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The illegitimate son of a Danish farmer and his Swedish housekeeper, Carl Theodor Dreyer was born in Copenhagen on the 3rd of February, 1889. He spent his early years in various foster homes before being adopted by the Dreyers at the age of two. Contrary to popular belief (perhaps nourished by the fact that his films often deal with religious themes) Dreyer did not receive a strict Lutheran upbringing, but was raised in a household that embraced modern ideas: in his spare time the adoptive father was an avid photographer, and the Dreyers voted for The Danish Social Democrates. When he was baptized the reasoning was culturally, not religiously motivated. Dreyer's childhood was an unhappy one. He did not feel his adoptive parents' love (especially the mother), and longed for his biological mother, whom he never knew.

After working as a journalist, he entered the film industry, and advanced from reading scripts to directing films himself. In the silent era his output was large, but it quickly diminished with the arrival of the talkie. In his lifetime he was recognized as being a fanatical perfectionist amongst producers, and thus difficult to work with. His career was dogged by problems with the financing of his films, which led to large gaps in his output - and after the critics, too, denounced Vampyr, ou l'étrange aventure de David Gray (1932), he returned to journalism in 1932, and became a cinema manager in 1952 - though he still made features up to the mid- 1960s, a few years before his death. His films are typically slow, intense studies of human psychology, usually of people undergoing extreme personal or religious crises. He is now regarded as the greatest director ever to emerge from Denmark.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Dick Emery was one of the most successful comics on the box. He was voted BBC TV Personality of the Year, thanks to creations such as his toothy vicar, sex-starved spinster Hettie, crusty old Lampwick, outrageously camp Clarence, who coined the phrase: "Hallo honky tonks". Perhaps the most memorable of all was Mandy, a busty middle-aged woman whose repressed nature was usually betrayed by a sudden affectionate slap and a cry of: "Ooh, you are awful. But I like you!".

While his creations left millions howling, in private Emery was a man with a terrible fear of failure. He was often sick before performances and would sleep to escape stage nerves prior to a performance. Bob Monkhouse once incurred his wrath by accidentally waking him before a Royal Variety Performance. Emery exploded in a torrent of abuse as Monkhouse recalled in his book 'Over the Limit'. Emery used to spend hours in analysis, was hypnotised, tried many sedatives and drugs to cure his tension - though the pills scared him as much as the fear of failure.

He once told friend and co-star Roy Kinnear: "I don't just envy the confidence that other comics seem to have, I resent it. I hate them for it, just like my dad did. If there's such a thing as a chip off the old block, it's on my shoulder."

Emery married five times and left his last wife to live with a showgirl 30 years younger than him. His BBC show was axed after 12 years in 1979 and he died four years later.

Morten Lindberg was born on 23 September 1965 in Munkebo, Fyn, Denmark. He was an actor and writer, known for Clemens Show (2000), The Hideaway (1991) and Spektrum (1994). He was married to Herminia Mabunda. He died on 26 March 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ole Søltoft was born on 8 January 1941 in Denmark. He was an actor, known for Champagnegalopp (1975) and Tandlæge på sengekanten (1971). He was married to Ulla Asbjørn Andersen. He died on 9 May 1999 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Trine Michelsen was born on 21 January 1966 in Gentofte, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Les idiots (1998), Tentazione (1987) and The Girl in a Swing (1988). She died on 17 January 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ove Sprogøe was one of Denmark's finest and most treasured actors. Born in 1919 in Odense, where he also grew up, his parents were Arthur and Inger Sprogøe. He married his wife Eva in 1945, the same year as his stage debut at Folketeatret in Copenhagen.

Through a long career in film, television and theatre, his most famous role was as Egon Olsen in the film series "Olsenbanden". The characters and the 14 films are common ground for all Danes and also became popular in Germany as well as in Norway and Sweden where local versions were produced.

Even so, Sprogøe was always able to maintain a diverse range as an actor, playing all genres on stage as well as on screen. This included a multitude of popular comedies, a recurring role in the popular series Matador (1978) and a great number of variety shows.

Ove Sprogøe died in the fall of 2004 and is remembered as one of the true greats of Danish film.

Andersen experienced an unhappy childhood marked by deep poverty. When he was 14 years old, he left his parents' home and fled alone to Copenhagen. Here the director of the Royal Theater, Jonas Collin, took care of the child and gave him shelter and work. With his help, the young Hans Christian Andersen was also able to attend school. Inspired by his theater work, he began to write his first plays, which he later wanted to expand into stage plays. The first stories, stories and poems were created at this time. In 1822, Andersen's first plots were published with great success. He became a recognized writer in 1829 with his fantastic stories, which were entirely based on the example of the German writer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.

