Birgit Carp (13 July 1921 – 2 July 2007), better known by her screen name Git Gay, 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 ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

director, actress, and singer. Gay was born Birgit Agda Holmberg in 1921 in

Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Her parents wanted her to become a concerto pianist and sent her to the Music Conservatory in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. However, in the late 1940s, she was invited to act as a ''prima donna'' in a summer revue by director Sigge Holmberg. The following year, she performed at the

Gröna Lund Gröna Lund (; "Green Grove"), or colloquially ''Grönan'' (), is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the seaward side of Djurgården Island, it is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly because of its central l ...

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 ...

in the revue ''Klart Grönan''. In 1949, she was hired by the entertainer

Karl Gerhard Karl Emil Georg Gerhard (born Karl Emil Georg Johnson; 14 April 1891 – 22 April 1964) was a Swedish theater director, revue writer and actor. In 1938 he changed his surname to Gerhard and used the pseudonym Karl-Gerhard. Biography Karl Emi ...

to participate in the revue ''Där de stora torskarna går'' in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. In the 1950s, she performed with actor

Åke Söderblom Åke Fridolf Söderblom (20 January 1910 – 22 May 1965) was a Swedish actor, screenwriter and songwriter (one of his songs is '' Kan du vissla Johanna?''). He appeared in 70 films between 1933 and 1965. Selected filmography * '' The Dang ...

in ''Ge mig en lektion i kärlek'', a show that was sold out for three seasons. Towards the end of the 1950s, she worked with actors such as

Nils Poppe Nils Poppe (31 May 1908 – 28 June 2000) was a Swedish actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and theatre manager. He is internationally most famous for his part in Ingmar Bergman's ''The Seventh Seal'', but in Sweden he was much loved and ...

and Albert Gaubier at the Södran Theatre in Malmö, and with director Hagge Geigert at

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla are ...

. In 1960, she set up the ''Git Gay Show'' at Lorensberg Theatre in Gothenburg. The show is sometimes considered the first modern restaurant performance in Sweden. Git Gay took personal responsibility for directing, choreography, and designing the costumes. She went to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to get inspiration for the show. Gay set up 20 different stage shows, with some performed at the legendary restaurant and entertainment venue Hamburger Börs in Stockholm.

Last years/death

In the beginning of the 1990s, she was a senior television presenter in a series of revues from Gothenburg. She was married to Lennart Carp until his death in 1991. She died in

in 2007, 11 days before her 86th birthday.Git Gay profile
imdb.com; accessed 10 July 2015.

Selected filmography

* ''

A Ghost on Holiday ''A Ghost on Holiday'' (Swedish: ''Spöke på Semester'') is a 1951 Swedish comedy film directed by Gösta Bernhard and starring Stig Järrel, Ingrid Backlin and Sven Magnusson. It was shot at the Centrumateljéerna Studios in Stockholm. The fil ...

'' (1951) * ''

Blondie, Beef and the Banana ''Blondie, Beef and the Banana'' (Swedish: ''Blondie Biffen och Bananen'') is a 1952 Swedish comedy film directed by Lars-Eric Kjellgren and starring Åke Grönberg, Åke Söderblom and Doris Svedlund. It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockh ...

'' (1952) * ''

Laugh Bomb ''Laugh Bomb'' (Swedish: ''Skrattbomben'') is a 1954 Swedish comedy film directed by Börje Larsson and starring Gus Dahlström, Holger Höglund and Karl-Arne Holmsten. It was shot at the Centrumateljéerna Studios in Stockholm. The film's se ...

'' (1954) * ''

More Than a Match for the Navy ''More Than a Match for the Navy'' (Swedish: ''Flottans överman'') is a 1958 Swedish comedy film directed by Stig Olin and starring Nils Poppe, Harriet Andersson and Yvonne Lombard.Qvist & Von Bagh p.39 It was part of a series of films featuring ...

'' (1958) * ''

Only a Waiter ''Only a Waiter'' (Swedish: ''Bara en kypare'') is a 1959 Swedish comedy film directed by Alf Kjellin and starring Nils Poppe, Marianne Bengtsson and Git Gay.Qvist & Von Bagh p.126 It was the last in a series of seven films featuring Poppe in the ...

'' (1959) * ''

A Lion in Town ''A Lion in Town'' (Swedish: ''Lejon på stan'') is a 1959 Swedish comedy film directed by Gösta Folke and starring Nils Poppe, Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz and Herman Ahlsell.Qvist & Von Bagh p.126 It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm. The ...

'' (1959)

References

*Uno Myggan Ericsson, ''Myggans nöjeslexikon : ett uppslagsverk om underhållning'', Höganäs : Bra Böcker, 1989-1993;
''Git Gay har avlidit''
Sydsvenska Dagbladet, 2 July 2007.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Git 1921 births 2007 deaths Swedish stage actresses Swedish musical theatre actresses People from Karlshamn Singers from Malmö 20th-century Swedish women singers