Frank Robert (né Frank Robert Olstad; 12 October 1918 – 13 July 2007) was a Norwegian singer, dancer and actor. He is particularly remembered for playing the title character in the popular audio play ''

Dickie Dick Dickens ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' is a satirical radio play by and . The play, which tells the story of Dickie Dick Dickens' rise from simple pickpocket to gangster leader in Chicago, was first produced in Germany in 1959 by Bayerischer Rundfunk, which prod ...

''.

Personal life

Robert 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 ...

to engineer Ole Christian Olstad and Helene Elisabet Svensson. He was married to actress

Randi Brænne Randi Brænne (26 May 1911 – 1 June 2004) was a Norwegian actress. She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was a daughter of Sigmund Brænne and Bodil Winge and was a sister of actress and writer Berit Brænne (1918–1976). Ran ...

, and a brother-in-law of

Berit Brænne Berit Winge Brænne (18 September 1918 – 6 September 1976) was a Norwegian actress, children's writer and songwriter. Personal life She was born in Aker, a daughter of architect Sigmund Brænne and Bodil Winge, and sister of actress Randi ...

. Originally born Olstad, his second name Robert was upgraded to surname after an initiative from

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 ...

manager

Johan Henrik Wiers-Jenssen Johan Henrik "Johe" Wiers-Jenssen (30 April 1897 – 23 March 1951) was a Norwegian newspaper columnist and theatre director. Biography He was born in Kristiania as the son of novelist, playwright and stage producer Hans Wiers-Jenssen (1866� ...

Career

Robert made his stage debut at the Carl Johan Theater in 1939. From 1941 he performed at the revue stage

, and then at

Centralteatret Centralteatret ( en, Central Theater) is a theatre on Akersgata in the city centre of Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western ...

from 1944 to 1958. He was assigned with the

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiani ...

from 1958 to 1962, and after a period at

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater located in Oslo, Norway. The theater has its main stage in its own theater house at Rosenkrantz' gate 10. It is one of Norway's most visited theatres. Oslo Nye Teater AS is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. Histor ...

, again at Nationaltheatret from 1968 to 1988. At Nationaltheatret he played in comedies by

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, ...

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 ...

and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. Among his

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 ...

characters were "Krogstad" in ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...

'', "Manders" in ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'', and "Begriffenfeldt" and "the button-molder" in ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

''. He was awarded the

Norwegian Theatre Critics Award The Norwegian Theatre Critics Award (''Den norske Teaterkritikerprisen'' or ''Kritikerprisen'') is awarded by the Norwegian Critics' Association (''Norsk Kritikerlag'') and has been awarded every year since 1939 (except 1940–45). Norwegian Critics ...

in 1974 for the character "Gustav" in

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 ...

's ''

Creditors A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

''. He participated in thirteen films, including ''Trine'' from 1952, ''

På solsiden ''På solsiden'' (On the Sunny Side) is a Norwegian comedy-drama film from 1956 directed by Edith Carlmar.Goble, Alan (ed.). 1999. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. London: Bowker Saur, p. 899. It stars Arne Lie, Randi Kolstad, ...

'' from 1956, ''

Fjols til fjells ''Fjols til fjells'' or ''Fools in the Mountains'' is a Norwegian situation comedy film released in 1957. It is one of the most popular Norwegian films of all time. It is considered one of Edith Carlmar's best films and is one of her few forays i ...

'' from 1957, ''

Freske fraspark ''Freske fraspark'' (Fresh Push-Offs) is a Norwegian comedy film from 1963 directed by Bjørn Breigutu. The script was written by Kjell Aukrust and Breigutu. The story was previously arranged for stage for the Norwegian Theater in Oslo as the pl ...

'' from 1963, and several of the '' Olsenbanden'' movies. He played the title role in the Norwegian version of the audio play series ''

'', aired by

Radioteatret Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927. In January 2021, ''Verdens Gang'' cited a report from NTB, saying that Radioteatret ow isbeing ...

. He voiced the pupped character "Reodor Felgen" in ''

The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix ''The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix'' ( no, Flåklypa Grand Prix) is a 1975 Norwegian stop-motion-animated feature film directed by Ivo Caprino. It is based on characters from a series of books by Norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust. It is t ...

'' from 1975. Among his song recordings are "På sykkeltur" from 1954,

Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norway, Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children ...

's children song "Bamsens Fødselsdag" from 1952, and

Finn Bø Finn Bø (4 July 1893 – 24 April 1962) was a Norwegian songwriter, revue writer, playwright, journalist, instructor and theatre critic. Career Bø is particularly remembered for his song Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått, which became extremel ...

's revue song "Gutten som har vaska seg".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Frank 1918 births 2007 deaths Male actors from Oslo Norwegian male dancers Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian male voice actors Norwegian male radio actors 20th-century Norwegian male singers