Andersen's debut novel, "The Improviser", was written in 1835 and received extremely positive reviews from critics. The Danish philosopher and writer Sören Kierkegaard was critical of him in his 1837 work "Only a Violinist". From 1839 Andersen was provided with a state poet's salary. As a result, financially secure, he traveled to Europe, Asia and Africa. However, he spent most of his time in Germany. He recorded his adventures and experiences in dramas, novels and travel books. Anderson became a literary figure with worldwide recognition through his precise portrayal of individual characters, which the writer wrote in everyday language that was atypical at the time. The secret fears and longings of the characters were portrayed, and their exemplary behavior also represented an educational goal.

During his literary work, Andersen wrote some of the most popular children's stories of modern times. Andersen's collected fairy tales and poems were published between 1835 and 1848 under the Danish title "Eventyr, fortalte for børn". His most successful stories include "The Ugly Duckling", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Snow Queen" and "The Princess and the Pea". Andersen's extensive legacy includes over 150 fairy tales, including "The Little Mermaid", which gave rise to the sculpture of the same name in memory of him in the harbor of Copenhagen. Andersen's stories have been translated into over 80 languages and served as plays, ballets, picture books and later as successful films.

Hans Christian Andersen died on August 4, 1875 in Copenhagen.

Werner Hedman was born on 6 April 1926 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a cinematographer and production manager. He was married to Anne-Katrine Garde. He died on 26 July 2005 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lasse Nielsen was born on 15 April 1950 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a director and writer, known for You Are Not Alone (1978), Foutez-nous la paix (1975) and Måske ku' vi (1976). He died on 28 November 2024 in Aarhus, Denmark.

Ulf Pilgaard is a Danish actor. He has appeared for over 40 years in comedy plays. He also had some major film roles, such as "Nattenvagten" by Ole Bornedal.

Ulf Pilgaard debuted as an actor in 1963 at "Alléscenen" as a member of the Collage-squad. From 1968 to 1972 he was in the "Cirkusrevyen", and then from 1973 to 1985 in the "Tivolirevyen", interspersed "Holstebrorevyen" 1978-1979.

Since 1986 he has been in "Cirkusrevyen". Throughout the 20 years from 1968 to 1988 Ulf Pilgaard also starred in DR (Danish Radio) programs of satire "Hey-Hey" and "Wow Wow".

In a longer period, he formed a film and especially onstage couple with Claus Ryskjær.

Ulf Pilgaard is known for during parodies of such famous Danish persons as Kirsten Hüttemeyer, Hanne Bech Hansen, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Queen Margrethe.

Ulf Pilgaard has won several awards, such as the Bodil and a Robert for Best Actor in Farligt Venskab (1996). He won the revue price "Dirch of the Year" in 2006 and was nominated again in 2010.

Ulf Pilgaard's father was a priest.

He attended school in Frederiksberg where he meet Ole Michelsen who later turned out to be a reputable film critic and they developed a lasting friendship.

Later on Ulf Pilgaard studied to be a priest and was classmate with Henrik Stangerup and John Mill Gardens. During his theological studies on Elers' College from the 15th April 1962 to 15th May 1967. Preben Kaas and others (Henrik Stangerup) caused him to drop out of the theological studies to become a full time actor.

He has two children with Gitte Pilgaard.

Karen Blixen was born on 17 April 1885 in Rungsted, Denmark. She was a writer, known for Out of Africa - Souvenirs d'Afrique (1985), Le festin de Babette (1987) and The Heroine (1967). She was married to Bror Frederik von Blixen-Finecke. She died on 7 September 1962 in Rungsted, Denmark.

Poul Reichhardt was born on 2 February 1913 in Ganløse, Denmark. He was an actor and director, known for Soldaten og Jenny (1947), Flagermusen (1966) and My Name Is Petersen (1947). He was married to Charlotte Ernst, Margareta Fahlén and Lili Lani. He died on 31 October 1985 in Denmark.

Birte Tove was born on 16 January 1945 in Denmark. She was an actress, known for L'hôpital et ses fantômes (1994), Tandlæge på sengekanten (1971) and Feng kuang da ben zei (1974). She was married to Ole Schächter. She died on 6 February 2016 in Denmark.

Dirch Hartvig Passer was born on May 18, 1926, on Østerbro, Copenhagen, to Ragnhild Fich and Capt. Vilhelm Passer (seaman). He never did well in school, being the class clown, which had a negative effect on his grades. He did especially badly in mathematics, which came to follow him the rest of his life. When Passer left school he wanted to become an actor, but his father insisted that he should become a seaman like himself. In 1944 he attended maritime school. Life at sea, however, did not go well - he was seasick all the time.

