Jon Eikemo (30 November 1939 – 11 June 2025) was a Norwegian actor. He debuted on stage in 1961, and made his film debut in 1968.

Career

Education

Eikemo studied theatre at Statens Teaterskole in Oslo from 1958, and further at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London.

Theatre

Eikemo debuted on stage in 1961. Between 1961 and 1978 he worked for a number of theaters, first the touring theatre

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre. It was established by law in 1948. Its first performance was in Kirkenes in 1949, with Sigurd Christiansen's play ''En reise i natten''. The theatre plays on about ...

until 1963, and then

Fjernsynsteatret Fjernsynsteatret () was a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that produced plays for television broadcasting. It opened in 1960 (after about a year of experimental operation) and operated until a major reorganisation of NRK o ...

from 1963 to 1965. From 1965 he worked at

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ()Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 19 ...

in Oslo, further at

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 ...

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene () is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has roots dating back to its ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater in Oslo, Norway. Its main venue is located at Rosenkrantz' gate 10, and the company is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. History The establishment opened as Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that ope ...

from 1975 to 1978. From 1978 onwards he was assigned to the

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

theatre Det Norske Teatret. Eikemo played the title roles in

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

’s play

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 ...

(1969) and

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

’s play ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil F ...

'' (1975) at Den Nationale Scene. He acted in several plays by

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

, including the title character in , Puntila in , the chef in an adaptation of , Pierpont Mauler in , and pope

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

in an adaptation of ''

Life of Galileo ''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a Play (theatre), play by the 20th century Germany, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and re ...

''. Among his performances at Det Norske Teatret were Hjalmar Ekdal in Ibsen’s play in 1981, the joker in

William 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 nation ...

’s ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' in 1983, the title role in

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

’s ''

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

'' in 1985, and Oronte in ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by ...

'' in 1997.

Film

Eikemo made his film debut in 1968, with the movie ''

De ukjentes marked ''De ukjentes marked'' (The Market of the Outcasts) is a Norwegian film from 1968. It was directed by Nils R. Müller, who also wrote the screenplay and edited the film. The film is based on Åge Rønning's 1966 novel ''De ukjentes marked''. The ...

'' (The Market of the Outcasts). Further films were (1977), directed by Sverre Udnæs, (1977), (1979), ''

Orion's Belt Orion's Belt is an asterism in the constellation of Orion. Other names include the Belt of Orion, the Three Kings, and the Three Sisters. The belt consists of three bright and easily identifiable collinear star systems – Alnitak, Alnilam, ...

'' (1985), (1988, based on the children’s book ''

When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town ''When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town'' () is a 1955 Norwegian children's book written and illustrated by Thorbjørn Egner, which tells the story of Kardemomme (Cardamom Town). It is considered one of the most important works in Norwegian childr ...

''), ''Karachi'' (1989), and (2002).

Other activities

Eikemo was a minor political candidate for the Norwegian Centre Party.

Personal life and death

Born in

Åsane Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on ...

(now part of

) on 30 November 1939, Eikemo was a son of merchant Johannes Eikemo and Malmfrid Breistein, the third among five siblings. He was married to Mimmi Nordby from 1969 to 1980, and to Helene Sofie Rasmussen from 1986 to 1999. Eikemo died from a cardiac arrest on 11 June 2025, at the age of 85.

Awards and recognitions

Eikemo was awarded the

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

trophy for his album with poetry by

Jakob Sande Jakob Sande (1 December 1906 – 16 March 1967) was a Norwegian writer, poet and folk singer from Dale in Sunnfjord. His parents were Andreas Sande and Ragna Margrete (born Barsnes). He married Solveig Ytterlid in 1942 and they had a daughter, S ...

from 1979. He received the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award for 1991/1992, and was awarded the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award for 2007.

References

External links

* *
Jon Eikemo Biography
on

Norsk Biografisk Leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

1939 births 2025 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Spellemannprisen winners Male actors from Bergen Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art {{Norway-actor-stub