Eero Abraham Kilpi (born Eero Abraham Ericsson; 23 January 1882 – 29 November 1954) was a Finnish stage, film and radio actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years.

Early life

Eero Kilpi was born Eero Abraham Ericsson. He was the son of a sea captain, David Ericsson (1843–1919) and Anna Lucina Ericsson (''née'' Abrahamsson, 1846–1917). He was the second youngest child of five sons: Volter Adalbert Kilpi (1874–1939), Väinö Kilpi (1877–1880), Anto Ferdinand Kilpi (1879–1932) and Sulo Taavetti Kilpi (1882–1954). His family later changed their surname from Ericsson to Kilpi. His older brother Volter would become a prominent Finnish writer. He initially studied at the Finnish Business College before deciding to become an actor.

Stage and film career

Kilpi was engaged at the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre (), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish speaking professional thea ...

from 1903 to 1949 where, during his long engagement, he performed in such varied roles as the title role of Josef Julius Wecksell's tragedy ''Daniel Hjort'',

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Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'',

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

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Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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Aleksis Kivi Aleksis Kivi (; born Alexis Stenvall; 10 October 1834 – 31 December 1872) was a Finnish writer who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, '' Seitsemän veljestä'' (''Seven Brothers''), published in 1870. He is also known ...

's ''Nummisuutarit'' ('' The Cobblers on the Heath''), among many others. During the early 1900s, he performed in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and served as the theater director of the Finnish Drama Institute, the predecessor of Finnish Theatre School, from 1924 to 1940. During the early 1900s, Kilpi began appearing in Finnish

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s. He made his screen debut in the 1907

Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual ...

and

Teuvo Puro Kaarlo Teuvo Puro (9 November 1884 Helsinki – 24 July 1956 Helsinki) was a Finnish actor, writer and director. Puro co-directed the first Finnish fiction film, '' Salaviinanpolttajat'', with Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdebor ...

directed film '' Salaviinanpolttajat'' (''The Moonshiners''); Finland's first fictional motion picture. Kilpi would appear in approximately thirty films during his career, transitioning to the sound film era with ease. In the 1930s and 1940s, he also began appearing as a voice actor on

YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. His last film role was in the 1954 comedy ''Minäkö isä!'' directed by Valentin Vaala.

Personal life

Eero Kilpi was married to Tekla Sofia Kilpi (''née'' Carlson) from 1923 until his deathGeni.
Retrieved 17 April 2016. in 1954 in Helsinki.

References

External links

* 1882 births 1954 deaths Finnish male stage actors Finnish male film actors Finnish male silent film actors People from Kustavi 20th-century Finnish male actors {{Finland-actor-stub