Øyvind Øyen (March 7, 1905 – December 23, 1993) was a Norwegian actor. Øyen was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, the son of the timber merchant Mikal Øien (1871–1922) and Amalie Rebekka Slåttelid (1878–1952). When Øyen was nine years old, his family moved to Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

). After graduating from high school in 1921, Øyen traveled to the United States, where he worked as an accountant in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1923, he received a bachelor's degree from

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

, and then worked for three years at the Norwegian Club in Chicago and at the same time performed in amateur theater. Øyen began his professional theater career in 1931 in the role of Napoleon in Johan Bojer's ''Maria Walewska'' at the National Theater in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. He remained at that theater until 1933, after which he became a freelance actor with involvement at the Søilen Theater, among other venues. From 1936 to 1938, Øyen was at the National Theater in Oslo and made a name for itself in two plays by

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and activism, political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war c ...

. Between 1938 and 1975 he was at the Norwegian Theater, where he became a leading actor. Øyen was also involved with

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

's Radio Theater. Alongside his theater career, Øyen also performed as a film actor. He debuted in the film '' Godvakker-Maren'' in 1940 and played 19 roles altogether from 1940 to 1980. Øyen married Maj Greta Nielsen-Sæther (1913–1977) in 1939. He was the father of the actor Gard Øyen, the television host and film producer

Roald Øyen Roald Øyen (born 12 September 1940) is a Norwegian television host and television personality for NRK. Øyen joined NRK in 1962 and hosted the programme '' Bit for bit, bilde for bilde'' (Bit by Bit, Frame by Frame) and has commentated for Norway ...

, the actor and theater instructor Torill Øyen, and the film producer Jardar Øyen.

Filmography

*1940: '' Godvakker-Maren'' as the constable *1943: '' Vigdis'' as Harald Nordby, a wealthy farmer *1946: ''

Vi vil leve ''Vi vil leve'' (We Want to Live) is a Norwegian film from 1946 directed by Olav Dalgard and Rolf Randall. The film deals with the German occupation of Norway. The film studies professor Gunnar Iversen characterizes it as "an uneven and choppy fi ...

'' *1948: '' Kampen om tungtvannet'' as the professor, Major Leif Tronstad *1957: '' Smuglere i smoking'' as Dan Hyatt *1958: '' Salve Sauegjeter'' as Asbjørn, a sheepherder *1958: '' De dødes tjern'' as Magne Bråten, a policeman *1959: '' Herren og hans tjenere'' *1973: '' Brannen'' as a friend

References

External links

*
Øyvind Øyen
at the

Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database () is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Fo ...

Øyvind Øyen
at Sceneweb
Øyvind Øyen
at Filmfront 1905 births 1993 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors Male actors from Trondheim California State University alumni {{Norway-actor-stub