Knut Kirsebom Wigert (3 October 1916 – 14 June 2006) was a Norwegian actor, known for his many

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 ...

roles and the establishment of an Ibsen museum in

Oslo 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 ...

Personal life

Knut Hansen was born in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

as a son of Major Sigvald Hansen (1881–1954) and his wife Carmen Franciska Christina Kirsebom (1887–1951), and a younger brother of Sonja Wigert. He changed his last name to Wigert in 1935. Wigert was married to Eva Nordlie from 1942 to 1946. In January 1950 he married ship-owner Sofie Helene Huitfeldt, née Olsen. The marriage lasted until her death in September 1989. They resided in Bærum. He was a son-in-law of ship-owner Rudolf Olsen, and the family inherited large properties including the manor Dirhue at

Tjøme Tjøme () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative ce ...

. Wigert lost this to his step-children in an out-of-court settlement in 1993. In 1991 he married for the third time, to journalist Vera Dietrichson Burkoff (1929–2007). In his later life he lived at Madserud in Oslo. He died in June 2006 in Oslo.

Career

Actor

Wigert finished school when graduating Oslo Commerce School in 1936. He made his stage début at

Centralteatret Centralteatret (); (full name: Oslo Nye Centralteatret) is a theatre on Akersgata, in the city centre of Oslo, Norway. Centralteatret was established by the husband-and-wife acting team of Johan Fahlstrøm and Alma Fahlstrøm, in 1897. The thea ...

in 1937, and started acting for the National Theatre in Oslo from 1938. He played "the pilot" in an adaptation of

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum' ...

's anti-Nazi play '' Matka'' (The Mother), which had dress rehearsal on 8 April 1940 and never premièred due to the German invasion of Norway the following day. Among his roles were "Hugo" in a 1950 adaptation of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

's ''

Dirty Hands The problem of dirty hands concerns whether political leaders are justified in committing immoral actions when "dirtying their hands", in realizing an important moral end, such as the preservation of a community's continued existence or the preven ...

'', and "Brick" in a 1956 adaptation of

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 ...

's ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

''. He played a long series of Ibsen characters, such as "Hertug Skule" (from ''

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

''), "Peer" (from ''

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 ...

''), "Rosmer" (from ''

Rosmersholm ''Rosmersholm'' () is an 1886 Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian people, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It tells the story of Johannes Rosmer, an aristocratic former clergyman and owner of the Rosmersholm manor who is haunted by his wif ...

''), "Brack" (from ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

''), "Helmer" (from ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

)'', "Rubek" (from '' When We Dead Awaken''), "Solness" (from ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

''), "Borkman" (from '' John Gabriel Borkman'') and "Julian" (from '' Emperor and Galilean''). A bust of Wigert, sculptured by Joseph Grimeland, was unveiled at the National Theatre in 1998. He made his film début in 1940, in the film '' Tante Pose'', acted in the 1946 film '' Englandsfarere'', and played the role "Fridtjof Nansen" in '' Bare et liv'' from 1968.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wigert was a member of the Norwegian Independent Company 1, recruited by former actor and leader of the group Martin Linge. He participated in the Operation Archery raid at

Måløy Måløy () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in the List of municipalities of Norway, municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern side of the Vågsøy (island), island of Vågsøy, about northea ...

in 'December 1941, and later graduated as a lieutenant from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

in 1943. He published the book ''Landflyktig'' in 1945, describing his travel via Stockholm, Moscow, Istanbul, Cairo and South Africa to England, and later service in the army. He was decorated with the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

, the Haakon VII 70th Anniversary Medal and the 1939–45 Star as well as the King's Medal of Merit in gold.

Organizing career

Wigert chaired the Riksmål Society from 1974 to 1983. He was also a supervisory council member of the National Theatre and board member of the companies Tinfos Papirfabrik and Olsen Daughter. He was decorated as a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1988 for his contributions to Norwegian theatre. He received the city of

's cultural prize in 1992 for his initiative and efforts which resulted in the establishment of a Henrik Ibsen museum in Oslo. He received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 1996.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wigert, Knut 1916 births 2006 deaths People from Skien Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Norwegian World War II memoirists Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Members of the Norwegian Academy Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst