Rolf Just Nilsen (31 August 1931 – 9 May 1981) was a Norwegian singer and actor. He was particularly known for his voice imitations. He worked for the theatres Studioteatret, Chat Noir, Edderkoppen Theatre,

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater located in Oslo, Norway. The theater has its main stage in its own theater house at Rosenkrantz' gate 10. It is one of Norway's most visited theatres. Oslo Nye Teater AS is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. Histor ...

and

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ( en, Norwegian Theater)Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabl� ...

, and for radio and television.

Personal life

Just Nilsen was born in Oslo as the son of Bjarne Olav Just Nilsen and Magnhild Herland. He was a nephew of actor Leif Juster. He married Arna Aukland (1932–2007) in 1954 and they had two children, Lars (1959–2005) and Brita (1955–2023). In the mid 1970's, Rolf suffered from a heart attack and spent 6 weeks in hospital. Despite this, he did not decrease his work load. Rolf suffered another, this time fatal, heart attack on May 9, 1981, during the 108. performance of the show L/L Wang & Nilsen, which he co-starred alongside Sølvi Wang, at Det Norske Teatret, Oslo. He was 49 years old at the time of his death.

Career

Just Nilsen made his stage debut in 1947 at Studioteatret in the play ''Vintersolverv''. He was assigned at Studioteatret until 1950, when he was called for military service. From 1952 to 1959 he worked at Chat Noir. His breakthrough was in Feldborg's "Operasangeren" in the 1958 revue ''Så lenge lykken varer''. From 1959 to 1965 he worked at the Edderkoppen Theatre, from 1965 to 1968 at Chat Noir, from 1968 to 1970 at

, from 1970 to 1976 at

, and from 1976 to 1981 at Det Norske Teatret. His film debut was in the 1958 film ''

Bustenskjold ''Bustenskjold'' is a 1958 Norwegian comedy film directed by Helge Lunde, starring Leif Juster. It is based on the cartoon ''Jens von Bustenskjold ''Jens von Bustenskjold'' is the title of a Norwegian comic strip, which appeared in ''Arbeidermag ...

'', based on the comic strip '' Jens von Bustenskjold''. He played the leading character in the film comedies ''Operasjon Løvsprett'' from 1962 and ''Operasjon Sjøsprøyt'' from 1964, and played in ''Stompa forelsker seg'' from 1965, '' To på topp'' from 1965 and ''Reisen til julestjernen'' from 1976. Among his best known songs are "Pappa'n til Tove Mette" and "Julekveld i skogen". He was particularly known for his voice imitations, and recorded several monologues parodying leading Norwegian politicians. He recorded songs for children, including the album ''Superoptikjempefantafenomenalistisk'' from 1965. He recorded four albums for children from 1977 to 1980, and was awarded Spellemannprisen in 1980. He 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 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsen, Rolf Just 1931 births 1981 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Male actors from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian male actors 20th-century Norwegian male singers 20th-century Norwegian singers Leonard Statuette winners Spellemannprisen winners