After his failure as a seaman he had all kinds of small jobs. In 1946 he made his stage debut with "Six Comrades [seks kammerater]" in "Riddersalen". In the same year he was accepted to theatre school: De Frederiksbergske Teatres elevskole. After he had completed this education in 1948 he had many small parts in different plays all around Denmark's theatres. He made his film debut in 1947 as an extra in the Danish movie Lykke paa rejsen (1947) and teamed up with Ove Sprogøe in the 1950s in many films. He became famous in 1953 with Ved Kongelunden... (1953), which let all of Denmark see his comedic genius. He made many other well-received Danish films, such as Baronessen fra benzintanken (1960), Mig og min lillebror (1967), Sommer i Tyrol (1964), the Mafia-movies and Charles Tante (1959).

Passer worked from 1967 to 1974 at the famous "Cirkusrevyen på Bakken", where he was responsible for their greatest success ever. Many of the sketches which he made here were so famous that they are seen all over the world. He made his last film in 1978, Fængslende feriedage (1978).

In 1978 he acted in the "Tivolirevy", which he continued until his death on stage of a heart attack on September 3, 1980. Like all great comedians, he always wanted to play serious parts in movies and plays, but never got the chance. Dirch Passer was without a doubt the greatest Danish comedian ever.

Ole Thestrup was born on 12 March 1948 in Nibe, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Lumières dansantes (2000), Adam's Apples (2005) and Ronal le Barbare (2011). He was married to Hanne Marie Knudsen. He died on 2 February 2018 in Tuse Næs, Denmark.

Pouty-lipped, kittenish Annette Stroyberg was best known, and briefly known, as the sexy young nubile blonde who replaced bombshell Brigitte Bardot in the late 1950s as the wife and object of exploitation of Svengali-like French director Roger Vadim. Possessing Bardot's similar erotic balance of melancholy and fragility within her Lolita-like stunning looks, Vadim married Annette in June of 1958. Billing her as Annette Vadim, he was unable, however, to recreate the same Bardot magic and their marriage and her career quickly fell by the wasteside.

The beautiful Stroyberg was born on the island of Fyn, in Denmark, on December 7, 1936. Her father was a physician who died when she was quite young. She and her sister then moved to Copenhagen where she was raised. She found her way to Paris in her late teens where she worked at couture houses as a model, later finding employment with such fashion notables as Chanel. Annette hooked up with Vadim during the filming of his legendary first feature Et Dieu... créa la femme (1956), the movie that catapulted BB to mythic status. When BB started up a heated affair with young co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant, Vadim moved in with Annette, who subsequently gave birth to their daughter Nathalie Vadim in 1957. Vadim then proceeded to build and groom a replica of BB with Stroyberg. Her biggest chance for fame was when he put her on display in the film of the classic novel Les liaisons dangereuses (1959) as Marianne de Tourvel, the virtuous victim of the evil Jeanne Moreau and Gérard Philipe. Making her debut, Annette was stunning, of course but found herself quite outclassed by her cast, hardly ready for such a demanding role. She earned far more recognition when Vadim cast her as a society girl-cum-lesbian vampire Carmilla (catch the cozy scene with "victim" Elsa Martinelli) in the exploitive ...et mourir de plaisir (Le Sang et la Rose) (1960). By the time of the film's release, however, her marriage to Vadim was history. He had moved on to try and conquer underage actress Catherine Deneuve and she put designs on guitarist Sacha Distel.

Annette subsequently packed her bags for Italy where she made a few unmemorable pictures, reverting to her maiden name of Stroyberg on the marquee boards. In between she managed to amass a number of love affairs with such available (and unavailable) playboy actors as Vittorio Gassman, her co-star in Roberto Rossellini's Âme noire (1962), Alain Delon, Omar Sharif and Warren Beatty. Her last film was Lo scippo (1965). Giving up on her career, she turned socialite and married Moroccan sugar king Guy Senouf in 1967, dividing her time between Paris and Africa. The couple had a son, Yan, but this marriage, like her first, was short-lived. In 1974 she married Gregory Callimanopulos, a Greek shipping magnate, and settled for a time in America. They had a son, Peri Callimanopulos. She returned to Europe after their divorce in the early 1990s and married a fourth time to lawyer Christian Lillelund. Stroyberg died at age 69 of cancer on December 12, 2005, and was survived by her husband and three children.

Werner Heyking was born on 14 June 1913 in Denmark. He was an actor, known for Willy Wonka au pays enchanté (1971), Vendredi sanguinaire (1972) and Tatort (1970). He died on 10 October 1974 in Denmark.

