Sven Melander
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Sven Alarik Melander (30 October 1947 – 31 March 2022) was a Swedish journalist, comedian, television presenter, and actor. He hosted multiple shows for SVT, acted in films and theater, and co-presented the 1994 Melodifestivalen competition.


Early life

Melander grew up in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...
with his parents, Alrik Melander (1907–1977) and Alice Melander (née Mattsson; 1911–1986). By 1965, Melander was part of the Malmö FF ice hockey team, which won the SDS-Pucken competition of that year. Two of his teammates were future national-team footballers
Staffan Tapper Staffan Lars Anders Tapper (born 10 July 1948) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a midfielder for Malmö FF and the Sweden national team. A full international between 1971 and 1978, he won 36 caps for Sweden and played at the 1974 a ...
and Roy Andersson. During his high school years, he befriended musician
Björn Afzelius Björn Svante Afzelius (27 January 1947 – 16 February 1999 ) was a Swedish singer-songwriter and guitar player. He was an outspoken socialist, known for his support for Olof Palme. His songs are about love, politics and joys and sadness in l ...
. In 1967, both Melander and Afzelius were part of a hootenanny band called Lille Mats. Melander studied engineering, but after graduation, he soon became interested in journalism and attended the School of Journalism in Gothenburg. In 1970, Melander interned at the newspaper '' Expressen'' in Malmö, and after graduating in 1971, he found a substitute job at the newspaper. After his period at the newspaper ended, he obtained a full-time job at the newspaper '' Aftonbladet''. Between working at the newspapers, he worked for Radio Stockholm and also filmed his first big movie role.


Career


Film and television

In the early 1980s, Melander established himself as an comedian and entertainer, starting with the role of Berra in
Lasse Åberg Lars Gunnar Åberg (born 5 May 1940), known professionally as Lasse Åberg, is a Swedish actor, musician, film director and artist. Between 1960 and 1964 he studied at the Konstfack department of graphic design. Åberg has produced some of the m ...
's film ''
Sällskapsresan ''Sällskapsresan eller Finns det svenskt kaffe på grisfesten?'' ( en, The Charter Trip, or: Is there Swedish Coffee at the Pig-Festival?) is a Swedish comedy film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 22 August 1980, and the first in a f ...
'' in 1980. Along with Åke Cato, Melander wrote sketches and scripts for the SVT shows ''Häpnadsväktarna'' (in 1981) and ''Vitsuellt''. Along with Stina Lundberg Dabrowski, he was the television presenter for the SVT entertainment and comedy show ''Nöjesmaskinen'' between 1982 and 1984. In 1985, Melander presented the show ''Nöjesmassakern'' along with
Gösta Engström Gösta is a male given name, a variant of Gustav. Gösta may refer to: People * Gösta Åsbrink (1881–1966), Swedish gymnast and modern pentathlete * Gösta Andersson (skier) (1918–1979), Swedish cross-country skier * Gösta Andersson (wrestle ...
,
Jon Skolmen Jon Skolmen (1 November 1940 – 28 March 2019) was a Norwegian actor and comedian who appeared in several Norwegian and Swedish films. He gained special recognition for his role as Ole Bramserud in ''Sällskapsresan'' (1980) opposite Lasse Åbe ...
, and Åke Cato; some of his most well known comedy sketches originated from that show, including "Werner och Werner" and "Trollet Rulle". Between 1986 and 1989, Melander worked for SVT as the CEO of entertainment programmes. In 1991, he presented another comedy and entertainment show for SVT called ''Tack för kaffet''. Melander co-presented
Melodifestivalen 1994 Sweden entered the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin, Ireland. Sveriges Television continued to use the Melodifestivalen contest to select the Swedish entry. Before Eurovision Melodifestivalen 1994 Melodifestivalen 1994 was the sel ...
with
Kattis Ahlström Katarina Sofie "Kattis" Ahlström (born 9 June 1966) is a Swedish journalist and television presenter. She is a sister of Gabriella Ahlström. She hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 together with Anders Lundin, in the Stockholm Globe Arena, ...
. For several years, Melander presented the show ''Upp till bevis'' on SVT, and sports shows on TV4, such as the horse-racing show ''Vinnare''. In 2019, he was given an award for his work in television at the
Kristallen Kristallen (meaning The Crystal) is the official Swedish television award, administered by the foundation . It was created in 2005 by television producers SVT, TV3, TV4, Kanal 5 and UR. The trophy The award trophy, created by Mårten Cla ...
-gala. In 2018, he took part in '' Stjärnorna på slottet'', on which he shared his life's story. In 2021, he participated in ''
Masked Singer Sverige ''Masked Singer Sverige'' is the Swedish version of ''Masked Singer''. The first season premired on 26 March 2021 on TV4. The presenter of the show is David Hellenius. The expertpanel for the show consists of Nour El Refai, Felix Herngren, Pern ...
'', singing in its first season which was broadcast on
TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...
.


Theater

Along with Åke Cato, Melander acted in the show ''En rökare på Tobaksbolaget'' in Malmö in 1991. Along with Eva Rydberg, he acted in the comedy play ''Allo Allo Emliga armén'' and in ''Lilla fransyskan'' at the Palladium in Malmö. He also acted in Eva Rydberg's production of ''Hemvärnets glada dagar'' at Fredriksdalsteatern in
Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
in 2005. Between 2007 and 2008, he acted in the play ''Little Shop of Horrors'' in Halmstad. He also appeared in the
revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
''Två bröder emellan''. In 2016, Melander returned to the role of Berra in the musical version of ''Sällskapsresan'' at Nöjesteatern in Malmö and Chinateatern in Stockholm. He also worked as a translator of scripts, including translation of
Ray Cooney Raymond George Alfred Cooney, OBE (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright, actor, and director. His biggest success, '' Run for Your Wife'' (1983), ran for nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 ...
's revues ''Hotelliggaren'', ''Det stannar i familjen'', and ''Kuta och kör''.


Death

Melander died of esophageal cancer at the age of 74 on 31 March 2022.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melander, Sven 1947 births 2022 deaths Actors from Malmö Swedish comedians 21st-century Swedish journalists Swedish male actors Swedish television hosts Deaths from cancer in Sweden