Tauno Valdemar Palo (born Tauno Brännäs; 25 October 1908 – 24 May 1982) was a Finnish actor and singer in what some consider the golden age of Finnish cinema. In ''Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland''

Peter von Bagh Kari Peter Conrad von Bagh (29 August 1943 – 17 September 2014) was a Finnish film historian and director. Von Bagh worked as the head of the Finnish Film Archive. He was the editor-in-chief of '' Filmihullu'' magazine and co-founder and dire ...

names Palo as the most renowned, the best-loved, and quite indisputably the greatest and the best actor of Finnish cinema. His skill to combine lightweight and youthful charm with heavyweight acting was seen most clearly in the theatre. His most famous roles were perhaps in ''Kulkurin valssi'' ("The Vagabond's Waltz"), and ''Vaimoke'' ("Surrogate Wife"). He appeared with actress/singer

Birgit Kronström Birgit Kronström (23 February 1905 – 23 July 1979) was a Finnish actress and singer. Career Birgit Kronström studied singing at the Conservatory and then performing arts at the Svenska Teatern, Helsinki's Swedish-language theater. She appe ...

in the 1941 romantic comedy "Onnellinen ministeri" ("The Lucky Cabinet Minister"), which included the famous song "Katupoikien laulu", remade by other Finnish pop singers including

Katri Helena Katri Helena Kalaoja (née Koistinen, born 17 August 1945) is a Finnish singer. Career Katri Helena released her first songs in 1963 and has since sold over 630,000 certified records, which makes her the second-best-selling female soloist ...

Life and career

Palo was born in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

as Tauno Brännäs, but changed his name to Tauno Palo in 1935. He was of partial

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

descent through his mother Olga Andersson () whose father was a Russian soldier and mother a Finnish maid. Palo recruited in the military and was educated as a chemist. His friend invited him to join the theatre of Working Men's Club in Sörnäinen. Theatre director and famous actor

Aarne Orjatsalo Aarne Alarik Orjatsalo (13 October 1883 – 1 January 1941) was a Finnish actor, theater manager, writer, revolutionary and soldier. He fought for the Finnish Red Guards in the 1918 Civil War and in the 1918–1919 Allied North Russia Inte ...

became his mentor. The dark-haired lad from Sörnäinen who had a good voice got attention, and in 1931 he was invited to auction for film studios. His final breakthrough came when era of silent films was over, and people could hear his voice. Palo left his work as chemist in 1932. He was hired by the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

, but until 1938 he got only small roles, because his popularity as a film star harmed his credibility on the stage. Ansa Ikonen played as his leading lady in 12 films and in numerous plays and on tours. In eyes of the public, they became the most romantic couple ever. In real life they did not have a romantic relationship. Palo had in total over 300 roles on stage and played in 65 feature films. Before the Second World War Palo recorded a number of songs from the musical films he acted in. He continued his recording career after 1967. He died in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Selected filmography

* ''Jääkärin morsian'' (1931) (as Tauno Brännas) * ''Kaikki rakastavat'' (1935) ("Everybody's Love", romantic comedy) * ''Vaimoke'' (1936) ("Surrogate Wife") * ''SF-paraati'' (1940) ("SF Parade", the first Finnish musical comedy) * ''Kulkurin valssi'' (1941) ("The Vagabond's Waltz") * ''Rosvo-Roope'' (1949) ("Rob the Robber") * '' The Milkmaid'' (1953) * ''

It Began in the Rain ''It Began in the Rain'' (Finnish: ''Se alkoi sateessa'') is a 1953 Finnish comedy thriller film directed by Thure Bahne and Eddie Stenberg and starring Eila Peitsalo, Tauno Palo and Kaarlo Halttunen. The film's sets were designed by Aarre Koi ...

'' (1953) * '' The Unknown Soldier'' (1955) * '' The Scarlet Dove'' (1961) – final film role

Highlights on stage

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

: ''Uncle Vanya'' (as Dr Astrov) * Aleksis Kivi: ''Seitsemän veljestä'' (as Juhani) *

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

: ''Doll house'' (as Dr Rank) *

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

: ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (as Stanley) *

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...

: ''Danton's death'' (as Danton) *

Josef Julius Wecksell Josef Julius Wecksell (19 March 1838 – 9 August 1907) was a Finnish poet and playwright. Biography Wecksell was born at Turku, Finland. He was the son of the hatter Johan Wecksell and Sofia Ulrika Björkelund. From 1858, he studied at the Imp ...

: ''Daniel Hjort'' (as Olavi)

Selected discography

* Tuulikki 1934 (Odeon A 228258) – a waltz * Tuohinen sormus 1934 (Odeon A 228282) – a

jenkka Jenkka () is a fast Finnish partner dance found in Finnish folk dance, the Finnish version of the schottische. It is danced to music in or time signature, with about 140 beats per minute. Men and women do similar steps. The initial dance po ...

* Syksyn tullessa 1935 (Odeon A 228327) – a waltz * Mieheke 1936 (Odeon A 228359) – a jenkka * Marjatta 1936 (Odeon A 228360) – a tango * Sinä semmoinen, minä tämmöinen 1936 (Odeon 228370) – a jenkka * Nuoruuden sävel 1940 (Odeon A 228590) from film SF-paraati * Tauno Palo & Ansa Ikonen: Pot-pot-pot 1940 (Odeon A 228590) from film SF-paraati * Näenhän valoisan taivaan 1940 (Odeon A 228615) from film SF-paraati * Soittoniekka 1942 (Columbia DY 386) – a ballad * Ruusu on punainen 1967 (RCA FAS 985) – comeback with a German schlager arranged by Aarno Raninen * Rosvo-Roope 1968 (RCA EPS 222) – finally recorded melody from eponymous film * Tauno Palo & Ansa Ikonen: Ansa & Tauno 1974 (Kiss RPLP 5007) – LP, including ''Kulkurin valssi''

References

External links

* 1908 births 1982 deaths People from Hämeenlinna People from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish male actors Finnish people of Russian descent {{Finland-actor-stub