Botten Soot (born Ingeborg Bergit Soot; 22 March 1895 – 21 May 1958) was a Norwegian actress, singer, and dancer. Her primary venue was the cabaret and revue theatre

Chat Noir Chat Noir ( French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer Bokken L ...

, where she performed for most of her career.

Early and personal life

Born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Soot was the daughter of the painter

Eyolf Soot Eyolf Soot (24 April 1859 – 30 August 1928) was a Norwegian painter. Biography Eyolf Soot was born in Aremark in Østfold, Norway. He was the grandson of engineer and canal builder, Engebret Soot. Large parts of childhood were spent ...

(1859–1928) and children's theatre pioneer Inga Bjørnson (1871–1952). Her parents divorced in 1900; her mother married the actor

Harald Stormoen Harald Stormoen (8 September 1872 – 14 November 1937) was a Norwegian actor. Personal life Stormoen was born in Nord-Odal as a son of farmer Marius Stormoen. He was a half-brother of Hans Stormoen, an uncle of Kjell Stormoen and a granduncle o ...

when Botten was five years old, and Botten Soot was thus a half-sister of the actress

Guri Stormoen Guri Stormoen (10 September 1901 – 1 November 1974) was a Norwegian actress. She was active both on stage and in film. Biography She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway as a daughter of actor Harald Stormoen (1872–1937) and his first w ...

. She also gave birth to a child, the actor

Svend von Düring Svend Soot von Düring (7 July 1915 – 7 June 1969) was a Norwegian actor. He was a son of entertainer Botten Soot. He was a great-grandson of Engebret Soot and grandson of Eyolf Soot and Inga Bjørnson. His grandmother's second husband's child ...

. She learned ballet as a child and was a student at Thora Hals Olsen ballet school; later she studied singing with Bergljot Ibsen, Wilhelm Cappelen Kloed and

Raimund von zur-Mühlen Baron Raimund von zur-Mühlen (sometimes "Raymond", "Raimund von Zur Mühlen") (10 November 1854 in Uusna Manor (''Neu-Tennasilm''), Viljandi Parish (now in Viiratsi Parish), Viljandi County, Governorate of Livonia – 11 December 1931 in Wist ...

, and harmony with

Carsten Carlsen Carsten Marensius Carlsen (5 June 1892 – 28 August 1961) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. Biography Carsten Marensius Carlsen was born in Oslo, Norway. His parents were Anton Carlsen (1862–1943) and Louise Larsen (1876–1957). In 19 ...

. She was later married to sculptor

Trygve Thorsen Anders Trygve Wittenstrøm Stålhandske Thorsen, (15 January 1892 – 24 October 1965) was a Norwegian sculptor. He was born in Arendal. He was known mainly for his busts and reliefs. He sculpted portraits of Hulda Garborg, Bjørnstjerne Bjørns ...

, and their daughter became a painter and sculptor. This marriage was eventually dissolved, and she married actor

Olaf Kronstad Olaf Kronstad (born Olav Hansen, December 2, 1892 – July 14, 1939) was a Norwegian stage and film actor. Life Olaf Kronstad was born Olaf Hansen in Årstad, the son of the tanner Ludvig Hansen (later Øvrebø) and his wife Johanne. Kronstad ...

in 1924.

Career

Soot made her stage debut as a dancer in 1911, as a revue artist at the

in 1913, and as a singer at

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiani ...

in 1914. She spent most of her career entertaining at the revue stage Chat Noir where she performed together with

Einar Rose Einar Rose (27 January 1898 – 3 February 1979) was a Norwegian actor, revue artist, singer and restaurant keeper. He was among Norway's most popular singers, and recorded more than 300 songs between 1927 and 1941. He made his debut in the rev ...

, artistic director at Chat Noir and at the Mayol-teatret opposite theater and film actor

Harald Heide Steen Harald Heide Steen (11 January 1911 – 3 January 1980) was a Norwegian film actor. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1933 and 1977. He was the father of actor Harald Heide-Steen Jr. Partial filmography * ''Vi som går kjøkkenveie ...

. Botten also performed together with theatre actress and singer

Tutta Rolf Tutta Rolf (born Solveig Jenny Berntzen; 7 October 1907 – 26 October 1994) was a Norwegian-Swedish film and theatre actress and singer. Born in Oslo. She appeared in 14 films between 1932 and 1939. She was married three times, firstly to Swedi ...

and her husband

Ernst Rolf Ernst Ragnar Johansson (20 January 1891– 25 December 1932), professionally known as Ernst Rolf was a Swedish actor, singer and composer and musical revue artist. Ernst Rolf. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: March 10, 2013. Rolf was born in Falun ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Soot toured Norway with her one-woman show, in

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

style. A scriptwriter, Soot also wrote texts for her own performances. Among her best known texts were "Vårvise" and "De gammeldagse Piger". Her book ''Mamma i fint selskap og andre historier'' was published in 1946. Soot died in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

on 21 May 1958.

Filmography

* '' Under forvandlingens lov'' (1911) * ''En vinternat'' (1917) * ''De forældreløse'' (1917) * ''

Jomfru Trofast ''Jomfru Trofast'' (Miss Faithful) is a Norwegian film from 1921 based on a folk play with a script by Vilhelm Krag.Krag, Vilhelm. 1906. ''Jomfru Trofast: folkekomedie i 4 akter''. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Company.Waldekranz, Rune. 1985. ''Filmens h ...

'' (1921)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soot, Botten 1895 births 1958 deaths Actresses from Bergen Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian film actresses Norwegian silent film actresses 20th-century Norwegian actresses