Einar Sissener (21 September 1897 – 4 March 1968) was a Norwegian stage actor, film actor, stage producer, film producer and theatre director.

Personal life

Einar Rasmus Krag Schnitler Sissener was born in

Kristiania 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 dispensing chemist Einar Andreas Sissener and Ida Cathrine Dorthea Schnitler. He studied law at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

for three years without finishing, but was active in student organizations, editing the periodical ''Minerva'', heading the student theatre Samfundsteatret, and a board member of the

Norwegian Students' Society Norwegian Students' Society ( no, Det Norske Studentersamfund) is Norway's oldest student society. The Norwegian Students' Society was established during 1813 in Oslo, Norway. Two years after the Royal Frederick University (today named the Univer ...

Career

Sissener made his stage debut on Centralteatret in 1919, as the character "Philip" in an adaptation of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's play '' You Never Can Tell''. His breakthrough came in 1923 as "Gottfried" in

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

's comedy ''Det lykkelige Skibbrud'' (English, ''The Happy Capsize''), and as the title character in

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's comedy ''

Les Fourberies de Scapin ''Scapin the Schemer'' (french: Les Fourberies de Scapin) is a three-act comedy of intrigue by the French playwright Molière. The title character Scapin is similar to the archetypical Scapino character. The play was first staged on 24 May 1671 i ...

''. He worked for the National Theatre from 1924. and was best known for his comedy characters. He played the character "Harald" in

Oskar Braaten Oskar Braaten (25 November 1881 – 17 July 1939) was a Norwegian novelist and playwright. Biography Oskar Alexander Braaten was born in Sagene, a borough of the city of Oslo. Sagene was one of Norway's oldest industrial areas dating to the mid ...

's comedy ''Den store barnedåpen'' (English: The Great Christening) in 1925, one of the National Theatre's greatest successes. He made his film debut in 1926, in the film ''Glomdalsbruden'', and acted in the first Norwegian

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, ''Den store barnedåpen'' from 1931 (based on Braaten's comedy), again as the character "Harald". In 1934 and 1935 he produced the two films ''Syndere i sommersol'' and ''

Du har lovet mig en kone! ''Du har lovet mig en kone!'' ( en, You Promised Me a Wife!) is a 1935 Norwegian comedy film written by Tancred Ibsen, and co-directed by Ibsen and Einar Sissener, starring Sissener, Randi Brænne and Kirsten Heiberg Kirsten Heiberg (25 Apr ...

''. Sissener chaired the

Norwegian Actors' Equity Association The Norwegian Actors' Equity Association ( no, Norsk Skuespillerforbund) is an association of Norwegian actors. Its main purpose is to improve actors' working conditions and to protect the artistic, judicial and financial interests of actors in N ...

from 1928 to 1932. He was theatre director for

Søilen Teater Søilen Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1930. It was managed by Sophus Dahl until 1932. It was then a supporting stage for Chat Noir until 1934. From 1934 to 1939 the theatre was run by Henry Gleditsch, and from 1939 it was run by Aud ...

in 1932. From 1933 to 1937 he was theatre director for

Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1929, and ended as an independent theatre in 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. The theatre's original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama. History Th ...

. From 1937 to 1946 he worked for the 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 ...

, both as an actor, stage producer and songwriter. In 1947 he returned to the National Theatre. His last appearance was in

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

's comedy ''Meteor'' in 1967. He played a total of 127 roles at the National Theatre. Sissener was decorated 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 ci ...

in 1960, and was a knight of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sissener, Einar 1897 births 1968 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian male silent film actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors Male actors from Oslo Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Norwegian theatre managers and producers Norwegian theatre directors