Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedish Film Database
– in Swedish only was a Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid-1950s, known as "the male

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

". Between 1916 and 1963, he appeared in over seventy feature films, sixteen of which were produced in the silent era. He is mainly remembered today for two silent films, '' The Single Standard'' and '' Wild Orchids,'' which he made with fellow Swede

, and his portrayal of the title character in the controversial

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

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 ...

film, '' The Bitter Tea of General Yen''.

Biography

Born Nils Anton Alfhild Asther, he was the son of Swedish nationals Anton Andersson Asther (born February 21, 1865, Caroli,

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

) and Hildegard Augusta Åkerlund (born November 3, 1869, in Södra Sallerup, Malmöhus County). Although Asther had promised Åkerlund marriage, she was unwed on giving birth to Nils in the Sankt Matthæus Parish of the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

borough of Vesterbro where she very briefly stayed. Thus, due to the marriage already being promised, Nils was technically not illegitimate; when his parents married on May 29, 1898, it was noted Anton officially acknowledged the boy as his. He spent his first year as a foster child in

Hyllie Hyllie () is an area and former city district () in the central of Malmö Municipality, Sweden. On 1 July 2013, it was merged with Limhamn-Bunkeflo, forming Väster. In 2012, Hyllie had a population of 32,998 of the municipality's 307,758. T ...

, Sweden with saddlemaker Rasmus Hellström and wife Emilia Kristina Möller. He was christened there on February 26, 1897, before being returned to his biological parents who then wed in Malmö. His older half-brother, Gunnar Anton Asther (born March 4, 1892, in Caroli, Malmö) was his father's child from a previous marriage to Anna Paulina Olander, who died in July 1895. WP Nils Asther

As a young man, Asther moved to

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 ...

, where he received acting lessons from Augusta Lindberg. It was through Lindberg that Asther received his first theatrical engagement at Lorensbergsteatern in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and in 1916 Mauritz Stiller cast him in '' The Wings'' (Swedish: ''Vingarna''), a 1916 gay-themed Swedish silent film directed by Mauritz Stiller, based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel ''Mikaël''. In

, actor Aage Hertel of the Royal Danish Theatre took Asther under his wing. This soon led to a number of film roles in Sweden, Denmark and Germany between 1918 and 1926.

Hollywood

In 1927, Asther left for Hollywood, where his first film was '' Topsy and Eva''. By 1928 his good looks had made him into a leading man, playing opposite such stars as Pola Negri, Marion Davies and

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

. He grew a thin mustache which amplified his suave appearance. One of his most popular films was '' Our Dancing Daughters'', starring

, Johnny Mack Brown, Anita Page, and Dorothy Sebastian. Asther was cast opposite Greta Garbo in '' Wild Orchids'' as the tempting Javanese Prince De Gace. With the arrival of

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

in movies, Asther took

diction Diction ( (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a piece of writing such as a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its c ...

and voice lessons to minimize his accent, and was generally cast in roles where an accent was not a problem, such as the Chinese General Yen in '' The Bitter Tea of General Yen''.

Career decline

Between 1935 and 1940, Asther was forced to work in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

after an alleged breach of contract led to a studio-based

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

. Asther made six films there. He returned to Hollywood in 1940, and although he made another 19 films up until 1949, his career was never the same, and he appeared mostly in small supporting roles. In the early 1950s, Asther tried to restart his career in television, but managed only to secure roles in a few episodes of minor TV series. In 1958, he returned to Sweden, almost destitute. There, he managed to get an engagement with a local theater and had four film roles before finally giving up on acting in 1963 and devoting his time to painting.

Homosexuality

Asther was a homosexual in a time when it was a dangerous

social stigma Stigma, originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved to mean a negative perception or sense of disapproval that a society places on a group or individual based on certain characteristics such as their ...

, both personally and professionally. He grew up in a deeply religious

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

home, believing homosexuality was a sin as society viewed homosexuality as a disease. In Sweden, it was called "unnatural

fornication Fornication generally refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people who are not married to each other. When a married person has consensual sexual relations with one or more partners whom they are not married to, it is called adu ...

