Bert-Åke Varg (né Lundström, 27 April 1932 – 31 December 2022) was a Swedish actor and singer."Bert Åke-Varg"
, bibliographical entry in ''

Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...

Life and career

Varg was born in

Hörnefors Hörnefors () is a locality situated in Umeå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norw ...

Eva Redvall
"'Man ska ha kul i livet'"
, ''

Sydsvenskan ''Sydsvenska Dagbladet Snällposten'', generally known simply as ''Sydsvenskan'' (, ), is a daily newspaper published in Scania in Sweden. History and profile ''Sydsvenskan'' was founded in 1870. In 1871 the paper merged with ''Snällposten'' ...

'', 25 April 2007 and received his theatrical training at the Calle Flygare Theatre School in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. In 1956 he had his breakthrough as a recording artist with ''Kökspolkan'' (1956). He showed versatility from the start, learning

tap dancing Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

in 16 days after being called in to replace Nils Poppe in the Swedish version of the musical ''

Me and My Girl ''Me and My Girl'' is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined Cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, wh ...

'' in the late 1950s. Varg performed in numerous

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s. He also dubbed a large number of roles; his voice is well known in Sweden from the Swedish versions of '' Fabeltjeskrant'', ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'', ''

SuperTed ''SuperTed'' is a Welsh language superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young. Originally created by him as a series of stories to help his son overcome h ...

'', and the

Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...

and

Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...

animated productions. In Tintin productions he sometimes voiced the butler, Nestor, sometimes the detectives Dupont and Dupond (

Thomson and Thompson Thomson and Thompson ( ) are fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. They are two detectives who provide much of the comic relief throughout the series. Hergé twice calls them "bro ...

in English versions). In the 1970s, as the owl Helge, he had a lead role alongside

Birgitta Andersson Ulla Birgitta Helena Andersson (born ''Andersson''; 20 April 1933) is a Swedish actress and comedian. Career Andersson made her breakthrough by acting in various variety shows with Povel Ramel and Karl Gerhard. She was part of the group aroun ...

in the children's TV series ''Från A till Ö''. He also appeared in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

, in the 1990s revival of the comedy television series ''Pratmakarna'', and for a short time in the 1970s was a member of the

Stockholm City Theatre Stockholm City Theatre () is a live performance theatre located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout. Location It is located in one of Stockholm's most popular public buildi ...

. In the 1970s he starred with Eva Bysing in the TV series ''Fint som snus'' (1973) och (1977). He also played the painter Fabian in

Gideon Wahlberg Gideon Wahlberg (18 June 1890 – 3 May 1948) was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, film director and theater manager. Wahlberg directed six films including ''South of the Highway'' (1936). Wahlberg was the theater manager of the Arbisteatern in N ...

's 1978 TV comedy ''Grabbarna i 57:an''. He also played the director Firmin in 100 performances during the long-running production of ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' at the

Oscarsteatern Oscarsteatern (English language, English: Oscar Theatre), also known simply as Oscars, is one of Stockholm's private theatres and is the best-known musical theatre in Sweden. It is located at Kungsgatan (Stockholm), Kungsgatan 63 in central Stock ...

in Stockholm in 1989–1995, where his ability to sing an operatic part without training raised some eyebrows. In the 1990s he became known to a younger generation for ten years playing the machinist Gustav Sjögren in the television series ''

Rederiet ''Rederiet'' (''High Seas'' or ''The Shipping Company'') was a (318 episodes) Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between August 1992 and April 2002. The cast featured many popular and renowned Swedish actors. The 45-minute epis ...

'';

Gösta Prüzelius Karl Gösta Prüzelius (11 August 1922 – 15 May 2000) was a Swedish actor. His first film part was in the 1945 film Flickorna i Småland. He played in films as diverse as '' Summer with Monika'', '' Space Invasion of Lapland'', ''Fanny an ...

, who starred as Reidar Dahlén, was a close friend of his.

