Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri (4 January 1945 – 10 August 2022) was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as

Uuno Turhapuro Uuno Turhapuro is a Finnish comedy character created by Spede Pasanen and played by Vesa-Matti Loiri. Originally appeared in ''Spede Show'' during 1971–1973, the character gained popularity through the Uuno Turhapuro films. Dramatis personae ...

, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004. According to

Yle News Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

, ″Loiri was one of Finland's most beloved cultural figures over six decades, playing comic and tragic roles on screen and stage, alongside a musical career″.

Life and career

Loiri was born in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

on 4 January 1945 to Taito Loiri (1911–1995) and Lily Nylund (1916–2013), and the family moved to North Haaga when Loiri was a child. Loiri became an actor in 1962, when he had a role in the movie '' Pojat'', directed by Mikko Niskanen, and graduated from the Finnish Theatre Academy, now the Uniarts Helsinki theatre academy, in 1966. Loiri did his most recognised work with comedian-director-producer

Spede Pasanen Pertti Olavi "Spede" Pasanen (10 April 1930 – 7 September 2001) was a Finnish film director and producer, comedian, and inventor. During his career he directed, wrote, produced or acted in about 50 movies and participated in numerous TV p ...

, starting from '' Noin seitsemän veljestä''. Spede and Loiri also developed his highly popular

persona which would star in one of Finland's longest and most commercially successful film-series. In 2005, he starred in the film '' Shadow of the Eagle'', which was directed by

Timo Koivusalo Timo Johannes Koivusalo (born 31 October 1963) is a Finnish actor, director, writer, composer and musician. His most successful film to date was '' Rentun Ruusu'', released in 2001. Life and career Koivusalo was born in Pori, and trained as a ...

. Six films starring Loiri are in the top 20 list of the highest-grossing domestic films in Finland. Total number of tickets sold to the screenings of these six films is 3,715,948. As a musician, Loiri performed compositions of Perttu Hietanen and Taisto Wesslin,

Eino Leino Eino Leino (born Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm; 6 July 1878 – 10 January 1926) was a Finnish poet and journalist who is considered one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry and a national poet of Finland. His poems combine modern and Finnish fo ...

's poems,

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

's drinking songs and Juha "Watt" Vainio's songs. Loiri also played the flute, a talent he put to use representing Finland at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1980 The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, and was organised by host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) – which agreed to stage the event af ...

in The Hague/Netherlands with the song "

Huilumies Finland was represented by Vesa-Matti Loiri and the song " Huilumies" at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. Before Eurovision The Finnish national selection consisted of a semi final and a final. Semi ...

", dedicated to his flute. He finished last in a field of 19 participating countries. During his career, Loiri sold over 730,000 certified records in Finland and is currently the fifth-best-selling soloist and ninth-best-selling artist of all time in the country. He was the voice of the

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

in the Finnish dub of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's Aladdin,Aladdin Finnish Voice Cast
– Willdubguru even performing the musical numbers ''Friend Like Me'' and ''Prince Ali''. When dubbing the Genie, Loiri did not see the original

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

version and was only given a slight idea of what the original gags and jokes were. Disney gave the team an award for the best foreign ''Aladdin'' dub. Loiri appeared in the premiere of Aulis Sallinen's opera ''

Kullervo Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot. Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...

'' in Los Angeles in 1992, creating the role of the blind singer. Milnes, Rodney. 'Kullervo' – a child of our time. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'', June 1992, Vol 42, No 6, pp 652–655. Loiri also had a lifelong interest and exceptional talent in a number of sports, especially

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. It has been said that, had he not chosen to concentrate on acting, he could have become a national professional-level goalkeeper. He was signed by juggernauts HJK for one season in 1972. He held the office of Chairman of the Finnish billiards association for multiple years, being an especially gifted billiards player.Vesa-Matti Loiri liiton kunniajäsen
– Suomen Biljardiliitto ry (in Finnish) On 10 August 2022 Loiri died from cancer, at the age of 77.

Awards

* Honorary

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

1963 for his role in the film '' Pojat'' * Best male actor Jussi 1976 in '' Rakastunut rampa'' * Best supporting male actor Jussi 1982 in '' Pedon merkki'' * Jussi 1983 for his wide appearance in the year's films * Concrete Jussi 1998 * Festival International du Film Indépendant awarded Loiri in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 2003 for his role in '' Pahat pojat'' * Best Actor Telvis in 1984, 1986 and 1987 * Special Telvis in 1999 * Special Venla in 1989 * Black Nights Film Festival awarded Loiri in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

for A Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010

Discography

Eurovision Song Contest 1980 postcards - Vesa-Matti Loiri 11

Albums

Compilations

Singles

*2008: "Sydämeeni joulun teen" (reached No. 14 in the Finnish Singles Chart) *2009: "Hyvää puuta" (reached No. 19 in the Finnish Singles Chart)

