Poul David Reichhardt (2 February 1913 – 31 October 1985) was a
Danish actor, well known for his roles in Danish 1940s/1950s comedies. Later on, he also played more serious and varied roles; he has also starred in ''
Huset på Christianshavn'', ''
Matador
A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...
'' and as various minor characters in the ''
Olsen-banden
The ''Olsen Gang'' (, ) is a Denmark, Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual o ...
'' films.
For almost thirty years Reichhardt was a leading Danish heroic charmer in movies and partly also on stage. His acting debut was in 1931 as an
extra
Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* Extra (newspaper), ...
in the play ''Styrmand Karlsens flammer'' in
Nørrebros Theater. Already during the 1930s he won himself a name, this was cemented during
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 ...
and from 1945 he stood as the movie hero par excellence: the plain, regular, quick-witted, sometimes hot-tempered, but often humorous man playing in melodramas and comedies. His versatile talent of acting and singing created him a widespread area as an artist.
Poul Reichhardt got a special popularity during his performing in the so-called
Morten Korch movies in the 1950s based upon novels written by a just as popular Danish regionalist light literate – here he normally played the honest young farmer fighting for his happiness and for his love. Often criticised for playing in low quality products he always did his best even in poor roles and his temporary overplay and loudness was compensated by his engagement and self-irony. Perhaps his best movie roles were as a resistance man (''De røde Enge'' - "The Red Meadows", 1945), and as the soldier in ''Soldaten og Jenny'', ("The Soldier and Jenny", 1947. His ability as a singer even made him
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
roles (
Papageno
''The Magic Flute'' (, ), Köchel catalogue, K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The ...
in ''
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'') and though normally considered a typical "man of the people" he also mastered the role as a man of the world.
Besides his many popular roles Reichhardt also, mostly on stage, emerged into a respected character actor (Biff and later
Willy Loman
William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play ''Death of a Salesman'', which debuted on Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949. Loman is a 63-year-old t ...
in ''
Death of a Salesman
''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...
'', Archie in
Osborne's ''
The Entertainer
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', several
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 natio ...
roles). He also dubbed the animated films ''
Fantasia'' and ''
The Sword in the Stone'' when they were released in Danish. Not leaving the heroic line until relatively late he won a new popularity in elder roles also on TV. Perhaps his most popular one was as the blustering and intolerant but yet sympathetic furniture remover Olsen in the series ''
Huset på Christianshavn'' ("The House on Christianshavn"). In the fall of 1981, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, which left him partially paralyzed. For the last four years of his life, the popular actor was dependent on a wheelchair, and Poul Reichhardt died at the age of 72 on 31 October 1985.
Reichhardt is the father of actor
Peter Reichhardt.
Selected filmography
External links
*
Profilefrom Den Store Danske
Profilefrom the Danish Film Database
Original cinema trailers with Poul Reichhardt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichhardt, Poul David
1913 births
1985 deaths
Danish male actors
Danish male film actors
Best Actor Bodil Award winners
People from Egedal Municipality
20th-century Danish male actors