Ernst Ragnar Johansson (20 January 1891– 25 December 1932), professionally known as Ernst Rolf was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

actor, singer and composer and musical revue artist. Ernst Rolf. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: March 10, 2013. Rolf was born in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

in the

province of

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

, where his father was a tailor and member of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

. His musical talent was evident from the start when even as a young child he performed at

IOGT The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promoting ...

meetings. He would sing while his older brother Birger played the piano. In 1906 Rolf found work at the Åhlén & Holm mail order company in Insjön, Dalarna. He made his stage debut in a performance of

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

, playing Dorothy in an all-male cast. In 1907 he began touring the country as a singer and comedian, quickly becoming one of Sweden's most famous and successful entertainers.''Ernst Rolf'' by Uno Myggan Ericson, (Stockholm: Bonnier, 1968). During the 1920s Rolf was known for producing revues that were acclaimed for their dazzling sets, first class actors and stirring music. He was also a lyricist and composer, who wrote, for instance, the words to ''Finska Valsen'' (The Finnish Waltz) and the music for ''Från Frisco Till Cap'' (From Frisco to the Cape). He recorded his first song in 1910 and throughout his career made over eight hundred recordings.Rolf discography
''atspace.cc''. Retrieved: June 21, 2019. He acted in a number of films as well.

Personal life

He was married three times. In 1930 his third wife, actress

Tutta Rolf Tutta Rolf (born Solveig Jenny Berntzen; 7 October 1907 – 26 October 1994) was a Norwegian-Swedish film and theatre actress and singer. She was born in Oslo. She appeared in 14 films between 1932 and 1939. She was married three times, first to ...

, appeared with him in a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n version of ''

Paramount on Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, Ott ...

''. The following year they had a son,

Tom Rolf Ernst Ragnar Rolf (December 31, 1931 – July 14, 2014), better known as Tom Rolf, was a Swedish film editor who worked on at least 48 feature films in a career spanning over fifty years. Most notable among these films are Martin Scorsese's ...

, who became an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

. In spite of his success, personal and financial problems became overwhelming, and in 1932, on Christmas Eve, Rolf jumped in the frigid lake, near his vacation home on Lidingö, having consumed a large amount of barbiturates mixed with cognac a few moments prior. He survived the incident, but contracted pneumonia, which proved fatal. He was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Rolf's son from his first marriage, Sven Erik Rolf, joined the Norwegian Fascist party

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

and fought as a volunteer in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

Norwegian Legion Norwegian Legion (, ) was a Norwegian collaborationist formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in German-occupied Norway on 29 June 1941, in support of the war aims of Nazi Germany. The unit was disbanded in 1943. Histor ...

on the Eastern Front during World War II.

References

External links

Image files
Ernst Rolf 01Ernst Rolf 02Ernst Rolf LPLars Bondeson and Ernst RolfBondeson and Rolf photo captions
Articles *.
Ernst Rolf
in the Swedish Biographical Dictionary. Discographies
Ernst Rolf (lyricist)
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

.
Ernst Rolf (composer)
on

.
Ernst Rolf
at the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...

. Song lyrics
Ernst Rolf songbook
Streaming audio
Ernst Rolf
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolf, Ernst 1891 births Musicians from Dalarna County People from Falun Suicides in Sweden Swedish male stage actors Swedish male film actors Swedish male silent film actors 20th-century Swedish male actors Swedish entertainers Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen 20th-century Swedish male singers 1932 suicides 1932 deaths Male actors from Dalarna County