Gísli Rúnar Jónsson (20 March 1953 – 28 July 2020) was an Icelandic actor, screenwriter and director.

Early years

Gísli was born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1953 to parents Guðrún Valgerður Gísladóttir, a housewife and Jón Konráð Björnsson, a local business man. Gísli has three siblings.''Profile: Gísli Rúnar Jónsson'',

Stöð 2 Stöð 2 (literally Station 2) is an Icelandic subscription television channel, owned and operated by Sýn. Founded in 1986, it was the first privately owned television station in Iceland following the lifting of the state monopoly on televisi ...

, broadcast 6. April 2010.

Career

Gísli is mostly known for his involvement with Icelandic comedies and sitcoms in the 1980s. He wrote and directed the sitcoms '' Heilsubælið í Gerfahverfi'' and '' Fastir liðir eins og Venjulega'', which become hugely successful in Iceland and have been played on reruns every few years for the last 30 years. In 1996 Gísli hosted his own talk show called ''Gott Kvöld með Gísla Rúnari'' (English: ''Good Evening with Gísli Rúnar'') on

. In addition to starring in numerous plays Gísli is also a vivid screenwriter and translator of foreign plays into Icelandic. To name a few of his translations are ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

'', '' Grease'' and '' Mary Poppins''. In 2001, Gísli wrote the biography of singer Björgvin Halldórsson. In 2011 he published the book ''Ég drepst þar sem mér sýnist'' (English: I'll die wherever I feel like), a book filled with funny stories from his early days as a comedian.

Personal life

Gísli was married to actress Edda Björgvinsdóttir. They met in drama school in the 1970s and were divorced in 2000, though they remained close friends. They have two sons, who like their parents both took to acting, Björgvin Franz Gíslason and Róbert Ólíver Gíslason. He has two other children from other relationships. His son Róbert was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome as a child. Gísli, as well as his older son, Björgvin, was thought to have the disease although he was never diagnosed by a professional. Gísli was an alcoholic and stopped drinking in 1987.

References

External links

*
Glatkistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, Gisli Runar 1953 births 2020 deaths Icelandic directors Icelandic male film actors Icelandic male stage actors Icelandic male television actors Icelandic male voice actors Icelandic people with disabilities Icelandic screenwriters Icelandic writers Male actors from Reykjavík People with Tourette syndrome 20th-century Icelandic male actors 21st-century Icelandic male actors