Martti "Masa" Elis Niemi (20 July 1914 – 3 May 1960) was a Finnish actor.

Career

Niemi started his career as a drummer, but became popular as a comedian. He is most famous for his role as "Pätkä" (in English: Stub) in all thirteen original ''

Pekka and Pätkä ''Pekka and Pätkä'' ( fi, Pekka ja Pätkä) is the name of several comedy films produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus in the 1950s in Finland, based on the popular Finnish comic characters Pekka Puupää (played by Esa Pakarinen) and Pätkä (Masa ...

'' movies, with

Esa Pakarinen Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen (9 February 1911 – 28 April 1989) was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the ''Pekka and Pätkä'' films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self- ...

Pekka Puupää {{Unreferenced, date=August 2020 Pekka Puupää is a Finnish text comic and film character, created by Ola "Fogeli" Fogelberg. The character appeared 1925–1975 in the popular comic ''Pekka Puupää'' and 1952–1960 in thirteen films (' ...

, Pätkä's best friend.

Personal life

Masa Niemi was only 154 cm tall (about 5 feet ½ inch), but he is said to have drunk at least a bottle and a half of

Koskenkorva Koskenkorva Viina (also known simply as Koskenkorva or ''Kossu'') is a traditional clear spirit drink (38%) in Finland, produced by Anora Group at the Koskenkorva distillery in Ilmajoki and bottled in Rajamäki, Nurmijärvi. The grain (barley ...

hard liquor every day. In addition to alcoholism, he also suffered from severe

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

and disturbance of mental health. His alcoholism increased over time, and he eventually had to undergo rehabilitation. In 1960, he committed suicide in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

from an overdose of sleeping pills.

Filmography

* ''Suviyön salaisuus'' (1945) * ''Kipparikvartetti'' (1952) * ''Lentävä kalakukko'' (1953) * ''

'' (1953) * '' We're Coming Back'' (1953) * ''Pekka Puupää kesälaitumilla'' (1953) * ''Hei rillumarei!'' (1954) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä lumimiehen jäljillä'' (1954) * ''Taikayö'' (1954) * ''Majuri maantieltä'' (1954) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä puistotäteinä'' (1955) * ''Kiinni on ja pysyy eli Pekan ja Pätkän uudet seikkailut'' (1955) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä pahassa pulassa'' (1955) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä ketjukolarissa'' (1957) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä salapoliiseina'' (1957) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä'' (1957) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla'' (1958) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä miljonääreinä'' (1958) * ''Ei ruumiita makuuhuoneeseen'' (1959) * ''Yks' tavallinen Virtanen'' (1959) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä mestarimaalareina'' (1959) * ''Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut'' (1960) * ''Pekka ja Pätkä neekereinä'' (1960) * ''

Kaks' tavallista Lahtista ''Kaks' tavallista Lahtista'' is a 1960 Finnish drama film directed by Ville Salminen. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Eemeli as Janitor Vepsäläinen * Vesa Enne as Janitor's son * Hannu Halonen * Paa ...

'' (1960)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Niemi, Masa 1914 births 1960 suicides Actors from Vyborg People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Drug-related suicides in Finland 20th-century Finnish male actors