Eero Abraham Kilpi (23 January 1882 – 29 November 1954) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

stage, film and radio actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years.

Early life

Born Eero Abraham Ericsson, he was the son of a sea captain, David Ericsson (1943–1919) and Anna Lucina Ericsson (''née'' Abrahamsson, 1846–1917). He was the second youngest child of five sons: Volter Adalbert Kilpi (1874–1939), Väinö Kilpi (1877–1880), Anto Ferdinand Kilpi (1879–1932) and Sulo Taavetti Kilpi (1882–1954). His family later changed their surname from Ericsson to Kilpi. His older brother Volter would become a prominent Finnish writer. He initially studied at the Finnish Business College before deciding to become an actor.

Stage and film career

Kilpi was engaged at the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

from 1903 to 1949 where, during his long engagement, he performed in such varied roles as the title role of

Josef Julius Wecksell Josef Julius Wecksell (19 March 1838 – 9 August 1907) was a Finnish poet and playwright. Biography Wecksell was born at Turku, Finland. He was the son of the hatter Johan Wecksell and Sofia Ulrika Björkelund. From 1858, he studied at the Imp ...

's tragedy ''Daniel Hjort'',

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

'',

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' and

Aleksis Kivi Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, ''Seitsemän veljestä'' ("Seven Brothers") in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 p ...

's ''Nummisuutarit'' ('' The Cobblers on the Heath''), among many others. During the early 1900s, he performed in

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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and served as the theater director of the Finnish Drama Institute, the predecessor of Finnish Theatre School, from 1924 to 1940. During the early 1900s, Kilpi began appearing in Finnish

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s. He made his screen debut in the 1907

Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Sweden, Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finland, Finnish national romanticism and Jugendstil, jugend styles. He also co ...

and

Teuvo Puro Kaarlo Teuvo Puro (9 November 1884 Helsinki – 24 July 1956 Helsinki) was a Finnish actor, writer and director. Puro co-directed the first Finnish fiction film, '' Salaviinanpolttajat'', with Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg ...

directed film ''

Salaviinanpolttajat ''Salaviinanpolttajat'' (''The Moonshiners'') ( sv, Lönnbrännare) is a Finnish film made in 1907. While only 20 minutes in length, it is generally considered the first fictional film made in the country and as such, the starting point of Finnish ...

'' (''The Moonshiners''); Finland's first fictional motion picture. Kilpi would appear in approximately thirty films during his career, transitioning to the sound film era with ease. In the 1930s and 1940s, he also began appearing as a voice actor on

YLE Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. His last film role was in the 1954 comedy ''Minäkö isä!'' directed by

Valentin Vaala Valentin Vaala (born Valentin Yakovich Ivanoff, Russian: Валентин Якович Иванов; 13 October 1909 in Helsinki – 21 November 1976 in Helsinki) was a Finnish film director, screenwriter and film editor. His career spanned sever ...

Personal life

Eero Kilpi was married to Tekla Sofia Kilpi (''née'' Carlson) from 1923 until his deathGeni.
Retrieved 17 April 2016. in 1954 in Helsinki.

References

External links

* 1882 births 1954 deaths Finnish male stage actors Finnish male film actors Finnish male silent film actors People from Kustavi 20th-century Finnish male actors {{Finland-actor-stub