Karl Gerhard(1891-1964)
- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Karl Gerhard was born in Stockholm in 1891. He began as a touring stage
actor and got to know many people in the Swedish theater and budding
film business, but from around 1920 he switched to become a revue actor
and producer in Stockholm. His literary and musical gifts and sense of
style made him the leading revue producer of Stockholm, and he clearly
felt influenced by the German cabaret tradition. During the thirties he
was one of the leading persons in Stockholm showbiz and in a number of
songs he responded to the Nazi challenge. At the same time he promoted
stars like Zarah Leander. The political side of his stage act
culminated in the summer of 1940, when his revue "Gullregn" (Golden
Showers) included the couplet "Den ökända hästen från Troja" (The
notorious Trojan Horse) which graciously nailed down the politics of
appeasement and vacillation of the Swedish government and the threat of
the pro-Nazi fifth column, which had to be reckoned with since the
mid-thirties. Using an obscure paragraph, the Government stepped in and
forbade performance of the song, invoking reasons of communal security:
for the remainder of the season, the stage props for the number (a
large wooden horse, painted in the traditional red tint - the kind that
is a trademark Swedish souvenir, but gagged) was left and Karl Gerhard
read out the order of silence and the risible law paragraph, while the
stone cake of the song began to spread in secret
New promoters and writers entered the scene in the forties, and while he continued to be a successful revue producer on his own, he also cooperated with some of the new generation, such as Povel Ramel, who in some sense is his artistic successor. He continued to perform and produce in the theater till the early sixties, and has been an inspiration for younger actors and singers into the present age. In 1964 he died during a cardiac operation.
In later years he was allowed to legally use "Gerhard" as his surname.
Karl Gerhard was married three times, first time to the young actress Mary Johnson.
New promoters and writers entered the scene in the forties, and while he continued to be a successful revue producer on his own, he also cooperated with some of the new generation, such as Povel Ramel, who in some sense is his artistic successor. He continued to perform and produce in the theater till the early sixties, and has been an inspiration for younger actors and singers into the present age. In 1964 he died during a cardiac operation.
In later years he was allowed to legally use "Gerhard" as his surname.
Karl Gerhard was married three times, first time to the young actress Mary Johnson.
