Svend Melsing (27 December 1888 – 8 June 1946) was a Danish stage and film actor, theatre director and playwright whose career spanned nearly forty years.

Early life

Born Svend Nielsen in Fredericia, Denmark, he was the son of Peder Nielsen, who was an army infantry captain and military commander, and Marie Hansine Rose. His father died in 1901 when Melsing was thirteen. At age eighteen he changed his surname from Nielsen to Melsing. He began studying acting under the tutelage of Danish stage actress Soffy Walleen and was a student at the Royal Danish Theatre School in Copenhagen from 1910 until 1912.

Stage career

Melsing made his theatre debut at the Royal Danish Theatre on 10 March 1912 as the character Albert Ebbesen in Johan Ludvig Heiberg's 1828 comedy ''Elverhøi'' (''

Elves' Hill ''Elves' Hill'' ( da, Elverhøj) is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with overture and incidental music by Friedrich Kuhlau (Op. 100), which is considered the first Danish national play. History ''Elves' Hill'' was commissioned by Frederik V ...

''). He would continue as an actor at the Royal Danish Theatre until 1914, followed by an engagement at the Dagmarteatret from 1914 until 1926 and the Casino Theatre during the 1926–1927 season. He would also do several tours with the

Betty Nansen Teatret Betty Nansen Teatret (Betty Nansen Theatre) is a theatre situated on Frederiksberg Allé in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the actress Betty Nansen, who managed it from 1917 until her death in 1943. Histo ...

Det Ny Teater Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the borde ...

and the Casino Theatre. From 1938 until 1943 he would become the winter season theatre director of the Frederiksberg Theatre and director of the Allé-Scenen Teater from January until July 1944. Apart from performing in and directing stage plays, Melsing also wrote several plays; among them, ''Det evigt kvindelige'', ''De kloge og vi gale'', ''Jul paa Ravnsholt'' and ''Søndagsparadiset''.

Film career

In 1912, Melsing began performing in motion pictures for Nordisk Film. His first role at Nordisk was in the 1912 August Blom directed comedy short ''Direktørens Datter'', starring Carl Alstrup and Karen Poulsen. He would go on to appear in over thirty films at Nordisk until 1920, often in prominent roles, before signing with Palladium Film in 1924. His first film for Palladium was the 1924 Lau Lauritzen directed comedy ''Professor Petersens Plejebørn'', in which he plays Professor Petersen opposite actors Oscar Stribolt,

Carl Schenstrøm Karl Georg Harald Schenstrøm (13 November 1881 – 10 April 1942) was a Danish stage and film actor of the silent era in Denmark. He worked under directors such as August Blom and Lau Lauritzen Sr. Together with Harald Madsen, Schenstrø ...

and Maria Garland. His most popular role at Palladium was as the character Cardenio in Lau Lauritzen's 1926 silent

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of '' Don Quixote''. He would continue in roles in silent film throughout the 1920s, making his first and only sound film in 1931's George Schnéevoigt's drama '' Hotel Paradis''. After retiring from film, he would return to the Frederiksberg Theatre and the Allé-Scenen Teater as a director and actor. In 1945, his play '' De kloge og vi gale'' was adapted into a film by

Lau Lauritzen, Jr. Lau Lauritzen Jr. (26 June 1910 – 12 May 1977), was a Danish actor, screenwriter, and film director. As a director, he was a 4-time recipient of the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. Lauritzen co-founded the Danish film studio ASA Film and ...

and Alice O'Fredericks for Spillefilm, and starred

Poul Reumert Poul Reumert (26 March 1883 – 19 April 1968) was a Danish stage and film actor. An incredibly skilled theater actor who made a name for himself in major roles such as Elverhoj, Genboerne and Flegermusen. He debuted after theater school in ...

Death

For the last three years of his life, Svend Melsing began suffering from a series of ailments. In 1944 he retired from his position at the Allé-Scenen Teater. He died in Frederiksberg on 8 June 1946 at age 57.Gyldendal - Den Store Danske
Retrieved 18 November 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melsing, Svend 1888 births 1946 deaths Danish male stage actors Danish male film actors Danish male silent film actors People from Fredericia 20th-century Danish male actors