirch Passer

Dirch Hartvig Passer (18 May 1926 – 3 September 1980) was a Danish actor and comedian. He was renowned for his improvisational skills and, with a filmography comprising 90 films, one of Denmark's most prolific actors. His life is depicted in the Danish semi-biographical film A Funny Man (2011; Danish title: Dirch) directed by Martin Zandvliet and starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Dirch Passer.imdb.com – A Funny Man

Life When he was young, Passer was very shy, but had an ambition to become an actor. Instead, he conformed to his father's wishes by attending the J. Lauritzen sea training school near Svendborg in 1944. But since he had persistent problems with seasickness, he later attended the drama school De frederiksbergske teatres Elevskole.

During the 1950s he formed a duo with his friend and fellow actor Kjeld Petersen. Their revue sketches, based upon the contrast between Petersen's mixture of joviality and desperate anger and Passer's deadpan responses, are still considered classics by the public. The sudden death of Kjeld Petersen in 1962 led Passer to avoid revues for five years, but he built up an individual reputation and in 1967 he returned to the revue gaining new victories. Many thin jokes in the scripts were greatly improved by his performance. In particular, his many amiable eccentrics and "nature experts" together with his sketch roles as a baby and as a nonsense "Russian"-speaking clown made him famous. From his later years must be mentioned an almost silent sketch in which he portrays a man's vain attempt to stop smoking (also shown in West German TV). It was told that he could speak any language, however he wouldn't understand any of it, which was one of his good qualities.

In his life, Dirch Passer wanted to play more serious roles instead of remaining in comedy. However, his image as a comedian was so solid that his attempt to break into serious acting proved to be unsuccessful.

Career He was often referred to as a loud actor in spite of the fact that under-acting was responsible for much of his force. A Danish critic, Jens Kistrup, once said that one of the secrets behind the comedy of Passer was its combination of elements that are normally regarded as incompatible. He possessed noisiness and discretion, loudness and quietness, boundlessness and complete control, craziness and softness – all this combined with a special intimacy with the audience. Among the inspirations he mentioned Joe E. Brown but he was also known for his admiration of the British comedian Tommy Cooper. In his films, which were of very mixed quality, he often played kind and somewhat crazy "Everymen" or antiheroes. Among his best movie roles were stage roles transferred to film; here must be mentioned the hero in Charley's Aunt (1959), Celestin-Floridor in Frøken Nitouche (1963) and Leopold in Summer in Tyrol (1964, based on The White Horse Inn).

Numerous Danish actors see him as a role model. In day-to-day life he was quite shy in behaviour, somewhat the opposite of his theatrical appearances.

Death On 3 September 1980, Passer collapsed from cardiac arrest behind the stage curtain, in his clown costume, just before the opening number of the annual Tivoli Revue at the Glass Hall in Tivoli Gardens. An hour or two later, the doctors at the hospital declared him dead. Passer is buried in the church cemetery in Dragør, Denmark.

