Egil Næss Eide (24 August 1868 – 13 December 1946) was a Norwegian

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 ...

actor and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. He appeared in eighteen films between 1913 and 1935, and worked at the National Theatre between 1899 and 1939.

Career

He was born in Haugesund as a son of ship-owner Ludolf Eide (1821–1908) and Albertine Knagenhjelm Wiese (1834–1903). He was an uncle of zoologist

Albert Eide Parr Albert Eide Parr (15 August 1900 – 16 July 1991) was a Norwegian-born, American marine biologist, zoologist and oceanographer. He was the director of the American Museum of Natural History from 1942 to 1959. '' Parrosaurus missouriensis'', a spe ...

. After finishing his secondary education, Eide lived in the United States until 1894, where he went through his first marriage. Back in Norway, he made his state debut in 1894 at

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

. He was hired at

Christiania Theater Hotel Christiania Teater – is a historic Oslo city hotel and landmark built in 1918, known primarily for the notability of its theater inside the hotel and recently its unique hotel design by Annemone Wille Waage. The 102-unit hotel is locate ...

in 1898, and when it went defunct one year later he moved to the new National Theatre. He played many notable roles, both internationally known roles like

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

and

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

, but also in plays by the Nordic writers

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

and

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, including the title role in the first Norwegian performance (in 1904) of Ibsen's play ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

''. ''Brand'', published as far back as in 1866, had previously been staged in Sweden. He made his

debut in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1913, and later played in films such as ''

The Clergyman ''The Clergyman'' ( sv, Prästen) is a 1914 cinema of Sweden, Swedish silent film, silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. Cast * Carl Borin * Egil Eide as Priest * Justus Hagman as Older Priest * William Larsson as Clara's Father * Ri ...

'' (1914), ''

The Price of Betrayal ''The Price of Betrayal'' ( sv, Judaspengar) is a 1915 Swedish silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. The film was considered lost until a nearly complete copy was located in 2017. Cast * Gabriel Alw * Stina Berg * Egil Eide as Blom ...

'' (1915), '' The Wings'' (1916) and ''

The Ships That Meet ''The Ships That Meet'' ( sv, Skepp som mötas) is a 1916 Swedish silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. Cast * Lili Bech as Ethel * Egil Eide as John Hall * Mathias Taube as Dr. Hiller * August Warberg Johan August Warberg (5 May ...

'' (1916). He also directed two films. He faced declining health in the 1930s, and finished his on-screen career with two Norwegian films in 1932 and 1935. He left the National Theatre in 1939. Also in 1939, his marriage to singer Kaja Eide Norena since 1909 was dissolved. In the

1927 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 17 October 1927. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The Labour Party emergeed as the largest party, winning 59 of the 150 seats in the Storting. ...

he was the sixth ballot candidate for the party National Legion. In 1919 he was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. He died in December 1946 in Haugesund. Kjærlighet til næsten - drawing by Lærum

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eide, Egil 1868 births 1946 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian male silent film actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors Norwegian film directors People from Haugesund Norwegian expatriates in the United States