Stan Boreson (May 5, 1925 – January 27, 2017), the "King of Scandinavian Humor," was a Norwegian-American comedian, accordionist and singer from
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
. Boreson was an early local TV star in the Seattle area, with a career that included 12 years as the host of "King's Klubhouse" on
KING-TV
KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate ...
.
In addition to his television show, Boreson was adept at musical parody and brought his “Scandahoovian” stylings to the genre. Throughout his career he released 16 albums. With Doug Setterberg, he formed a comedy duo Stan & Doug, and recorded comedy albums in the early 1970s.
Early life
Born in Everett, Washington on May 5, 1925, as a grandson of Norwegian immigrants, Stanley Edward Boreson grew up steeped in Norwegian American culture.
At age 12, his mother enrolled him in guitar lessons, but at the suggestion of his Norwegian instructor, he switched to
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
. His musical talents began to grow as he started publicly performing.
While attending Everett High School, Boreson's cousin encouraged him to perform the 1939 hit '' Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny, Oh!'' during a pep rally. During the performance, his cousin translated the song into Norwegian to the delight of their classmates. According to Boreson, “I wasn’t nervous singing after that. My mother used to sing a lot. It just kind of came along naturally when I got a little self-confidence.”
After graduating in 1944, Boreson tried to enlist in the army, but instead joined the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
where he performed with other artists across Europe. Upon the end of the war, Boreson studied at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
where he majored in
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
and
personnel management
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
all while maintaining his interest in entertainment.
Early career
In 1949, with television in the Northwest in its infancy,
KING-TV
KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate ...
program director, Lee Schulman, visited the university scouting for talent. Schulman hired Boreson as a co-star on the 15-minute show Campus Capers where his Scandahoovian humor and thick Norwegian accent began to develop, ‘Scandahoovian’ referring to a combination of Norwegian and Swedish cultures often referred to in a humorous context.
His humor was often compared to one of his contemporaries and influences,
Yogi Yorgesson
Harry Stewart (October 21, 1908 – May 20, 1956), born Harry Skarbo, was an entertainer, singer, comedian, and songwriter. He was best known for his portrayal of Yogi Yorgesson, a comically exaggerated Swedish American. for his use of Scandinavian dialect.
Boreson also put his musical talent to use in his next television endeavor, Two B's at the Keys which resulted in a recording with Linden Records.
KING’s Klubhouse
After the musical accompaniment left his show in 1955, KING offered Boreson his very own show oriented at children. The show was instantly successful. The show aired 5 days a week and eventually became The Stan Boreson Show. Boreson was accompanied on the show by sidekick Doug Setterberg and companion No-Mo-Shun the Basset Hound.
KING's Klubhouse became known for Boreson's musical stylings with his accordion. Whenever he sang a song on air, he would introduce them as “songs my Uncle Torvald taught me.” These songs continued Boreson's tradition of Scandinavian humor, and were performed in a ridiculous thick Norwegian accent.
Among the most beloved songs from the show was its theme song.
Boreson also created a cast of creative characters he played himself, many were inspired by his Norwegian-American childhood. Some of the characters included Pepita the Flea, Victor Rolla, the Old Timer and his horse Nel and
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to te ...
, based on the cartoon of the same name.
During the success of the show in 1957, Boreson was invited to perform on the
Lawrence Welk Show
''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 ...
, and in 1959 he won the Children's Entertainer Award “For Outstanding Devotion to Wholesome Entertainment for All Children Everywhere.”
Later career
Throughout the run of the show and after, Boreson continued recording musical parodies for several different labels, such as the parody of “
Catch a Falling Star
"Catch a Falling Star" is a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. It is best known and was made famous by Perry Como's hit version, recorded and released in late 1957.
Background and chart performance
The song's melody is based on a theme ...
” called “Catch a Pickled Herring”. In 1967, The Stan Boreson Show ended its run. In the years that followed, Boreson continued recording and appeared several times on
A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
. He also performed for King Olav V of Norway. Boreson and his wife also founded Boreson Tours, which provided guided tours of destinations both in the United States and abroad. His last musical release was the 2007 single “I Just Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore” with an accompanying music video.
Boreson died in Seattle, Washington, of a stroke on January 27, 2017, at age 91, with his wife by his side.
Legacy
Memories of Boreson's show remain with the baby boomers that grew up with him. According to TV personality Chuck Zink, “The children’s TV entertainers of America have a fantastic influence, and a fantastic responsibility,” shaping a generation of children in the infancy of television.
His impact on Norwegian-American culture was seen throughout his life. In 2005
King Harald V
Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991.
Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...
awarded Boreson St. Olav's Medal, a high honor in Norway. According to
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...
, Boreson was “one of the last great Scandinavian-dialect humorists.”
Discography
*1957 ''Yust Try To Sing-A-Long in Swedish''
*1959 ''Sing Cold, Cold Heart and Other Torch Songs''
*1960 ''Ay Yust Don't Give A Hoot''
*1961 ''Klubhouse Klassics''
*1962 ''Yust Yoking Around''
*1965 ''More Scandihoovian Hits''
*1966 ''Stan Boreson Fractures Christmas''
*1969 ''
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
/
Little Green Apples
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Ap ...
And Other Swedish Smorgasbord''
*1970 ''Stan & Doug Yust Go Nuts at Christmas''
*1971 ''Stan & Doug Yust Go Country & Western''
*1972 ''Those Swedish Meatballs Stan & Doug Are At It Again''
*1980 ''Yust Tinkin' of Yogi''
*1982 ''The Scandinavian Hot-Shot''
*1995 ''Laughing It Up With Stan Boreson''
*1997 ''The Stan Boreson Band''
*2007 ''Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore'' (single)
HistoryLink
HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 5,000 daily visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images.
The non-profit historical organization History Ink prod ...