". While sexual same-sex relations between adults were legalized in 1944, the medical classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder continued until 1979. The theatrical community and the film industry of the 1920s accepted gay actors with little reservation, always provided they remain discreet about their sexual orientation and there was no public suggestion of impropriety. Asther was

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

, and proposed marriage to

to hide his true

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

. Asther and Garbo had known each other in Sweden, and finding themselves relatively new to a foreign land, they spent a great deal of time together. They often visited a friend's ranch outside Hollywood where they could relax, ride horses, go climbing, or swim at Lake Arrowhead.Nils Asther: Narrens väg – Ingen gudasaga, (Carlsson Bokförlag, 1988) "Sailor" was a favored term for Garbo's male, gay, and bisexual friends. In 1929, during filming with Asther on location at Santa Catalina Island for '' The Single Standard'', she was overheard berating him for grabbing her so roughly: "I'm not one of your sailors."Silent Topics: Essays on Undocumented Areas of Silent Film by Anthony Slide Rumors swirled in the early 1930s that Asther had relationships with fellow Swedes, director Mauritz Stiller and the writer Hjalmar Bergman, among other male colleagues. Asther mentions some of this in his memoirs. He had a long-term relationship with actor/stuntman and

World War II 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 ...

Navy sailor Ken DuMain. According to DuMain, he met Asther on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...

in the early 1940s, and they enjoyed a long-term relationship. In August 1930, Asther entered a lavender marriage with Vivian Duncan, one of his '' Topsy and Eva'' co-stars. They had one child, Evelyn Asther Duncan, dubbed by the media as "The International Baby" due to her Swedish father, American mother, and Bavarian birth. This made Evelyn’s nationality debatable, so Asther offered to apply for American citizenship if it would help the process of getting her into the United States. Asther and Duncan's marriage proved stormy from the start, and became tabloid fodder; they divorced in 1932.

Memoirs

Asther's posthumously published

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

in Swedish had a

foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between th ...

by theatre historian Uno "Myggan" Ericson, who had met Asther only once in 1958 on arriving in

. The

afterword An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed. An afterword may be written by someone oth ...

was by Iwo Wiklander. The middle of the book, written by Asther himself, covers the years between his birth and return to Sweden in 1958. Wiklander claimed in later interviews that Asther was intent on erasing parts of his life before his death, and that much material in the autobiography was exaggerated or completely fictitious to make a more interesting story. Countess Linde Klinckowström-von Rosen claimed their "engagement" was a practical joke while filming together. She did however, introduce Asther to her family, and to the Swedish painter Nils Dardel and his freethinking artistic circle.

Death and legacy

Nils Asther died on October 13, 1981, at a hospital in Farsta, Stockholm. He is buried in Hotagen,

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

. In 1960, Asther was inducted into the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

with a motion pictures star at 6705 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the film industry.

Selected filmography

* '' The Wings'' (1916) – Aspiring actor * ''Hittebarnet'' (1917, Short) – Kurt * ''Retten sejrer'' (1918) * '' A Trip to Mars'' (1918) – Wounded Martian Citizen (uncredited) * ''Solen der dræbte'' (1918) – Jan * ''Gyurkovicsarna'' (1920) – Bandi Gyurkovics * ''Vem dömer'' (1922) – Apprentice * '' The Secret of the Duchess'' (1923) * ''Norrtullsligan'' (1923) – Baby's Fiancé *'' Charles XII's Courier'' (1924) – Stanislaus * ''Wienerbarnet'' (1924) – Charles Dupont * ''

Letters Which Never Reached Him ''Letters Which Never Reached Him'' (German: ''Briefe, die ihn nicht erreichten'') is a 1925 German silent film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring Albert Bassermann, Marcella Albani and Mia Pankau. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1925) * '' Love's Finale'' (1925) – Dr. Gaston Lasar * '' Her Husband's Wife'' (1926) * '' Three Cuckoo Clocks'' (1926) – Reginald Ellis * '' The Golden Butterfly'' (1926) – Andy, sein Sohn * ''Das süße Mädel'' (1926) – The Prince's Son * '' Wrath of the Seas'' (1926) – Torpedooffizier Günther Adenried * '' The Man with the Counterfeit Money'' (1927) * ''Gauner im Frack'' (1927) – George Valeska * ''Hotelratten'' (1927) – Fürst Ladrone * '' Topsy and Eva'' (1927) – George Shelby * '' Sorrell and Son'' (1927) – Christopher 'Kit' Sorrell * '' The Blue Danube'' (1928) – Erich von Statzen * '' Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' (1928) – Luigi * '' The Cossacks'' (1928) – Prince Olenin Stieshneff * '' Loves of an Actress'' (1928) – Raoul * '' The Cardboard Lover'' (1928) – Andre * '' Our Dancing Daughters'' (1928) – Norman * '' Dream of Love'' (1928) – Prince Maurice de Saxe * '' Wild Orchids'' (1929) – Prince De Gace * '' The Hollywood Revue of 1929'' (1929) – Nils Asther (scenes deleted) * '' The Single Standard'' (1929) – Packy Cannon * '' The Sea Bat'' (1930) – Carl * '' But the Flesh Is Weak'' (1932) – Prince Paul * '' Letty Lynton'' (1932) – Emile Renaul * '' The Washington Masquerade'' (1932) – Brenner * '' The Bitter Tea of General Yen'' (1932) – Gen. Yen * '' Storm at Daybreak'' (1933) – Captain Geza Petery * '' The Right to Romance'' (1933) – Dr. Helmuth Heppling * '' If I Were Free'' (1933) – Tono Cazenove * '' By Candlelight'' (1933) – Prince Alfred von Rommer * '' Madame Spy'' (1934) – Captain Franck * '' The Crime Doctor'' (1934) – Gary Patten * '' The Love Captive'' (1934) – Dr. Alexis Collender * '' Love Time'' (1934) – Franz Schubert * '' Abdul the Damned'' (1935) – Chief of Police Kadar-Pasha * '' The Prisoner of Corbal'' (1936) – Varennes * '' Guilty Melody'' (1936) – Galloni * '' Make-Up'' (1937) – Bux * ''

