Ernst Ragnar Johansson (20 January 1891– 25 December 1932), professionally known as Ernst Rolf was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

actor, singer and composer and musical revue artist. Ernst Rolf. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: March 10, 2013. Rolf was born in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

in the

province of

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

, where his father was a tailor and member of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. His musical talent was evident from the start when even as a young child he performed at

IOGT The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

meetings. He would sing while his older brother Birger played the piano. In 1906 Rolf found work at the Åhlén & Holm mail order company in Insjön, Dalarna. He made his stage debut in a performance of The Wizard of Oz, playing Dorothy in an all-male cast. In 1907 he began touring the country as a singer and comedian, quickly becoming one of Sweden's most famous and successful entertainers.''Ernst Rolf'' by Uno Myggan Ericson, (Stockholm: Bonnier, 1968). During the 1920s Rolf was known for producing revues that were acclaimed for their dazzling sets, first class actors and stirring music. He was also a lyricist and composer, who wrote, for instance, the words to ''Finska Valsen'' (The Finnish Waltz) and the music for ''Från Frisco Till Cap'' (From Frisco to the Cape). He recorded his first song in 1910 and throughout his career made over eight hundred recordings.Rolf discography
''atspace.cc''. Retrieved: June 21, 2019. He acted in a number of films as well.

Personal life

He was married three times. In 1930 his third wife, actress

Tutta Rolf Tutta Rolf (born Solveig Jenny Berntzen; 7 October 1907 – 26 October 1994) was a Norwegian-Swedish film and theatre actress and singer. Born in Oslo. She appeared in 14 films between 1932 and 1939. She was married three times, firstly to Swedi ...

, appeared with him in a

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n version of ''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, Ot ...

''. The following year they had a son,

Tom Rolf Ernst Ragnar Rolf (December 31, 1931 – July 14, 2014), better known as Tom Rolf, was a Swedish-born American film editor who worked on at least 48 feature films in a career spanning over fifty years. Most notable among these films are Marti ...

, who became an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

. In spite of his success, personal and financial problems became overwhelming, and in 1932 Rolf attempted to drown himself. He survived the incident but contracted pneumonia, which proved fatal. He was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Nota ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Rolf's son from his first marriage, Sven Erik Rolf, joined the Norwegian Fascist party

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...

and fought as a volunteer in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Norwegian Legion Norwegian Legion ( no, Norske Legion, german: Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen) was a Norwegian collaborationist formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in German-occupied Norway on 29 June 1941, in support of the war aims of ...

on the Eastern Front during World War II.

References

External links

Image files
Ernst Rolf 01Ernst Rolf 02Ernst Rolf LPLars Bondeson and Ernst RolfBondeson and Rolf photo captions
Articles * *.
Ernst Rolf
in the Swedish Biographical Dictionary. Discographies
Ernst Rolf (lyricist)
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

.
Ernst Rolf (composer)
on

.
Ernst Rolf
at the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

. Song lyrics
Ernst Rolf songbook
Streaming audio
Ernst Rolf
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolf, Ernst 1891 births Artists from Dalarna People from Falun Suicides in Sweden Swedish male stage actors Swedish male film actors Swedish male silent film actors 20th-century Swedish male actors Swedish entertainers Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen 20th-century Swedish male singers 1932 suicides