Ove Wendelboe Sprogøe Petersen (21 December 1919 – 14 September 2004) was a Danish actor.

Life

Born in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 2 ...

, his parents were Arthur and Inger Sprogøe Petersen. He married Eva Rasmussen in 1945, with whom he had three children. One of these is actor .

Career

He made his film debut in ''Hans Store Aften'' (''His Big Night''). His characteristically prominent chin that had been feared to be an obstacle of his career did not prevent him from being one of the most versatile and widely used Danish actors. His strength laid in the almost diabolic, mischievous and brash but he effortlessly played meek and shy types as well as elegantiers. Among his many roles on stage in classic plays might be mentioned

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * '' Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German-Hungarian film based ...

in ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...

'', the title figure of

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

's ''

The Father Father is the male parent of a child. Father may also refer to: Name * Daniel Fathers (born 1966), a British actor * Father Yod (1922–1975), an American owner of one of the country's first health food restaurants Cinema * ''Father'' (1966 f ...

'' and some

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

and

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

characters. An extremely popular actor in Denmark, he played many diverse roles, including several recurring television parts. He appeared in 157 films, making him one of the hardest-working actors in the history of Danish film. In his younger years he was often part of a duo with his friend and colleague

Dirch Passer Dirch Hartvig Passer (18 May 1926 – 3 September 1980) was a celebrated Denmark, Danish actor. He was greatly renowned for his improvisational skills and, with a filmography comprising 90 movies, one of Denmark's most prolific actors. His life ...

. He is probably best known for playing one of the lead roles in the ''

Olsen-banden The ''Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-banden, no, Olsenbanden, german: Die Olsenbande) is a Denmark, Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. T ...

'' movies, along with

Morten Grunwald Walter Morten Grunwald (9 December 1934 – 14 November 2018) was a Danish actor, stage director and theatre manager. Early life and education He was born in Odense, Denmark, attended Odense Theatrical School in 1958, and graduated from the Roya ...

and

Poul Bundgaard Poul Arne Bundgaard (27 October 1922 – 3 June 1998) was a Danish actor and singer. He is probably best known for his role as the henpecked Kjeld in the ''Olsen-banden'' films. He also appeared in the 1966 spy film ''Strike First Freddy'' as th ...

, playing the gang leader Egon Olsen, known for his short temper, striped suit, and cigar. By this role he earned international fame though mostly in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

, in the GDR and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

he together with his colleagues became almost a cult figure. Among his TV roles must be mentioned his elegant and humorous ex-burglar Larsen in the series '' Huset på Christianshavn'' ("The House at Christianshavn" – the first Danish

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

) and his role as the wise and courageous doctor Louis Hansen in the epic, historical drama-series ''

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

'', both also shown outside Denmark. He was an able singer especially in shows or revues and his interpretation of Tim Spencer's ''Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women'' (in Danish re-creation: ''Fandens Oldemor'' – "The Devil's Great-Grandmother") almost became his signature tune. He was the Danish voice of the Sultan in the dub of Disney's

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

, having previously voiced

Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the The Walt Disney Company, Disney version of the "Talking Cricket" (Italian language, Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventu ...

, both in the Danish dub of Disney's

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

and in the nationally annually broadcast television special A Disney Christmas Gift. He was an actor who combined great public sympathy with the ability to remain a private person with a modest lifestyle. After his death it was revealed that he had been a passionate art enthusiast and had amassed a valuable collection of modern

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Shortly after his death in 2004,

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanu ...

(the company that made the Olsen Gang movies) established a scholarship for actors in his name. The state-owned road to The State Prison in Vridsløselille (the prison where his Egon Olsen character was a frequent "guest"), was renamed by the municipality of

Albertslund Albertslund is a Copenhagen suburb in Albertslund Municipality, Denmark. It is located west of central Copenhagen, with a population of around 30,000. Albertslund is a planned community or new town mainly built in the 1960s and 1970s. The s ...

to ''Egon Olsens Vej'' (Egon Olsen Road). On 24 October 2005, his native city of

named a square ''Ove Sprogøes Plads'' (Ove Sprogøe Square) in his honour.

Filmography (selected)

Film

* '' The Swedenhielm Family'' (1947) * '' We Who Go the Kitchen Route'' (1953) * '' The Crime of Tove Andersen'' (1953) * '' Journey to the Seventh Planet'' (1962) * '' Strike First Freddy'' (1965) * '' Relax Freddie'' (1966) * ''

The Olsen Gang The ''Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-banden, no, Olsenbanden, german: Die Olsenbande) is a Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang ...

'' (1968) * '' The Olsen Gang in a Fix'' (1969) * '' The Olsen Gang in Jutland'' (1971) * ''

The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang ''The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-bandens sidste bedrifter) is a 1974 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe, Morten Grunwald, Poul Bundgaard and Kirsten Walther. This was the sixth film in the ...

'' (1974) * ''

The Olsen Gang Sees Red ''The Olsen Gang Sees Red'' ( da, Olsen-banden ser rødt) is a 1976 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe, Morten Grunwald and Poul Bundgaard. The film was the eighth in the Olsen Gang-series, and was select ...

'' (1976) * '' The Olsen Gang's Last Trick'' (1998)

Television

* ''

'' (1978–1982) * '' Huset på Christianshavn''

External links

*
Filmography
at a Danish website
Original cinema trailers with Ove Sprogøe

Biography
at the website of the German Olsen-Gang fanclub {{DEFAULTSORT:Sprogoe, Ove 1919 births 2004 deaths Danish male film actors Danish male stage actors Danish male voice actors Best Actor Bodil Award winners People from Odense Bodil Honorary Award recipients