Fritz-Olof Thunberg (21 May 1925 – 24 February 2020) was a Swedish actor and director. He was perhaps best known for being the voice of the cartoon character Bamse.
Early life and career Thunberg was born Fritz-Olof Thunberg in Västerås, where he formed a theatre club called Scenklubben which also included Lars Ekborg and the poet Bo Setterlind. He studied at Calle Flygare's drama school in Stockholm and then from 1950 to 1952 at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy; between the two, in the late 1940s, he performed in public parks."Olof Thunberg" , Swedish Film Database, 2004, updated 16 December 2013 .
After finishing drama school, Thunberg joined the provincial Östgöta Theatre (Östgötateatern), where he directed in addition to acting, then became a freelance actor. In the 1950s, he became known for his work on the radio programme Mannen i svart ("The Man in Black"), where he presented all kinds of stories of horror and the supernatural in his deep voice, accompanied by a variety of sound effects. In 1963, he had a supporting role in Ingmar Bergman's drama Winter Light as the church organist Fredrik.
Thunberg appeared in a variety of films, often in a supporting role as a confident charmer, and is the voice of both Bamse and Agaton Sax in children's films and recordings. He also voiced Shere Khan in the Swedish-dubbed versions of both the 1967 Disney The Jungle Book and its 2003 sequel, The Jungle Book 2.
In 2006, Thunberg was a host of Sommar on Sveriges Radio P1.Olof Thunberg , Sommer & Vinter i P1, 6 August 2006 .
Thunberg also directed for television.
Personal life
Thunberg was previously married to Ingrid Johansson. He had a later cohabitation with actress , whom he got to know in connection with a radio play. He was the father of actor Svante Thunberg and father-in-law of opera singer Malena Ernman, from whom his granddaughter is the climate activist Greta Thunberg.
In 1959, Thunberg became engaged to actress Lena Granhagen, whom he had met while directing a play in which she acted in at Intiman. They lived together into the 1960s, and they acted together as a couple in the television series Villervalle i Söderhavet in 1963.
Thunberg died on 24 February 2020, at the age of 94.
Selected filmography 1948 – De kämpade sig till frihet 1953 – I dur och skur 1953 – The Beat of Wings in the Night 1954 – Laugh Bomb 1955 – Lady and the Tramp Trusty (Swedish voice; also in 1989 re-dub); Boris (in original 1955 dub only) 1955 – Wild Birds 1955 – People of the Finnish Forests 1956 – 7 vackra flickor 1957 – A Dreamer's Journey 1957 – The Halo Is Slipping 1957 – The Minister of Uddarbo 1957 – Vägen genom Skå 1958 – Fridolf Stands Up! 1959 – Fröken Chic (uncredited) 1959 – A Lion in Town 1960 – The Die Is Cast 1960 – Summer and Sinners 1961 – One Hundred and One Dalmatians: Colonel (Swedish voice, original 1961 dub only) 1961 – Pärlemor 1963 – Det är hos mig han har varit 1963 – Winter Light 1963 – Adam och Eva 1963 – Prins Hatt under jorden 1964 – Äktenskapsbrottaren 1967 – The Jungle Book: Shere Khan (Swedish voice) 1968 – Villervalle i Söderhavet 1976 – Smurfarna och den förtrollade flöjten: narrator, Fräckelin (voice) 1977 – The Rescuers: Rufus (Swedish voice) 1980 – Sverige åt svenskarna 1981 – The Fox and the Hound: Grumpy Badger (Swedish voice) 1982 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Grumpy (Swedish voice) 1986 – Amorosa 1988 – The Land Before Time: narrator (Swedish voice) 1996 – Monopol 1996 – Lilla Jönssonligan och cornflakeskuppen 1997 – Lilla Jönssonligan på styva linan 2001 – Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure: Trusty (Swedish voice) 2001 – Monsters, Inc.: C.E.O. Henry J. Waternoose III (Swedish voice) 2003 – The Jungle Book 2: Shere Khan (Swedish voice) Source:
Selected television appearances 1963 – Villervalle i Söderhavet (series) 1965 – En historia till fredag (series) 1965 – Niklasons (series) 1966 – Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr 1968 – Lärda fruntimmer 1968 – Pygmalion 1968 – Markurells i Wadköping (series) 1969 – Biprodukten 1969 – Håll polisen utanför (series) 1970 – Röda rummet (series) 1970 – Regnbågslandet (series) 1970 – Ett dockhem 1972–1974 – Bröderna Malm (series) 1972–1973 – Bamse (series): narrator, voices 1973 – Ett köpmanshus i skärgården (TV-serie) 1981 – Bamse och den lilla åsnan: narrator, voices 1982 – Dubbelsvindlarna (series) 1991 – Bamse i Trollskogen: narrator, voices 1991 – Storstad (series) 1991 – Sunes jul (series) 1993 – Allis med is (series) 1994 – Tre Kronor (series) 1995 – Sjukan (series) 1995 – Jeppe på berget (series) 2001 – Återkomsten (series) 2003 – Solbacken: Avd. E (series) Sources:
Selected directions 1972 – Söndagspromenaden (TV) 1969 – Galgmannen (TV)
References
External links
"Olof Thunberg" at Nationalencyklopedin (registration required)