Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children including ''

Karius og Baktus ''Karius and Bactus'' ( no, Karius og Baktus) is a Norwegian children's novel written and illustrated by playwright Thorbjørn Egner. The book was first published in 1949 and produced as a 15-minute puppet animation film by film director Ivo Ca ...

'' (1949) and ''

Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by ''When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town'' ( no, Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by) is a 1955 Norwegian children's book written and illustrated by Thorbjørn Egner, which tells the story of Kardemomme by (Cardamom Town). It is considered one of the m ...

'' (1955).

Biography

He grew up in the working-class neighbourhood

Kampen Campen or Kampen may refer to: Places Finland * Kampen, the Swedish name of Kamppi, a district in Helsinki Germany * Campen, Germany, a village by the Ems estuary, northwestern Germany, home of the Campen Lighthouse * Campen Castle, a part ...

in Oslo, Norway. His parents were Magnus Egner (1872–1952) and Anna Hansen (1874–1957). He was trained as an artist at the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818. In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

under

Eivind Nielsen Eivind Nielsen (18 June 186413 July 1939) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and teacher. He was born at Haugesund in Rogaland, Norway. He was the son of Byfogd Martin Nielsen (1823-1899) and Caroline Emilie Petersen (1830-1898). Nielsen was a ...

and

Per Krohg Per Lasson Krohg (18 June 1889 – 3 March 1965) was a Norwegian artist. He is best known for the mural he created for the United Nations Security Council Chamber, located in the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Biography Per Krohg ...

1933–34.

He started his career in advertising. Over a seven year period, he was employed as a designer and decorator at the advertising firm Høydahl Ohme A/S. His breakthrough was on the nationally broadcast children's radio show '' Barnetimen for de minste '' in the beginning of the 1950s. Egner is particularly known for his books ''

'' (1949), ''

Thorbjørn Egners lesebøker ''Thorbjørn Egners lesebøker'' ( en, Thorbjorn Egner's Readers) were a series of sixteen readers for elementary school written by Norwegian author Thorbjørn Egner. Egner spent 25 years working on the seriesconsisting of collected literature as ...

'' (1950–1972), '' Klatremus og de andre dyrene i Hakkebakkeskogen'' (1953) and ''

'' (1955, translated 1976). The latter two were made into successful musicals. He also illustrated his own books. Thorbjørn Egner received the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1972 and Cappelenprisen in 1979. He also awarded 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 ...

in 1975 for '' Ole Brumm og vennene hans'', in 1977 for the album ''

'' and in 1982 for ''Beste Egnerviser'', a collection of his songs.

Personal life

In 1937, Thorbjørn Egner married Annie Eliassen (born in 1912 in Oslo). They had four children together. Egner died in the afternoon of

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

1990 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. He was buried at

Ullern Church Ullern Church ( no, Ullern kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Odal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ullern, Innlandet, Ullern. It is the church for the Ullern parish which is part of ...

(''Ullern kirkegård'') in Oslo. He is the great-grandfather of ski jumper

Halvor Egner Granerud Halvor Egner Granerud (born 29 May 1996) is a Norwegian ski jumper. He is one of the most successful contemporary ski jumpers, having won 25 World Cup individual competitions, the World Cup overall title twice, and the Four Hills Tournament once ...

Selected publications

Books

*''Gamle hus i Vågå'' (1943) *''Gamle hus i Rauland'' (1945)

Children's books

*''Barneboka'', (1940, with ''Sigurd Winsnes'') *''Malermester Klattiklatt dypper kosten - og tar fatt'' (1940) *''Truls og Kari: en liten bok for store og små'' (1941) *''Truls og Kari kommer til den store byen'' (1942) *''Ola-Ola som alle dyra var så glad i'' (1942) *''Småfolk'' (1942) *''Jumbo som dro ut i verden'' (1943) *''Klattiklatt i hjemmefronten'' (1945) *''Hesten, kua og de andre'' (1945) *''Da Per var ku'' (1946) *''

'' (1949) *''Tretten viser fra barnetimen'' (songbook, 1951) *''Nye viser fra barnetimen'' (songbook, 1952) *''Klatremus og de andre dyrene i Hakkebakkeskogen'' (1953) *''

'' (1955) *''Tommy og elefanten'' (1958) *''4 Verden er stor'' (1972)

Albums

*''Kardemommeviser'' (1955) *''Doktor Dyregod'' (1955) *''Karius og Baktus'' (1957) *''Ole Brumm (Winnie the Pooh) og vennene hans'' (stories 1-4, 1974; stories 5-8, 1975; stories 9-11, 1976) *''Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by'' (1975) *''De seksten beste Egnerviser'' (issued 1982; recorded 1953–1982) *''Hakkebakkeskogen'' (2012)

Films

*''Karius og Baktus'' (1955, puppet film, directed by

Ivo Caprino Ivo Caprino (17 February 1920 – 8 February 2001) was a Norwegian film director and writer, best known for his puppet films. His most noted film, '' Flåklypa Grand Prix'' ("Pinchcliffe Grand Prix"), was made in 1975. Early life Caprino ...

) *''Klatremus i knipe'' (1955, puppet film, directed by Ivo Caprino) *''Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by'' (1988, directed by

Bente Erichsen Bente Erichsen (born 7 January 1949) is a Norwegian culture director and the current (and inaugural) Director of the Nobel Peace Center. A former journalist and commercials producer, Erichsen started her career as feature film producer in 1979. B ...

) *''Dyrene i Hakkebakkeskogen'' (2016, puppet film, directed by

Rasmus A. Sivertsen Rasmus Andre SivertsenFanthomas på alle skjermer
15 May 2009. (in N ...

)

References

Other sources

*Christopher Hals Gylseth (2000) ''Thorbjørn Egner. Tigergutt kan alt!'' (Schibsted) *Erle M. Stokke, Astrid Hagen Krog (1999) ''Thorbjørn Egner, Forfatterskapslesning i skolen'' (Biblioteksentralen)

External links

Thorbjørn Egner profile at Cappelen DammThorbjørn Egner profile at Ballade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egner, Thorbjoern 1912 births 1990 deaths Musicians from Oslo Writers from Oslo Artists from Oslo Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Norwegian children's writers Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian male singers Norwegian male artists Norwegian illustrators Norwegian male composers Norwegian singer-songwriters Spellemannprisen winners Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 20th-century Norwegian male musicians