Selected filmography

(1947) – Publikum (uncredited) Stjerneskud (1947) – Hendes hårdtslående ven Lykke på rejsen (1947) – Statist Den opvakte jomfru (1950) – Sømand i 1520 Som sendt fra himlen (1951) – Soldat Dorte (1951) – Amerikaner Vi arme syndere (1952) – Værtshusgæst Vejrhanen (1952) – Ekspeditionssekretær i Kirkeministeriet Rekrut 67, Petersen (1952) – Lillebilchauffør Larsen Drömsemester (1952) – Mogens Jensen Solstik (1953) – Politimanden Ved kongelunden... (1953) – Konduktør Svendsen Sju svarta be-hå (1954) – Jens Nielsen I kongens klæ'r (1954) – Søren Rask – rekrut 66 (1954) Far och flyg (1955) – Peder Det var paa Rundetaarn (1955) – Hans Ramløse, musiker Hvad vil De ha'? (1956) – Jansen Den store gavtyv (1956) – K.M.M. Mathisen Færgekroen (1956) – Erik Hansen Tag til marked i Fjordby (1957) – 'Lange' Emil Andersen (1957, Short) Krudt og klunker (1958) – Fotograf Styrmand Karlsen (1958) – Valdemar Bøgelund Pigen og vandpytten (1958) – Fabrikant Munk Møde ved midnat (1958, TV Short) – Mr. Fox (1958, Short) Poeten og Lillemor (1959) – Bageren Onkel Bill fra New York (1959) – Hans Høj Soldaterkammerater rykker ud (1959) – Vagtsoldat Charles' tante (1959) – Grev Ditlev Lensby Vi er allesammen tossede (1959) – Sporvognskonduktør Knudsen TV te' vands (1959, TV Movie) – Chef Poeten og Lillemor og Lotte (1960) – The baker Elefanter på loftet (1960) – Dennis Baronessen fra benzintanken (1960) – Hans Høy Sømand i knibe (1960) – Freddy Summer and Sinners (1960) – Kansas Joe Skibet er ladet med (1960) – Guvernør Alfond d. 1 / Alfond d. 2 Panik i paradis (1960) – Greven Forelsket i København (1960) – Kunstmaler Kobolski Reptilicus (1961) – Petersen Peters baby (1961) – William Thorsen Poeten og Lillemor i forårshumør (1961) – Bageren Støv på hjernen (1961) – Alf Thomsen Gøngehøvdingen (1961) – Ib Lykkens musikanter (1962) – Elevatorfører Gogol Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario (1962) – Eigil Hansen Det tossede paradis (1962) – Angelus Bukke Sømænd og svigermødre (1962) – Kanusti Mogensen (1962, Short) Det støver stadig (1962) – Alf Thomsen Oskar (1962) – Martin Kristiansen Svinedrengen og prinsessen på ærten (1962) – (voice) Venus fra Vestø (1962) – Ditlev Egede-Schack Pigen og pressefotografen (1963) – Bastian Vi har det jo dejligt (1963) – Thorvald Madsen Hvis lille pige er du? (1963) – Hans Frøken Nitouche (1963) – Floridor / Celestin Bussen (1963) – Buschauffør Martin Tre piger i Paris (1963) – Kok Harald Mikkelsen Støv for alle pengene (1963) – Alf Thomsen Majorens oppasser (1964) – Thomas Edison Hansen Sommer i Tyrol (1964) – Leopold Ulrik Joackim Brantmeyer Blåjackor (1964) – Sam Don Olsen kommer til byen (1964) – Thorsen Här kommer bärsärkarna (1965) – Garm Passer passer piger (1965) – Alf Thomsen Flådens friske fyre (1965) – Valdemar Jensen Pigen og millionæren (1965) – Jens Møller Jag – en älskare (1966) – Mortensen Der var engang (1966) – Kasper Røghat Slap af, Frede! (1966) – Fettucino Pigen og greven (1966) – Andreas Lillelys Copenhagen Design (1967, TV Movie) Elsk... din næste! (1967) – Olaf Cirkusrevyen 67 (1967) Onkel Joakims hemmelighed (1967) – Fyrst Fingernem (uncredited) Mig og min lillebror (1967) – Søren Severinsen Soldaterkammerater på bjørnetjeneste (1968) – Vagtkommandør 419 (uncredited) Mig og min lillebror og storsmuglerne (1968) – Søren Severinsen Min søsters børn vælter byen (1968) – Dr. Mogensen Dyrlægens plejebørn (1968) – Dyrlæge Linsager Musikken var af Kai Normann Andersen (1968, TV Movie) Sjov i gaden (1969) – Peter Jensen Pigen fra Egborg (1969) – John Søgaard Mig og min lillebror og Bølle (1969) – Søren Severinsen Kyrkoherden (1970) – Bartolomeus Amour (1970) – Blikkenslager Nøglen til paradis (1970) – Gudmund (præst og rejsearrangør) Præriens skrappe drenge (1970) – Biggy Hurra for de blå husarer (1970) – Spjellerup Den Gyldenblonde fortæller (1970, TV Movie) Hvor er liget, Møller? (1971) – Vilhelm Hårlung Guld til præriens skrappe drenge (1971) – Biggy Min søsters børn, når de er værst (1971) – Viggo Takt og tone i himmelsengen (1972) – Grev Axel von Hasteen Lenin, din gavtyv (1972) – General Ludendorff Solstik på badehotellet (1973) – Doktor Grå Mig og mafiaen (1973) – Victor 'Viffer' Hansen Mafiaen – det er osse mig! (1974) – Victor 'Viffer' Hansen Dirch (1974, TV Movie) – Himself / Babyen Piger i trøjen (1975) – Oversergent Vasby Spøgelsestoget (1976) – Theodor 'Teddy' T. Thönder Piger i trøjen 2 (1976) – Oversergent Vasby Alt på et bræt (1977) – Alfred Emanuelsen Piger til søs (1977) – Seniorsergent Vasby Fængslende feriedage (1978) – Fængselsinspektør Frost

Dirch Passer

Bron en licentie