Dag Frøland (16 September 1945 – 26 January 2010) was a Norwegian comedian, revue artist and singer, who was best known for his countless

impersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

s and variety shows 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 ...

during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Frøland was born in

Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Gro ...

in 1945, and grew up in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, living with his grandfather after his parents' divorce. During his childhood he also lived for some time in

Aurdal Aurdal is a village in Nord-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the European route E16 highway about to the northwest of the village of Bagn (in Sør-Aurdal) and about to the southeast of the town of F ...

and

. His radio debut happened in 1952 at the age of seven, and four years later he released his first record. During his early teens he became an active writer, and at the age of 14 began writing for ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

''. After completing his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

, he began studying medicine, but soon dropped out to focus on a career in entertainment.

Career

In 1967 he recorded ''Du skal få en dag i mårå'', an

Alf Prøysen Alf Prøysen () (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970) was a Norwegian author, poet, playwright, songwriter and musician. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the 20th century. He wor ...

classic, and in the following years continued to produce hit singles. In the early 70s he became the director of 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 ...

in Oslo, and soon became a known face to the audiences, with his countless, spot-on impersonations of Norwegian celebrities and comic musical numbers, and in 1979, he began a decade-long run of annual revues on Chat Noir, drawing full houses on every show. In 1987, Frøland suddenly withdrew from the spotlight, due to stress and being overworked. In later interviews he described himself as having a complete physical and mental breakdown at the point, being completely burned out. After his withdrawal, Frøland disappeared completely from the spotlight for almost twenty years, with the exception of a single album release in 1996. In 2005, he was honoured with ''

The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norway, Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classe ...

in Gold'', but he refused to accept it as he felt that "rating humans in such a way was wrong". The same year, a DVD compilation of his best known numbers was released. The year after, he once again entered the stage after a nineteen-year absence, doing local shows in

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality i ...

and his hometown of

Personal life and death

In 1968, Frøland married Jorunn Ragnhild Bye, and they divorced in 1984. Frøland had one son, Ebbe, who died on 1 January 2002. This was one reason why he retired from public life. Frøland was regarded as "one of the nicest in Norwegian show business", and he was friends with many other artists throughout Norway. His public persona was to a large extent molded on the English

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

as personified by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

whom Frøland admired greatly from an early age, and as a 19-year-old he also met this idol at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

in London. He was also an admirer of and influenced by the Swedish revue artist

Karl Gerhard Karl Emil Georg Gerhard (born Karl Emil Georg Johnson; 14 April 1891 – 22 April 1964) was a Swedish theater director, revue writer and actor. In 1938 he changed his surname to Gerhard and used the pseudonym Karl-Gerhard. Biography Karl Emi ...

. One of his best friends was veteran comedian

Leif Juster Leif Juster (born Leif Normann Nilsen) (14 February 1910 – 25 November 1995) was a Norwegian comedian, singer and actor, arguably the most popular of his generation in Norway. Juster started out as a variety show performer, and for a period he ...

, whom he also impersonated very frequently. He was also particularly close to

Andreas Diesen Andreas Diesen (born 20 November 1945) is a Norwegian television presenter and revue historian. In 2005 he was awarded the Leonard Statuette from the Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association. Having been assigned with NRK since 1965, he was award ...

, whom he knew from childhood.NRK News broadcast, 26 January 2010 On 26 January 2010 Frøland died in his home on the famed

Bygdøy allé Bygdøy or Bygdø is a peninsula situated on the western side of Oslo, Norway. Administratively, Bygdøy belongs to the borough of Frogner; historically Bygdøy was part of Aker Municipality and became part of Oslo in 1948. Bygdøy is a popular ...

in Oslo, aged 64.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Froland, Dag 1945 births 2010 deaths Norwegian male comedians Norwegian entertainers People from Fredrikstad Musicians from Oslo People from Volda Leonard Statuette winners People educated at Oslo Cathedral School 20th-century comedians 20th-century Norwegian male singers 21st-century comedians 21st-century Norwegian male singers 21st-century Norwegian singers