Filmography

* '' A Spice for Life'' (2019) * '' Elämältä kaiken sain'' (2015) * '' Road North'' (2012) * '' The Storage'' (2011) * '' Shadow of the Eagle'' (2005; ) * '' Uuno Turhapuro – This Is My Life'' (2004) * '' Bad Boys'' (2003; ) * '' Rumble'' (2002) * '' Hurmaava joukkoitsemurha'' (2000) * '' Talossa on Saatana'' (1999) * '' History Is Made at Night'' (1999) * '' Sokkotanssi'' (1999) * '' Johtaja Uuno Turhapuro – pisnismies'' (1998) * '' Kummeli: Kultakuume'' (1997) * '' Ruuvimies'' (1995) * '' Kesäyön unelma'' (1994) * '' Vääpeli Körmy – Taisteluni'' (1994) * ''

Uuno Turhapuron poika Uuno is a Finnish and Estonian male given name, and may refer to: *Uuno Kailas (1901–1933), Finnish poet, author, and translator *Uuno Klami (1900–1961), Finnish composer *Uuno Laakso (1896–1956), Finnish actor *Uuno Montonen (1891–1973), ...

'' (1993) * '' Ripa ruostuu'' (1993) * '' Kuka on Joe Louis?'' (1992) * '' Uuno Turhapuro, Suomen tasavallan herra presidentti'' (1992) * ''

Vääpeli Körmy ja vetenalaiset vehkeet Vääpeli ( Fältväbel in Swedish) is a Finnish and former Swedish Non-commissioned officer military rank above Ylikersantti ( Översergeant) and below Ylivääpeli ( Överfältväbel). The rank is derived from the German rank Feldwebel and ...

'' (1991) * '' Uuno Turhapuro, herra Helsingin herra'' (1991) * '' Uunon huikeat poikamiesvuodet maaseudulla'' (1990) * '' Tupla-Uuno'' (1988) * '' Uuno Turhapuro – kaksoisagentti'' (1987) * '' Älä itke Iines'' (1987) * '' Pikkupojat'' (1986) * '' Liian iso keikka'' (1986) * '' Uuno Turhapuro muuttaa maalle'' (1986) * '' Uuno Epsanjassa'' (1985) * '' Hei kliffaa hei!'' (1985) * '' Kepissä on kaksi päätä'' (1985) * '' Uuno Turhapuro armeijan leivissä'' (1984) * '' Lentävät luupäät'' (1984) * ''

Uuno Turhapuron muisti palailee pätkittäin Uuno is a Finnish and Estonian male given name, and may refer to: *Uuno Kailas Uuno Kailas, born Frans Uno Salonen (29 March 1901 – 22 March 1933) was a Finnish poet, writer, and translator. Together with Kaarlo Sarkia, Kailas was the most ...

'' (1983) * '' Jon'' (1983) * '' Ulvova mylläri'' (1982) * '' Uuno Turhapuro menettää muistinsa'' (1982) * '' Uuno Turhapuron aviokriisi'' (1981) * '' Pedon merkki'' (1981) * '' Tup-akka-lakko'' (1980) * ''

Koeputkiaikuinen ja Simon enkelit ''Koeputkiaikuinen ja Simon enkelit'' (''The Test-tube Adult and Simo's Angels'') is a 1979 Finnish comedy film directed, written and starring Spede Pasanen, along with the typical comic-cast of Simo Salminen, Vesa-Matti Loiri, Tapio Hämäläine ...

'' (1979) * '' Rautakauppias Uuno Turhapuro, presidentin vävy'' (1978) * '' Häpy Endkö? Eli kuinka Uuno Turhapuro sai niin kauniin ja rikkaan vaimon'' (1977) * '' Tykkimies Kauppalan viimeiset vaiheet'' (1977) * '' Lottovoittaja UKK Turhapuro'' (1976) * '' Seitsemän veljestä'' (1976) * '' Rakastunut rampa'' (1975) * '' Professori Uuno D.G. Turhapuro'' (1975) * '' Robin Hood ja hänen iloiset vekkulinsa Sherwoodin pusikoissa'' (1974) * ''

'' (1973) * '' Lasinen eläintarha'' (1973) * '' Hellyys'' (1972) * '' Hirttämättömät'' (1971) * '' Kahdeksas veljes'' (1971) * '' Jussi Pussi'' (1970) * '' Pohjan tähteet'' (1969) * '' Leikkikalugangsteri'' (1969) * '' Näköradiomiehen ihmeelliset siekailut'' (1969) * '' Oma'' (1969) * '' Noin seitsemän veljestä'' (1968) * '' Luule kanssamme'' (1968) * '' Lapualaismorsian'' (1967) * '' Pojat'' (1962)

References

External links

*
Vesa-Matti Loiri's career (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loiri, Vesa-Matti 1945 births 2022 deaths Deaths from cancer in Finland Male actors from Helsinki Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1980 Finnish male voice actors Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Finland 20th-century Finnish male singers Spede Pasanen Finnish flautists Finnish pool players Finnish male boxers People convicted of assault 20th-century Finnish male actors 21st-century Finnish male singers 21st-century Finnish male actors 20th-century flautists 21st-century flautists