Personal life and death

In 1960 he married Annette Varg; after her death in 1993, he married Julianna Varg (born 1947). He had three children. Varg died whilst on his way to a new years concert on 31 December 2022, at the age of 90 due to a heart ailment.

Selected filmography

* 1953 – ''Alla tiders 91 Karlsson'' * 1954 – ''Östermans testamente'' * 1965 – ''Serverat, Ers Majestät'' (TV) * 1966 – ''Träfracken'' * 1967 – '' Asterix och hans tappra galler'' (voice) * 1967 – ''Gumman som blev liten som en tesked'' (Christmas TV series based on Mrs. Pepperpot) * 1967 – '' Lorden från gränden'' (TV version) * 1967 – ''Nummer i kön'' (TV) * 1968 – ''

Åsa-Nisse Åsa-Nisse is a Swedish literary character created by Stig Cederholm. The character first appeared in the weekly magazine Tidsfördrif in 1944, and later in a series of 20 films, produced between 1949 and 1969. In 1960 it also became a comic ser ...

och den stora kalabaliken'' * 1968 – '' Asterix och Kleopatra'' (voice) * 1969 – ''Eva - den utstötta'' * 1969 – ''Åsa-Nisse i rekordform'' * 1969 – '' Mumintrollet'' (TV series) * 1970 – '' Aristocats'' (voice) * 1970 – ''Som hon bäddar får han ligga'' * 1971 – '' Exponerad'' * 1972 – ''Firmafesten'' * 1972 – ''Ett resande teatersällskap'' (TV series) * 1973 – ''Bröllopet'' * 1973 – ''Stenansiktet'' * 1974 – '' Dunderklumpen!'' (voice: talking house) * 1974 – ''Från A till Ö'' (TV series) * 1976 – '' Asterix 12 stordåd'' (voice) * 1976 - ''

Agaton Sax and the Byköpings Village Festival Agathon ( Anc. Gr. ) is a given name. Russian name In Russian, in 1924–1930, the name "" (''Agaton'') was included into various Soviet calendars,Superanskaya, pp. 22 and 34 which included the new and often artificially created names promoti ...

'' * 1978 – ''Grabbarna i 57:an eller Musikaliska gänget'' (TV series) * 1980 – ''Och skeppets namn var Gigantic'' (TV) * 1980 – ''Spela Allan'' * 1980 – ''Sverige åt svenskarna'' * 1981 – ''Olsson per sekund eller Det finns ingen anledning till oro'' * 1982 – ''

'' (TV series) (voice) * 1982 – '' Snövit och de sju dvärgarna'' (voice, redubbed version) * 1983 – '' Musse Piggs julsaga'' (voice, original dubbed version) * 1984 – ''Julstrul med Staffan och Bengt'' (Christmas TV series) * 1986 – '' Asterix och britterna'' (voice) * 1986 – ''Hövdingen'' (TV series) * 1986 – '' Sandybell'' (voice) * 1987 – ''Fint som snus'' (TV) * 1988 – ''Guld!'' (TV series) * 1988 – '' Pippi Långstrump – starkast i världen'' (voice) * 1989 – '' Asterix – bautastenssmällen'' (voice) * 1988 – ''Liv i luckan med julkalendern'' (Christmas TV series) * 1991 – ''Infödingen'' * 1992–2002 – ''

'' (TV series) * 1992 – '' Tom & Jerry gör stan osäker'' (voice) * 1994 – '' Svanprinsessan'' (voice) * 2004 – ''

Kärlekens språk ''Kärlekens språk'' (or ''Kärlekens språk 2000'') is a 2004 Sweden, Swedish sex educational educational film, film directed by Anders Lennberg. The title is a reference to the 1969 sex educational film ''Language of Love, Ur kärlekens språk ...

'' * 2011 – '' Trassel'' (voice)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varg, Bert-Ake 1932 births 2022 deaths Swedish male actors People from Umeå Municipality