Jan Victor Armas Lindblad (19 July 1932 – 5 April 1987) 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 ...

naturalist, writer, photographer, film maker, and

whistling Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

artist who imitated animals. Lindblad was born in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

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 ...

in 1932. He made his debut in the early 1950s, performing in various

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 ...

s, as a juggler and whistling artist. The latter talent made him one of the 1970s best-selling record artist in his native

. One of his biggest hits was his

interpretation of the American folk song "

Oh Shenandoah "Oh Shenandoah" (also called "Shenandoah", "Across the Wide Missouri", "Rolling River", "Oh, My Rolling River", "World of Misery''") is a traditional folk song, sung in the Americas, of uncertain origin, dating to the early 19th century. ...

", recorded in 1977. Lindblad was also known for his wildlife films, such as ''Ett vildmarksrike'' (A wildlife realm) of 1964; ''Guyana – vattnens land'' (

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

– Land of the waters) of 1975; and ''Djungelbokens värld'' (The World of the Jungle Book) of 1980. In addition, he produced several nature films for television, including series from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Many of Lindblad's films were recorded as he stayed with

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, for example in Guyana in 1964. For his nature films, Lindblad was awarded the ''

Stora Journalistpriset Stora Journalistpriset ("The Swedish Grand Prize for Journalism") is an annual Swedish award, founded in 1966 by Bonnier AB, given to "recognize achievement in journalism". The prize money is SEK 100,000 and is awarded in four categories: * Sc ...

'' award in 1970, and in 1980, he was awarded an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

.Jan Lindblad
Norra Västerbotten, June 8, 2008. Lindblad was also an activist who fought against keeping wild animals in small cages; and known for his project of keeping two

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

cubs, named Lillan and Rani, in his Swedish residence. Lindblad was a known

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

but died suddenly in

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 ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

related to a lingering

tropical fever Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by forci ...

he had contracted in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was survived by his life partner and co-worker Pia Thörn and by Jan Lindblad, Jr., his son from a previous relationship. In 1998, a series of two

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s, engraved by the accomplished

engraver

Czesław Słania Czesław Słania (22 October 1921 Czeladź; 17 March 2005 Kraków) was a Polish-born postage stamp and banknote engraver, living in Sweden from 1956. According to the ''Guinness Book of World Records'', Słania was the most skilled and prolifi ...

, was issued by the Swedish Postal Service with Lindblad and his two rather unusual

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

s, the tiger cubs Lillan and Rani.Sweden 1998-1999
Czeslaw Slania's engravings

References

External links

Media

, Jan Lindblad interviewed by Swedish talkshow host

Lennart Hyland Otto Lennart Hyland (24 September 1919 – 15 March 1993), was a Swedish TV-show host and journalist and one of the most popular and renowned TV personalities in the history of Swedish television. His biggest success as an entertainer was unquestio ...

(1970) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindblad, Jan 1932 births 1987 deaths Swedish entertainers Swedish television journalists Swedish male writers