Erik ''Stellan'' Claësson was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. He was married to actress Karin Swanstrom and ran

SF Studios SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media congl ...

for over a decade. He was responsible for first sighting

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

and introducing her to cinema.

Biography

Claësson was the son of city physician Jonas Leonhard Claësson and Aurora Adelaide Hillman. He came to Stockholm where he first worked in the police force but then went into acting. Claësson was appointed studio manager for

in Råsunda,

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of ...

, in 1932. In his book ''Scandinavian Film'',

Forsyth Hardy Henry Forsyth Hardy (12 February 1910 – 24 May 1994) was a Scottish critic, writer and film administrator. Biography Henry Forsyth Hardy was born in Bathgate, West Lothian on 12 February 1910. He co-founded the Edinburgh Film Guild in 1929 ...

writes of this period of the studio's history that "Svensk Filmindustri, through its producers Karin Swanstrom and Stellan Claesson, was content to produce modestly conceived films for the home market. They were for the most part comedies with a strong theatrical flavour or farces, some of them originating strangely in the novels of P. G. Wodehouse." During his time there, Claësson was nicknamed by some colleagues "Råsunda's dictator" for his autocratic manner. He was the production manager for 110 films between 1923 and 1948. Stellan Claësson was first married to the actress

Karin Swanström Karin Swanström (June 13, 1873 – July 5, 1942) was a Swedish actress, producer and director. Early life Swanström was born in St. Olai congregation in Norrköping. Little is known of her life before she was accepted for the Royal Dra ...

(1873-1942), from 1915 until her death; they managed SF Studios together and were sometimes called the "King and Queen in

Filmstaden Filmstaden was a film studio situated in Råsunda, Solna Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is ...

". In 1949, after her death, he married Signe Maria Elisabet Liberg (1896-1969). Claësson is buried at the northern cemetery in Stockholm together with his wife.

Selected filmography

Producer

* '' House Slaves'' (1923) * ''The Nurtull Gang'' (1923) * ''

Anna-Clara and Her Brothers ''Anna-Clara and Her Brothers'' (Swedish: ''Anna-Clara och hennes bröder'') is a 1923 Swedish silent drama film directed by Per Lindberg and starring Ann Britt Ohlson, Carl Browallius, Hilda Borgström and Linnéa Hillberg.Qvist & Von Bagh p ...

'' (1923) * ''

Kalle Utter ''Kalle Utter'' is a 1925 Swedish silent historical drama film directed by Karin Swanström and starring Anders de Wahl, Georg Blomstedt and John Ekman.Qvist & Von Bagh p.142 Cast * Anders de Wahl as Kalle Utter * Georg Blomstedt as Kalle' ...

'' (1925) * ''

The False Millionaire ''The False Millionaire'' (Swedish: ''Falska millionären'') is a 1931 French-Swedish comedy film directed by Paul Merzbach and starring Fridolf Rhudin, Zarah Leander and Annalisa Ericson.Wallengren p.53 It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Sto ...

'' (1931) * '' Skipper's Love'' (1931) * '' Ship Ahoy!'' (1931) * '' The Storholmen Brothers'' (1932) * ''

International Match ''International Match'' (Swedish: ''Landskamp'') is a 1932 Swedish drama film directed by Gunnar Skoglund and starring Georg Blomstedt, Fritiof Billquist and Olof Sandborg. It was shot at the Råsunda Studios in Stockholm and on location i ...

'' (1932) * '' Dear Relatives'' (1933) * '' Boman's Boy'' (1933) * '' Augusta's Little Misstep'' (1933) * '' Two Men and a Widow'' (1933) * '' What Do Men Know?'' (1933) * '' Marriageable Daughters'' (1933) * '' The Song to Her'' (1934) * '' Andersson's Kalle'' (1934) * '' Simon of Backabo'' (1934) * '' Swedenhielms'' (1935) * ''

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbes ...

'' (1935) * '' It Pays to Advertise'' (1936) * '' Conscientious Objector Adolf'' (1936) * '' The Wedding Trip'' (1936) * '' Johan Ulfstjerna'' (1936) * '' Sara Learns Manners'' (1937) * '' John Ericsson, Victor of Hampton Roads'' (1937) * '' Conflict'' (1937) * ''

Art for Art's Sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divo ...

'' (1938) * '' Good Friends and Faithful Neighbours'' (1938) * '' Whalers'' (1939) * '' Oh, What a Boy!'' (1939) * '' Only one night'' (1939) * '' If I Could Marry the Minister'' (1941) * '' Tomorrow's Melody'' (1942) * '' Doctor Glas'' (1942) * ''

The Serious Game ''The Serious Game'' ( sv, Den allvarsamma leken) is a 1912 novel by Hjalmar Söderberg. It tells the story of a man and a woman who fall in love when young, and remain in love, but stay separated and marry others. Three Swedish films based on th ...

'' (1945) * '' The Sixth Commandment'' (1947) * ''

Loffe the Tramp ''Loffe the Tramp'' (Swedish: ''Loffe på luffen'') is a 1948 Swedish comedy film directed by Gösta Werner and starring Elof Ahrle, Wiktor Andersson and Agneta Prytz.Scandinavian Cinema p.282 It was shot at the Centrumateljéerna Studios in ...

'' (1948)

Actor

* 1925 - '' First Mate Karlsson's Sweethearts'' (in the role of Benley)

References

External links

*
'Den svenska filmens glada 30-tal: En överlevandes minnen', Gösta Rodin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claësson, Stellan 1886 births 1970 deaths Swedish film producers People from Söderhamn