Frits von der Lippe (1 June 1901 – 5 September 1988) was a Norwegian journalist and theater critic. He served as Director of

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or ima ...

in Oslo from 1949–1968.

Biography

Von der Lippe was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Norway. His parents were Jakob von der Lippe (1870–1954) and Hanna Castberg (1872–1926). His brother Jens von der Lippe (1911–1990) was a ceramist, non-fiction writer and educator. He grew up in Kristiania (now

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 ...

) where he took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1919. He worked the next year as a teacher at Boen near

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

. He then started as a career in journalism. He was employed at ''Tidens Tegn'' from 1920–21 and then at '' Morgenposten'' where he was a theater critic until 1930. From 1930 to 1949, he worked as Deputy Secretary for Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, publishing director

Harald Grieg Harald Grieg (3 August 1894 – 6 October 1972) was a Norwegian publisher. He was director of Gyldendal Norsk Forlag and for many years was a leading figure in the Norwegian book industry. Biography Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the ...

was under arrest from 1941-42. Von der Lippe attended to the interests of the publisher during that period. In parallel with the publishing activities after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, von der Lippe wrote theater reviews in a series of newspapers. He was the first Director of the Riksteatret from 1949 to 1968. He was also chairman of the Norwegian Theater and Music Council from 1947–49 and was chairman of the board of the

Norwegian National Academy of Theatre The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in ...

from 1953 to 1971. He was awarded the

Arts Council Norway Honorary Award The Arts Council Norway Honorary Award ( no, Norsk kulturråds ærespris) is awarded annually by the Arts Council Norway. The prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to Norwegian art and culture. The pri ...

(''Norsk kulturråds ærespris'') in 1968 for his contributions to Norwegian culture.

Bibliography

''Rundt land og strand. Ved Riksteatrets første milepel'' (1959)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lippe, Frits von der 1901 births 1988 deaths Journalists from Bergen Norwegian theatre directors 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian journalists Theatre people from Bergen