Kari Diesen (née Heide-Steen; 24 June 1914 – 18 March 1987) was a Norwegian singer and revue actress. She worked for the revue theatre

Chat Noir Chat Noir ( French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer Bokken L ...

from 1937 to 1953, and for the

Edderkoppen Theatre The Edderkoppen Theatre is a theatre located at St Olavs Plass in Oslo, Norway. The theatre is known for varied entertainment, ranging from comedy to musical shows. From 1967 to 2003 it was called the ABC theatre. Since 2016, it has been known ...

from 1954 to 1959. She participated in 24 films between 1941 and 1985. Among her best known song recordings is her version of "Hovedøen".

Personal life

Kari Heide-Steen was born in

Kristiania 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 ...

(now Oslo), Norway as the daughter of

Harald Steen Harald Steen (April 2, 1886 – April 18, 1941) was a Norwegian tenor and actor. Steen debuted at the National Theater in Oslo in 1902 and remained there until 1908. He was engaged with the Central Theater from 1908 to 1927. With his spirited m ...

(1886–1941) and

Signe Heide Steen Signe Heide Steen (May 17, 1881 – October 18, 1959) was a Norwegian actress. Family Signe Heide Steen was born in Holmestrand, Norway, one of twelve children of the violin maker Johan Albert Heide (1848–1925) and Julie Hovelsen (1855–1906 ...

(1881–1959). She was sister of actor

Harald Heide Steen Harald Heide Steen (11 January 1911 – 3 January 1980) was a Norwegian film actor. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1933 and 1977. He was the father of actor Harald Heide-Steen Jr. Partial filmography * ''Vi som går kjøkkenveie ...

, and aunt of actor

Harald Heide-Steen Jr. Harald Heide-Steen Jr. (18 August 1939 – 3 July 2008) was a Norway, Norwegian actor, comedian and singer. He was the son of Harald Heide Steen. Biography During the 1960s, Heide-Steen. Jr made the radio programs ''Hørerøret'', ''Sugerø ...

She was sister of opera singer

Randi Heide Steen Randi Heide Steen (15 December 1909 – 12 November 1990) was a Norwegian soprano singer. Biography Steen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. Her parents, Harald Steen (1886–1941) and Signe Heide Steen (1881–1959), were both act ...

and thus aunt of Randi's daughter actress

Anne Marit Jacobsen Anne Marit Jacobsen (born 7 November 1946) is a Norwegian stage and film actress. She was born in Oslo as the daughter of sculptor Thorbjørn Sigurd Jacobsen and opera singer Randi Heide Steen. She has been assigned to the National Theatre in ...

. She was married to actor and theatre director

Ernst Diesen Ernst Diesen (6 April 1913 – 14 November 1970) was a Norwegian revue and film actor and theatre director. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Andreas Melchior Seip Diesen (1881–1958) and Sofie Elisabeth A ...

(1914–70), and was the mother of NRK writer and director

Andreas Diesen Andreas Diesen (born 20 November 1945) is a Norwegian television presenter and revue historian. In 2005 he was awarded the Leonard Statuette from the Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association. Having been assigned with NRK since 1965, he was award ...

Career

After a career as young ballerina for

Ernst Rolf Ernst Ragnar Johansson (20 January 1891– 25 December 1932), professionally known as Ernst Rolf was a Swedish actor, singer and composer and musical revue artist. Ernst Rolf. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: March 10, 2013. Rolf was born in Falun ...

, she was engaged by Victor Bernau to his revue in the spring of 1930, where she performed the song "Det er forbudt for barn under 16 år". Her breakthrough came in the 1935 revue ''Hela'n går'' at

Scala Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

. From 1937 to 1953 she worked at

, and from 1954 to 1959 at the

. She was later freelance artist, with frequent assignments for radio and television. Among her song performances are "Tykk og dum og deilig" and "Halvveis", and among her monologues are "Mannfolk" and "Uteliggerne" written by

Bias Bernhoft Tobias Brodtkorb "Bias" Bernhoft (13 October 1902 – 24 November 1986) was a Norwegian singer and revue writer. Early and personal life He was born at Voss in 1902 to the Holmenkolbanen director Tobias Bernhoft (1869–1937) and his wife Mar ...

and

Bjørn Sand Bjørn Hjalmar Sand (born 19 September 1928) is a Norwegian revue writer and actor. He was born in Oslo, and is half brother of Rolf Sand. He married Unni Bernhoft in 1955, is son-in-law of Bias Bernhoft and is the father of Jon Ola Sand. He is ...

. Her record debut came in 1938 when she sang two duets with

Jens Book-Jenssen Jens Peter Book-Jenssen (14 November 1910 – 28 March 1999) was a Norwegian singer of popular music, songwriter, revue artist and theatre director. From his stage debut in the early 1930s, his career included radio and television work, recordi ...

, "Oh – Mama – 6/8" and "En bitteliten pike i et stort hotell". Her performance of the song "Hovedøen" from 1957 became very popular and sold more than 50,000 records. Her first film role was in ''Kaksen på Øverland'' when she was six years old. She participated in 24 films between 1941 and 1985, mostly playing minor characters. Her breakthrough in a leading film role was in the comedy '' Støv på hjernen'' from 1959, and she also played in the sequels ''

Sønner av Norge "Sønner av Norge" (originally "Sønner af Norge", ) is the common title of the song "Norsk Nationalsang" (), which was the ''de facto'' national anthem of Norway from 1820 until the early 20th century. From the mid-1860s, "Ja, vi elsker dette lan ...

'' from 1961 and ''Sønner av Norge kjøper bil'' from 1962. She played minor roles in ''

Himmel og helvete ''Himmel og helvete'' (Heaven and Hell) is a Norwegian propaganda film from 1969 directed by Øyvind Vennerød with a screenplay by Vennerød and Victor Borg. The film was poorly received by the critics, but it nonetheless became one of the highes ...

'' from 1969 and in ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

'' from 1975. Several of her minor film characters was "as herself", as she was a distinct celebrity in her own right. She was awarded the

Leonard Statuette ''Leonardstatuetten'' (Leonard Statuette) is a prize awarded by the Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association. The award is named after revue instructor, composer and director Einar Leonard Schanke (1927–1992), who was one of Norway's most important ...

in 1971. After her husband's death in 1970 she retired from public life. Her comeback in a television show in 1980, celebrating

Leif Juster Leif Juster (born Leif Normann Nilsen) (14 February 1910 – 25 November 1995) was a Norwegian comedian, singer and actor, arguably the most popular of his generation in Norway. Juster started out as a variety show performer, and for a period he ...

, led to renewed popularity and the subsequent recording of the album ''Det hender så mangt–'', and she received the

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

Honorary Award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diesen, Kari Burials at Vestre gravlund 1914 births 1987 deaths Norwegian stage actresses Musicians from Oslo Norwegian film actresses 20th-century Norwegian actresses Leonard Statuette winners Spellemannprisen winners 20th-century Norwegian women singers 20th-century Norwegian singers