Knute Erickson (born Knut Timar Carlsson Eriksson; May 27, 1873 – December 31, 1945) was a Swedish-American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

comedian and

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

Life and career

Sources differ regarding his origins. Some state that he was born as Carl Erickson in 1872 in

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

, to Swedish immigrant parents, Trav S.D., "Knute Erickson: Toured Vaudeville as “Daffy Dan”", ''Travalanche'', May 27, 2013
Retrieved March 11, 2024 but there is firm evidence, from birth records and his passport applications, that he was born as Knut Timar Carlsson Eriksson in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1873, emigrating to the United States with his parents in 1881. He grew up in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, and worked backstage at a local theatre before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to study dramatics.'Yon Yonson", ''Salt Lake Telegram'', January 21, 1946, p.16 He first appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1894, playing with

Mack Swain Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain; February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was a prolific early United States, American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also ...

, and appeared in other roles as a Swedish character."Stage Loses Veteran", ''Los Angeles Evening Citizen News'', Hollywood, California, January 3, 1946, p.10 In the early 1900s, he developed Swedish immigrant characters, "Yon Yonson", and, more successfully, "Daffy Dan", whom he performed in vaudeville in shows produced by

Jesse Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer Film producer, motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life ...

. He performed in character in two short silent films produced in 1915.Anthony Slide, "Knute Erickson", ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', University Press of Mississippi, 2012, p.161 While continuing to perform in vaudeville, he also became established after 1921 in minor character roles in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, starting with ''

Gasoline Gus ''Gasoline Gus'' is a 1921 American comedy film directed by James Cruze and starring Fatty Arbuckle. Prints of ''Gasoline Gus'' held at the Gosfilmofond archive in Russia and Cinematheque Belgique. Plot Cast * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as Ga ...

'' in which he appeared with

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

. Over the next fifteen years he appeared in over thirty more films, mostly in small parts and sometimes uncredited. These included performances in '' The Monster'' with

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

in 1925, '' The Non-Stop Flight'' in 1926, and ''

The Bitter Tea of General Yen ''The Bitter Tea of General Yen'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code drama (film and television), drama war film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, and featuring Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. Based on the 193 ...

'', directed by

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

in 1933. Erickson died in Los Angeles in 1945.

Gallery

KnuteErickson1915.jpg, KnuteErickson1925.jpg, KnuteErickson1925a.jpg, KnuteErickson1925b.jpg,

References

External links

* 1873 births 1945 deaths Swedish emigrants to the United States American vaudeville performers American male film actors People from Norrköping {{US-film-actor-stub