Aase Synnøve Bye (4 June 1904 – 10 July 1991) was a Norwegian actress, known from stage, film and television. in her honor, the Aase Byes pris is awarded in support of deserving artists.

Personal life

She was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo), Norway as a daughter of the merchant Anders Bye (1874–1918) and Astrid Hansen (1879–1920). She was married three times. The first marriage, to the physician Carl Christian Christensen (1882–1949), only lasted from August 1927 to 1929. In 1929 she married the shipbroker Jan Kurt Dedichen (1897–1935). Dedichen was a son of the chemist Georg Dedichen and grandson of

Edvard Brandes Carl Edvard Cohen Brandes (21 October 1847 – 20 December 1931) was a Danish politician, critic and author, and the younger brother of Georg Brandes and Ernst Brandes. He had a Ph.D. in eastern philology. Biography Brandes was a member of th ...

, but died in September 1935. In 1948 she married the economist, author, and editor-in-chief Trygve Jacob Broch Hoff (1895–1982).

Career

Bye made her stage debut at the

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo () is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was ...

in Oslo during 1923, and was hailed as a talent by

Bjørn Bjørnson Bjørn Bjørnson (15 November 1859 – 14 May 1942) was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director. Biography He was born in Christiania, the son of author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1 ...

. Except for short interruptions because of illness or other engagements, she remained faithful to the Nationaltheatret for over 50 years retiring from the state in 1974. Her first role was Solveig in Ibsen's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

''. The following year she portrayed Sonja in the premier of ''

Reisen til Julestjernen ''Reisen til Julestjernen'' (Journey to the Christmas Star) is a Norwegian play by Sverre Brandt from 1924. It was performed for the first time on Saint Stephen's Day (December 26), 1924. The play holds the record for the most performances at the ...

'' by playwright

Sverre Brandt Sverre Brandt (3 March 1880 – 16 July 1962) was a Norwegian theatre worker and playwright, born in Trondheim. He is remembered for his children's play '' Reisen til Julestjernen'' from 1924, which has been staged numerous times at theatres i ...

(1880–1962). She also appeared in silent films, sound films and on television. In 1949, she was awarded the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award (''Teaterkritikerprisen'') for her interpretation of Blanche Dubois in the Norwegian production of the

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

play ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. The play had been translated by Peter Magnus (1915-2001) and performed at Nationaltheatre under the direction of

Gerda Ring Gerda Ring (11 May 1891 – 12 January 1999) was a Norwegian stage actress and stage producer. She was the daughter of writer Barbra Ring, and married actor and theatre director Halfdan Christensen in 1922. They were parents of the actors ...

(1891–1999) and

Ella Hval Ella Hval (born Ella Signe Quist Kristoffersen) (7 January 1904 – 17 December 1994) was a Norwegian actress. She was principally a stage actress and was also an instructor and teacher at the Nationaltheatret student school. Personal li ...

(1904–1994).

Awards and legacy

Bye was decorated as a Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1974, and also held the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold as well as foreign orders of knighthood.

Aase Byes pris

Aase Bye's testament established an endowment; ''Aase Byes Legat til Støtte for Fortjente Kunstnere''. The Aase Byes pris has been awarded annually since 1993 in support of deserving artists. Recipients have included: *

Stein Grieg Halvorsen Halvor Bernt Stein Grieg Halvorsen (19 October 1909 – 11 November 2013) was a Norwegian theatre actor. Stein was born in Kristiania as the son of composer Johan Halvorsen (1864–1935) and Annie Grieg (1873–1957). He was married to Odd Frogg ...

(1993) *

Liv Dommersnes Liv Dommersnes (née Strømsted; 28 September 1922 – 6 April 2014) was a Norwegian actress and reciter of poetry. She was a member of group that founded Studioteatret in 1945. Personal life Liv Strømsted was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), No ...

(1995) *

Solveig Kringlebotn Solveig Kringlebotn () (4 June 1963), better known outside Norway as Solveig Kringelborn, is an internationally known Norwegian operatic soprano.Listen to Norway v1-3 Norsk musikkinformasjon – 1993 "Two of these are CD recordings featuring tw ...

(1995) *

Knut Skram Knut Skram (born 18 December 1937) is a Norwegian baritone. Considered one of the most important Norwegian opera singers of his generation, his career has spanned more than four decades. Life and career Born in the village of Sæbø in western N ...

(1997) *

Kjersti Holmen Kjersti Holmen (8 February 1956 – 26 September 2021) was a Norwegian actress. She was born on Nøtterøy, and later moved to Alnabru, where she grew up with her parents and two sisters. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of The ...

(1999) *

Lise Fjeldstad Lise Barbra Skappel Fjeldstad (born 17 June 1939) is a Norwegian actress, and daughter of the conductor and violinist Øivin Fjeldstad. A graduate of the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1963, she started working at Det Norske Teatret ...

(2001) * Rut Tellefsen (2001) *

Kim Haugen Kim Haugen (born 24 September 1958) is a Norwegian actor. He is a son of actors Per Theodor Haugen and Sissel Sellæg and is married to Nadia Hasnaoui. He made his stage debut at Den Nationale Scene in 1982. From 1985 he worked as an actor at Nat ...

(2003) *

Anne Marit Jacobsen Anne Marit Jacobsen (born 7 November 1946) is a Norwegian stage and film actress. Biography Jacobsen was born in Oslo to sculptor Thorbjørn Sigurd Jacobsen and opera singer Randi Heide Steen. She is the cousin of actress and singer Trulte Hei ...

(2003) *

Bjarte Hjelmeland Bjarte Hjelmeland (born 24 February 1970) is a Norwegian actor and theatre director. He was born in Bergen. He made his stage debut in 1991 at Oslo Nye Teater, and also had notable roles at the National Theatre, Rogaland Teater, Torshovteatret ...

(2004) *

Henny Moan Henny Elisabeth Moan (22 February 1936 – 8 September 2024) was a Norwegian actress. She had a long career in theatre, but is best known for her roles in certain classics of Norwegian cinema, such as the Oscar-nominated '' Nine Lives'' (1957) ...

(2006) *

Frøydis Armand Frøydis Armand (9 April 1949 – 11 October 2022) was a Norwegian actress. She was the daughter of actor Eilif Armand, and sister of Merete Armand and Gisken Armand, both actresses. She worked at Nationaltheatret (the National Theatre) from ...

(2007) *

Kjersti Alveberg Kjersti Alveberg (26 July 1948 – 19 October 2021) was a Norwegian choreographer and dancer. Over the last 30 years of her career she created ballets for stage and television and won prestigious awards for her work. Early life Kjersti Alveber ...

(2008) * Espen Giljane (2008) *

Kari Simonsen Kari Simonsen (born 5 June 1937) is a Norwegian actress. She made her professional stage debut at Folketeatret in 1959. She was appointed at Oslo Nye Teater from 1960 to 1972, and at Nationaltheatret from 1974. She has also played for radio ...

(2009) *

Sverre Anker Ousdal Sverre Anker Ousdal (born 18 July 1944) is a Norwegian retired actor. He is the father of actor Mads Ousdal. Biography Ousdal was born in Flekkefjord, Norway on 18 July 1944. He made his debut in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. He wo ...

(2010) *

Kjell Askildsen Kjell Askildsen (30 September 1929 – 23 September 2021) was a Norwegian writer best known for his minimalistic short stories. Personal life Askildsen was born in Mandal as a son of bailiff and politician Arne Askildsen (1898–1982) and Aas ...

(2011) *

Kjetil Bang-Hansen Kjetil Bang-Hansen (born 16 May 1940) is a Norwegian actor, dancer, stage producer and theatre director. Early and personal life Bang-Hansen was born in Oslo as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and ch ...

(2012) * Svein Tindberg (2012) * Hildegunn Eggen (2014) *

(2016)

References

Other sources

*Ruth Krefting (1963) ''Skuespillerinnen Aase Bye'' (Oslo, Gyldendal) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bye, Aase 1904 births 1991 deaths Actresses from Oslo Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian film actresses Norwegian silent film actresses Norwegian television actresses 20th-century Norwegian actresses Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 20th-century Norwegian philanthropists