Einar Leonard Schanke (19 May 1927 – 23 February 1992) was a Norwegian composer, pianist, revue writer, theatre director and theatrical producer. He wrote revues for the
Edderkoppen Theatre
The Edderkoppen Theatre is a theatre located at St Olavs Plass in Oslo, Norway. The theatre is known for varied entertainment, ranging from comedy to musical shows. From 1967 to 2003 it was called the ABC theatre. Since 2016, it has been known ...
, and later for
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 Las ...
, where he was also director from 1962 to 1975.
Personal life
Schanke was born 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 ...
as the son of baker Einar Schanke and Engeline Vindenes. He was married to Karin Anne Brit ("Lollo") Andreassen from 1960. He died in Oslo in 1992.
[
]
Career
After graduating as a student in 1947, Schanke became active as a freelance swing jazz musician from 1949, and as a writer for various amateur- and student revues from 1950. In 1956 he cooperated with Bjørn Sand to create the revue ''Med vinger på'', as well as a new version of the comedy success ''Bare jatt me'n'', both set up at Edderkoppen Teater. With Alfred Næss
Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss (26 April 1877 – 6 July 1955) was a Norwegian speed skater. He set the men's world record for 500 meter speed skating on 5 February 1893 at 49.4 seconds in Hamar, Norway. He then broke his own world record 21 days late ...
, he presented the revue ''Ferske Fjes'' in 1957 at Chat Noir, where Schanke served as conductor, writer, composer and at times theatre manager. He was the director there from 1962 to 1975.[ Early in his career, Schanke wrote revue classics such as "En dåre kan spørre" for ]Arvid Nilssen
Arvid Nilssen (25 December 1913 – 24 March 1976) was a Norwegian actor, revue artist and singer. He was regarded as one of the leading comedians in Norwegian revue. Biography
Nilsen was born at Alvdal in Hedmark, Norway.
He made his debut ...
, and "Ro" for Kurt Foss
Kurt Foss (1 January 1925 – 17 October 1991) was a Norwegian composer, singer and vaudeville artist.
Biography
He was born in Bergen, and together with Reidar Bøe Kurt Foss created the hugely popular duo "Radiofantomene" ("The Radio Phantom ...
and Reidar Bøe
Reidar Bøe (7 May 1921 – 9 August 1969) was a Norwegian singer and composer.
He was born in Bergen, and is known for his collaboration with Kurt Foss. He made his stage debut at Den nationale scene in 1939, and also participated in radio s ...
, as well as song texts for Wenche Myhre
Wenche Synnøve Myhre (born 15 February 1947), known in some countries as Wencke Myhre, is a Norwegian singer who has had a great number of hit songs since the 1960s in the Norwegian, Danish, German and Swedish markets and languages.
Early caree ...
and Nora Brockstedt
Nora Brockstedt (20 January 1923 – 5 November 2015) was a Norwegian singer.
In her last years, she focused more on the jazz genre, with successful albums like ''As Time Goes By'' (JazzAvdelingen, 2004) and ''Christmas Songs'' (JazzAvdelin ...
. He composed melodies for classic revue numbers like "Kjære lille Norge", "Evergreen", "Syng og vær glad" and "Festen er over".[
He acquired the ]Edderkoppen Theatre
The Edderkoppen Theatre is a theatre located at St Olavs Plass in Oslo, Norway. The theatre is known for varied entertainment, ranging from comedy to musical shows. From 1967 to 2003 it was called the ABC theatre. Since 2016, it has been known ...
in 1967, which he renamed 'ABC-teatret'. He started the record company Cat Music in the 1960s. Among his most popular albums were ''Kjære lille Norge'' from 1972, for which he was awarded Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...
, and ''Einar Schankes Gledeshus'' from 1974.[ He issued albums with ]Rolv Wesenlund
Rolv Helge Wesenlund (17 September 1936 – 18 August 2013) was a Norwegian comedian, singer, clarinetist, writer and actor.
Biography
Wesenlund was most known for having portrayed the title character in the movies ''Bør Børson'', ''Bør Bø ...
and Harald Heide-Steen Jr.
Harald Heide-Steen Jr. (18 August 1939 – 3 July 2008) was a Norway, Norwegian actor, comedian and singer. He was the son of Harald Heide Steen.
Biography
During the 1960s, Heide-Steen. Jr made the radio programs ''Hørerøret'', ''Sugerø ...
, including ''Og takk for det'' from 1970, and the ''Hørerør'' series. He also issued albums with Rolf Søder, Odd Børretzen
Odd Lunde Børretzen (21 November 1926 – 3 November 2012) was a Norwegian author, illustrator, translator, and one of the most significant text writers, folk singers and artists in Norway.
Biography
Børretzen was born in Fister in th ...
and Arthur Arntzen Arthur Arntzen may refer to:
* Arthur Arntzen (politician) (1906–1997), Norwegian politician
* Arthur Arntzen (humorist) (born 1937), Norwegian humorist
{{hndis, Arntzen, Arthur ...
.[ He staged several musicals at the ABC theatre, including Norwegian adaptations of '']The Fantastics
The Fantastics were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers that worked together extensively between 1984 and 2007. At times, Bobby Fulton would team up with his brother Jackie Fulton under the same name.
Te ...
'' and ''The Little Shop of Horrors
''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The fi ...
''.[
Throughout the 1950s, Schanke became responsible for a new style of revue, performed entirely for the open stage without the traditional music numbers played before a closed carpet during scene shifts. Jazz-inspired, more show-oriented music which was primarily self-composed replaced the saloon-themed accompaniment common at the time. Schanke's theatre is often called 'jazz-revue', not only due to the choice of music genre, but also for its seemingly improvised, more casual theatre-expression.
Schanke had an eye for talent, and was not only responsible for introducing many fresh pens and faces, but pulled many established names from theatre and popular music into his revues. Examples include ]Jon Eikemo
Jon Eikemo (born 30 November 1939 in Åsane, Norway) is a Norwegian actor. He debuted on stage in 1961. He made his film debut in 1968, with the movie '' De ukjentes marked'' (The Market of the Outcasts).
Eikemo has been a minor political candidat ...
, Kirsti Sparboe
Kirsti Sparboe (born 7 December 1946) is a Norwegian musical performer and an actress. Most of her musical career has been built on participation in the widely-popular Eurovision Song Contest in which she competed three times and scored a grand ...
, Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
, Inger Lise Rypdal
Inger Lise Rypdal (born 14 December 1949 in Lena, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and actress in many different genres: pop, rock, theater, film, and musical. She is the sister of singer Maj Britt Andersen and was married (1969–1985) to guitari ...
, Kjersti Holmen
Kjersti Holmen (8 February 1956 – 26 September 2021) was a Norwegian actress.
She was born on Nøtterøy, and later moved to Alnabru, where she grew up with her parents and two sisters. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of T ...
, and Øivind Blunck
Øivind Blunck (28 December 1950) is a Norwegian comedian and actor.Øivind Blunck
in Leonard Statuette ''Leonardstatuetten'' (Leonard Statuette) is a prize awarded by the Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association. The award is named after revue instructor, composer and director Einar Leonard Schanke (1927–1992), who was one of Norway's most importan ...
is named after him.[ He was a Knight of the Order of St. Olav.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schanke, Einar
1927 births
1992 deaths
Musicians from Oslo
Theatre people from Oslo
Norwegian theatre directors
Spellemannprisen winners
Leonard Statuette winners