Harald Stormoen (8 September 1872 – 14 November 1937) was a Norwegian actor.

Personal life

Stormoen was born in

Nord-Odal Nord-Odal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Odalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sand. Other villages in the municipality include Knapper and Mo. The ...

as a son of farmer Marius Stormoen. He was a half-brother of

Hans Stormoen Hans Stormoen (29 May 19064 April 1979) was a Norwegian actor. Family Stormoen was born in Bergen, the son of the farmers Marius Stormoen and Synnøve Henriksen. He was the half-brother of the actor Harald Stormoen and the uncle of the actor Kje ...

, an uncle of

Kjell Stormoen Kjell Stormoen (24 March 1921 – 22 October 2010) was a Norwegian actor, scenographer and theatre director. He was born in Bergen as a son of Trygve H. Stormoen (1896–1971) and Hjørdis Henriksen (1897–1975). He was a first cousin of Guri S ...

and a granduncle of

Even Stormoen Even Stormoen (born 10 May 1955) is a Norwegian stage actor. Biography Born in Bergen on 10 May 1955, Stormoen is a son of actress Elna Kimmestad, and actor and theatre director Kjell Stormoen. He had his stage debut in 1978, in the musical '' ...

. By education, Stormoen had the

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 ...

from 1890 as well as one year at the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

. From October 1900 to 1909 he was married to Inga Bjørnson (1871–1952); they had the child

Guri Stormoen Guri Stormoen (10 September 1901 – 1 November 1974) was a Norwegian actress. She was active both on stage and in film. Biography She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway as a daughter of actor Harald Stormoen (1872–1937) and his first wi ...

who became an actress. In July 1909 Harald Stormoen married Alfhild Larsen (1883–1974).

Acting career

After some years in the United States, where he made his acting debut, Stormoen returned to Norway in 1895 and worked at various theatres. His breakthrough was playing the character "Seladon Andrisen" in

Hans Aanrud Hans Aanrud (3 September 1863 – 11 January 1953) was a Norwegian writer. He wrote plays, poetry, and stories depicting rural life in his native Gudbrandsdal, Norway. Life Aanrud, who came from a rural family, was born and raised in Auggeda ...

's comedy ''Storken'' at Harald Otto's Norske Teaterselskab, and he also played this character later at other theatres. In 1899 he was hired at the newly opened National Theatre. He worked here from 1899 to 1918, 1921 to 1928 and 1935 to 1937. At the National Theatre Stormoen played both comic and tragic characters, often portraying elder men. Among his roles was "the captain" 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 drama ''

The Dance of Death The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...

''. From 1928 to 1935 he worked at

Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1929, and ended as an independent theatre in 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. The theatre's original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama. History Th ...

. He also starred in movies between 1925 and 1932.See also

Organisation work

Stormoen chaired the

Norwegian Actors' Equity Association The Norwegian Actors' Equity Association ( no, Norsk Skuespillerforbund) is an association of Norwegian actors. Its main purpose is to improve actors' working conditions and to protect the artistic, judicial and financial interests of actors in N ...

from 1913 to 1915, from 1921 to 1924 and again from 1925 to 1928. During his first period the association successfully started giving matinées to increase its income. In his second period the association celebrated its 25th anniversary. During his third period there was a tough struggle with Trondjems Teater, which experienced a difficult economic period and treated its staff badly. He was nominated Honorary Member of the association at his 60th anniversary in 1932. Harald Stormoen was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in 1932. He died in November 1937 in

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 of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stormoen, Harald 1872 births 1937 deaths People from Nord-Odal Norwegian Military Academy alumni Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian male silent film actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors Norwegian Army personnel Norwegian expatriates in the United States