Tea Leaves in the Wind ''Tea Leaves in the Wind'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Ward Wing and starring Nils Asther, Eve Shelley and Gibson Gowland. It was shot on location in Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lan ...

'' (1938) – Tony Drake * '' The Man Who Lost Himself'' (1941) – Peter Ransome * '' Forced Landing'' (1941) – Colonel Jan Golas * '' Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day'' (1941) – Constanzo Labardi * '' Flying Blind'' (1941) – Eric Karolek * '' The Night of January 16th'' (1941) – Bjorn Faulkner * '' The Night Before the Divorce'' (1942) – Victor Roselle * '' Sweater Girl'' (1942) – Prof. Henri Menard * '' Night Monster'' (1942) – Agor Singh * ''

Submarine Alert ''Submarine Alert'' is a 1943 American film directed by Frank McDonald (director), Frank McDonald, produced by Pine-Thomas Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Richard Arlen, Wendy Barrie, Nils Asther, Roger Pryor, Marc L ...

'' (1943) – Dr. Arthur Huneker * '' Mystery Broadcast'' (1943) – Ricky Moreno * '' The Hour Before the Dawn'' (1944) – Kurt van der Breughel * ''

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" ( ) is a French Folklore, folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in . The tale is about a wealthy man in the habit of murdering his wives an ...

'' (1944) – Inspector Jacques Lefevre * ''

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

'' (1944) – Thomas Leroux * '' The Man in Half Moon Street'' (1945) – Dr. Julian Karell * '' Son of Lassie'' (1945) – Olav * ''

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...

'' (1945) – Peter Urban * '' Love, Honor and Goodbye'' (1945) – Tony Linnard * '' The Feathered Serpent'' (1948) – Prof. Paul Evans * '' Samson and Delilah'' (1949) – Prince (uncredited) * '' That Man from Tangier'' (1953) – Henri * '' When Darkness Falls'' (1960) – Tord Ekstedt, Vicar * ''Svenska Floyd'' (1961) – Vincent Mitella * '' The Lady in White'' (1962) – Simon Ek * '' Suddenly, a Woman!'' (1963) – Londonchefen (final film role)

On soundtracks

* '' Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day'' (1941) as uncredited performer: " Ride of the Valkyries" and "Tableau Russe"" (Symphonic Suite Composed by Lionel Barrymore) * '' Storm at Daybreak'' (1933) as performer: "Roses from the South"

Selected stage

* '' The Importance of Being Earnest''; director: Gustaf Linden, premiere: 1923-02-27,

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...

, Stockholm * ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...

''; director: Karl Hedberg, premiere: 1923-10-12 Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm * ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''; director: Olof Molander, premiere: 1924-02-08 Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm * ''The Strong Are Lonely''; director:

Margaret Webster Margaret Webster (March 15, 1905 – November 13, 1972) was an American-British theater actress, theatrical producer, producer and theatre direction, director. Critic George Jean Nathan described her as "the best director of the plays of Sha ...

, premiere: 1924-09-29

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1917, the thea ...

, New York

References

External links

* * ''Ritt genom livet''. Linde Klinckowström-von Rosen, Stockholm: Hökerberg. 1962. Libris 1240991 * *
Nils Asther
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Asther, Nils Swedish male silent film actors 20th-century Swedish male actors Swedish gay actors Swedish male film actors Swedish male television actors Male actors from Copenhagen Male actors from Stockholm Swedish expatriate male actors in the United States 1897 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players