Sven Olof Björklund (28 June 1916 – 27 March 1981), better known as Olle Björklund, was a Swedish actor and

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

. Björklund was the first Swedish television news presenter, hosting the national news show '' Aktuellt'' from 1958. In that capacity, he quickly earned his popular nickname ''Mr. Aktuellt''. However, in 1961, Björklund's career came to an end as he was fired from his position at Swedish Television in the midst of a controversy involving a tobacco advertisement.

Biography

Björklund graduated from the

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

High School of Latin in 1933. He went on to study at the ''Lorensbergsteatern'' Theater Acting School (1933–1934), The ''Reima'' School (1934–1935), and later the

Royal Dramatic Training Academy The Royal Dramatic Training Academy (, also known as ''Dramatens elevskola''), was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years (1787–1964) seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education ...

in 1936. In 1937, Björklund was engaged at the

Svensk Filmindustri SF Studios is Sweden’s largest film studio. It is involved in production, distribution, and movie theater market chains (both Swedish and international, including American) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen ...

motion picture studios, and in the following year at the ''

Vasateatern Vasateatern or ''"Vasan"'' (English language, English: ''Vasa Theatre'') is a private theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Vasagatan, Stockholm, Vasagatan 19–21 in central Stockholm. History The theater was designed by (1837- 1898) ...

'' Theater in Stockholm. In 1958, he was employed at

Swedish Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

; hosting the very first national news program, '' Aktuellt'', where he soon became a national celebrity. ''Aktuellt'' was first aired on 2 September 1958; this particular transmission become notorious, as almost everything went wrong. However, Björklund did his best - with forced patience - to keep his composure. At the height of his career in 1961, during his summer leave, Björklund toured local events at public parks on the Swedish West Coast. His appearance was in part sponsored by a local beer and tobacco wholesaler. Although Björklund had been promised that his name would not appear in any advertising, the deal was not honored by the sponsor. The national TV executive

Nils Erik Bæhrendtz Nils Erik Bæhrendtz (20 November 1916 – 14 February 2002) was a Swedish literary historian, and radio and television personality. Bæhrendtz played an important role in creating Sweden's first television news show ''Aktuellt'', and in bringing ...

, who had publicly criticized Björklund for his park tour, personally ordered Björklund's swift resignation from Swedish Television. After his forced resignation, and despite many viewers demanding his immediate return to the evening news show, Björklund virtually disappeared from the public scene. Four years later, on 20 October 1964, Björklund briefly returned to television; when he appeared as a guest in a TV show, reading a short poem by Swedish author

Harry Martinson Harry Martinson (6May 190411February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow ...

. Björklund was married to Ylva Dahlström. They were divorced in 1969. Björklund died in

Örkelljunga Örkelljunga is a locality and the seat of Örkelljunga Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders ...

in 1981.

Selected filmography

* ''

John Ericsson, Victor of Hampton Roads ''John Ericsson, Victor of Hampton Roads'' (Swedish language, Swedish: ''John Ericsson – segraren vid Hampton Roads'') is a 1937 Swedish historical film, historical drama film directed by Gustaf Edgren and starring Victor Sjöström, Märta Ekst ...

'' (1937) * ''

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

'' (1938) * ''

Art for Art's Sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of (), a French slogan from the latter half of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that 'true' art is utterly independent of all social values and utilitarian functions, b ...

'' (1938) * '' One Fiancée at a Time'' (1952) * ''

The Lady in White ''The Lady in White'' (Italian: ''La dama bianca'') is a 1938 Italian " white-telephones" comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Elsa Merlini, Nino Besozzi and Enrico Viarisio.Clarke & Doel p.37 The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1962)

References

External links

Olle Björklund in ''Aktuellt''
the first ''Aktuellt'', September 2, 1958. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorklund, Olle Swedish television presenters Swedish male film actors 1916 births 1981 deaths People from Botkyrka Municipality Male actors from Stockholm County 20th-century Swedish male actors Swedish male stage actors 20th-century Swedish journalists