Erik Balling was one of the most beloved Danish filmmaker in the 20th century. Balling was a director, a producer and a writer. Erik Balling was mostly famous for creating such TV epics as "Matador" and "Huset På Christianshavn" and the film-series of "Olsen banden". Erik Balling was born the 19th of November 1925 in the Danish city of Nyborg, as a son of a priest. In 1946 Balling was hired as an assistant at "Nordisk Film Kompagni" - the world's oldest film production company. His talent was soon recognised, and Balling soon had the opportunity to work as a director. His debut as a director came in 1952, with the film: "Vi arme syndere". Balling soon gained a reputation of having good technical skills, and after that film his talent was widely recognised. In 1957 he became head of "Nordisk Film" - the youngest one ever. Balling was mostly famous for his comedies. In his early days he directed Poeten og Lillemor (1959) and Sommer i Tyrol (1964), which were very popular at the time. In the middle of the 1960s Balling tried to chance his style when it came to comedies. At this time the popular James Bond films circled the globe, Balling's next film was inspired by those films, teaming up with Henning Bahs to make the Jamed Bond spoof "Slå Først Frede" (1965), which became very popular in Denmark - so popular it spawned a sequel Slap af, Frede! (1966). This co-work with Henning Bahs was so fruitful that they made many more movies together. This co-work eventually led to film-series of "Olsen banden", which started with Olsen-banden (1968) - and eventually they made a total of 14 "Olsen banden" film, plus a TV series and a movie version where the characters in "Olsen banden" are children. "Olsen banden" was about a small band of small time criminals, trying to become millionaires. "Olsen banden" were not only very popular in Denmark, but also in East-Germany, Poland, Sweden and Norway - especially in Norway and Sweden, who eventually made their own national versions of "Olsen banden", namely the Norwegian "Olsen banden" and the Swedish "Jönssonligan" - Henning Bahs and Erik Balling also helped the Norwegians and the Swedes to write those. In that late 60s and early 70s Balling made the popular Danish TV series "Huset På Christianshavn", which also became the basis for a movie: "Ballade på Christianshavn (1971)".

In 1970 Balling produced the very popular Danish TV epic "Matador". More than fifty percent of Denmark's population watched "Matador" in those days. "Matador" was about life in a smaller city in Denmark in the 30s and 40s.

Balling was always known for his warm style, when he portrayed humans. Throughout his life, he received many prizes. He was 80 years old when he died the 19th of November 2005.

Gabriel Axel was born on 18 April 1918 in Århus, Denmark. He was a director and actor, known for Le festin de Babette (1987), La mante rouge (1967) and Christian (1989). He was married to Lucie Axel Moerch. He died on 9 February 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Jens Okking was born on 18 December 1939 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor and writer, known for Strømer (1976), At klappe med een hånd (2001) and Nitten røde roser (1974). He was married to Anette Walther. He died on 21 January 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ole Neumann was born on 16 October 1947 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor and cinematographer, known for Far til fire (1953), Far til fire i byen (1956) and Far til fire og ulveungerne (1958). He was married to Ulla Fisker-Sørensen. He died on 25 January 2025 in Denmark.

Poul Bundgaard was born on 27 October 1922 in Hellerup, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Slå først Frede! (1965), Hærværk (1977) and Flagermusen (1966). He was married to Kirsten Pedersen and Kjær, Bente Elisabeth. He died on 3 June 1998 in Gentofte, Denmark.

Helle Virkner was born on 15 September 1925 in Århus, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Lumières dansantes (2000), Den kære familie (1962) and Huset på Christianshavn (1970). She was married to Jens Otto Krag, Ebbe Rode and William Rosenberg. She died on 10 June 2009 in Charlottenlund, Denmark.

Karl Stegger was one of the greatest Danish actors. Karl Stegger was born: Carl Johan Stegger Sørensen. He later replaced the "c" in his first name with a "k" to further his acting-career. He was born in Aarhus on the January 11th 1911. Stegger was educated at Aarhus theatre, where he was hired as an actor for 5 years until 1951. After 1951 he worked at various theatres all around Denmark. But Karl Stegger was mostly famous for his various, and mostly, bi-roles in Danish films and TV. Karl Stegger had his film debut in 1950 with smaller role in [Smedestræde 4]. Stegger subsequently acted in well over 160 films (almost everyone Danish), where he mostly played down-to-earth and sly types. Stegger seldom had a lead part in any film. He became famous in Denmark when he got the part of the father in the Danish film-series: "Far til Fire" in 1955, after Ib Schønberg died (who originally had the part). Another famous part he had was as the scrap dealer in "Olsen-banden i Jylland" from 1971. In 1971 he got a Danish film-price, a "Bodil", for a role as a real-estate salesman in "Ballade på Christianshavn". In his later years, Stegger became even more famous for his role as the Swedish-consul in the Danish TV-epic "Matador". His last role was in 1980 in "Trællenes børn". Karl Stegger died on the 13th of April 1980, he is buried in Søndermark cemetery, Frederiksberg.

Benjamin Christensen was born on 28 September 1879 in Viborg, Denmark. He was a director and writer, known for Hævnens nat (1916), La Sorcellerie à travers les âges (1922) and Seven Footprints to Satan (1929). He was married to Karen Winther, Sigrid Stahl and Ellen Arctander. He died on 2 April 1959 in Copenhagen, Denmark.