Halfdan Christensen (12 December 1873 – 17 September 1950) was a Norwegian

stage actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Biography

Christensen was born at

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn w ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway. His family moved to Kristiania (now Oslo) where he attended Aars og Voss skole and later attended Kristiania Handelsgymnasium. In 1894, he conducted a study trip to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He had his stage début at

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

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 of ...

during 1896. He was among the leading actors at the National Theatre from its opening in 1899. In 1907, Christensen began to act as stage director. He was theatre director from 1911 to 1923, and again from 1930 to 1933. During the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

he had to flee to Sweden, and there he led the theatre '' Fri norsk scene'' together with his wife Gerda Ring. After returning to Norway after the liberation in 1945, he had held various positions at the National Theater. During the 1920s and 1930s, he had written three plays, all of which were performed at the National Theater, with Christensen as stage director. Christensen was appointed Commander 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 was Commander of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, and Commander of the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

. He was married three times, first in 1896 to Agnes Elisabeth Simonsen, second in 1905 to actress

Gyda Christensen Gyda Martha Kristine Christensen (née Andersen; 21 May 1872 – 20 August 1964) was a Norwegian actress, dancer, choreographer and managing director. Biography Christensen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. She was the only child ...

(1872-1964), and in 1922 to actress

Gerda Ring Gerda Ring (11 May 1891 – 12 January 1999) was a Norwegian stage actress and stage producer. She was the daughter of writer Barbra Ring, and married actor and theatre director Halfdan Christensen in 1922. They were parents of the actors B ...

(1891–1999). He was the father of

Pelle Christensen Per "Pelle" Christensen (9 March 1923 – 30 July 1995) was a Norwegian actor and translator. He was born in Kristiania as a son of Gerda Ring and Halfdan Christensen and brother of Bab Christensen. He made his stage debut in 1949 at the Nationa ...

(1923-1995) and

Bab Christensen Barbra Karine "Bab" Christensen (8 January 1928 – 10 April 2017) was a Norwegian actress. She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of actors Gerda Ring and Halfdan Christensen and younger sister of actor Pelle Christensen. She made her stage d ...

(1928-2017) both of whom were stage actors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Halfdan 1873 births 1950 deaths People from Telemark People from Porsgrunn Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian theatre directors Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Burials at Vestre gravlund