Lasse Erik Pöysti (; 24 January 1927 – 5 April 2019) was a Finnish actor, director, theatre manager and writer. He was born in

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

Biography

Pöysti began his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

, becoming known to the Finnish public as Olli Suominen in the "Suominen family" films. The first of these films as '' Suomisen perhe'' (1941). Pöysti was 14 years old at the time of the film. Pöysti

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

in 1945 in the Helsinki Normal Lyceum. From 1967 to 1974, Pöysti served as manager of the Lilla Teatern, with ex-wife Birgitta Ulfsson, and also acted in many roles in Swedish. During 1974–1981 he was the manager of the

Tampere Workers' Theatre The Tampere Workers' Theatre () or the TTT-Theatre is one of the two main active theatres in Kaakinmaa, Tampere, Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northw ...

, and during 1981–1985 the manager of the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...

in Stockholm. In his later career he has had many speaking roles in musical plays. He also had many roles on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, including the leading roles in the

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

plays ''Gustav III'' () and ''Erik XIV''. Another performance was the title role in the stage play ''Galileo'' by

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

, which won critical acclaim. He also read bedtime stories in children's programs. In addition to his stage career, Pöysti wrote several books, including his own memoirs. In 2002, Pöysti chose the book ''Juoksuhaudantie'' by Kari Hotakainen as the winner of the

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize (; ) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious in the nation, they are awarded annually in ...

. Pöysti once lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, but later lived in

Lauttasaari Lauttasaari (; ) is an island in Helsinki, Finland, about west of the city centre. Together with some surrounding unpopulated small islands, Lauttasaari is also a district of Helsinki. With 23,226 residents as of 2017, the island is Finland's se ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. His son Tom Pöysti has also acted in many film and theatre roles. In 2010, Pöysti received the Concrete-Jussi for lifetime achievement (the Jussi Awards are the equivalent to the Oscars in Finland). He was married to actress Birgitta Ulfsson from 1952 to 1984. Their son Erik Pöysti and granddaughter Alma Pöysti are both actors in

Selected filmography

*1941: ''Suomisen perhe'' - Olli Suominen *1941: ''Täysosuma'' - Skier (uncredited) *1941: ''Onnellinen ministeri'' - Errand Boy (uncredited) *1942: ''Suomisen Ollin tempaus'' - Olli Suominen *1943: ''Suomisen taiteilijat'' - Olli Suominen *1944: ''Suomisen Olli rakastuu'' - Olli Suominen *1945: ''Suomisen Olli yllättää'' - Olli Suominen *1948: ''Haaviston Leeni'' - (uncredited) *1948: ''Kilroy sen teki'' - Pete *1948: ''Hormoonit valloillaan'' - Pena *1949: ''Ruma Elsa'' - Usko Aamunen *1949: ''Katupeilin takana'' - Arvid *1949: ''Sinut minä tahdon'' - Seppo Vesa *1949: ''Professori Masa'' - Pentti Simola *1950: ''Isäpappa ja keltanokka'' - Aimo Tammela *1950: ''Rakkaus on nopeampi Piiroisen pässiäkin'' - Heikki Piiparinen *1951: ''Vain laulajapoikia'' - Dr. Syrjä *1951: '' Radio tekee murron'' - Radio reporter *1951: '' The General's Fiancée'' - Korpraali Jukka Oksapää *1951: '' A Night in Rio'' - Lasse *1951: ''Tukkijoella'' - Pölhö-Kustaa *1951: ''Vihaan sinua - rakas'' - Tauno Karnala *1952: ''Kaikkien naisten monni'' - Alokas Nieminen *1953: '' Two Funny Guys'' - Säveltäjä Jussi Mäki *1953: '' The Millionaire Recruit'' - Vihuri *1954: ''Kovanaama'' - Reporter Esko Pekuri *1954: ''Laivaston monnit maissa'' - Maisteri Segerstråhle *1954: ''Putkinotko'' - Malakias *1955: ''Näkemiin Helena'' - Lennu *1955: ''Sankarialokas'' - Alokas Esko Sirola / legioonal. T. Smith / matr T. MacDonald *1955: ''Miss Eurooppaa metsästämässä'' - Antero W. Lintunen *1955: ''Villi Pohjola'' - Kapakkapianisti *1957: ''Vääpelin kauhu'' - Jaska *1957: ''Syntipukki'' - Frans Koikkalainen *1958: ''Asessorin naishuolet'' - Veikko Pajukivi *1958: ''Sotapojan heilat'' - Alokas Esko Puustinen *1959: ''Taas tapaamme Suomisen perheen'' - Olli Suominen *1960: ''Justus järjestää kaiken'' - Justus *1964: ''Bröllopsbesvär'' - Peddler *1966: ''Syskonbädd 1782'' - Guest at the tavern *1968: ''Punahilkka'' - Matti - airline pilot *1969: '' Mumintrollet'' (TV Series) - Moomintroll *1976: ''Pyhä perhe'' - Paavo Mäkinen *1977: ''

Pikku Kakkonen ''Pikku Kakkonen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for "the little number two") is an ongoing Finland, Finnish magazine-type children's TV show shown on Yle TV2. The first episode aired on January 11, 1977 in television, 1977. It finished with a bedtime ...

'' (TV Series) - Himself - the host *1978: '' The Adventures of Picasso'' - Sirkka's Father (uncredited) *1979: ''Linus eller Tegelhusets hemlighet'' - Antique Dealer *1979: '' Herr Puntila and His Servant Matti'' - Johannes Puntila *1980: ''Barna från Blåsjöfjället'' - Lasso-Lassi *1980: '' Det blir jul på Möllegården'' (TV Series) - Pixie *1982: '' Flight of the Eagle'' - Photographer *1984: '' The Clan – Tale of the Frogs'' - Siilipää *1984: ''Dirty Story'' - Private detective *1986: '' Flucht in den Norden'' *1986: ''Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan'' - The Stablemaster *1986: ''På liv och död'' - Sångare i tunnelbanan *1986: ''Näkemiin, hyvästi'' - Lauri Valve, Tuulan isä *1987: ''Lain ulkopuolella'' - Chairman of the Court *1988: '' The Glory and Misery of Human Life'' - Martti Hongisto *1989: ''Dårfinkar och dönickar'' (TV Mini-Series) - Morfar *1989: ''Tjurens år'' (TV Movie) - Onkel Jegor *1992: ''Mestari'' - Kalevi Suomalainen *1993: ''Macklean'' (TV Series) - Carl August Ehrensvärd *1993: ''Rosenbaum'' (TV Series) - Erik 'Lunkan' Lundkvist *1995: '' Vita lögner'' - Lindqvist *1995: ''Petri tårar'' - The Cripple *1999: '' Lapin kullan kimallus'' - Konrad Planting *2008: ''Thomas'' - Thomas

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poysti, Lasse 1927 births 2019 deaths People from Sortavala Finnish people of German descent Finnish male actors Finnish dramatists and playwrights Finnish military personnel of World War II Finnish expatriates in France