Ib Schønberg
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| Ib Schønberg | |||||||
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 Ib Schønberg |
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| Born | Ib Christian Albert von Cotta Schønberg October 23, 1902 Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Died | September 24, 1955 Copenhagen, Denmark |
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| Occupation | Actor | ||||||
| Years active | 1920–1955 | ||||||
| Spouse(s) | Astrid Inger Lisbeth Hammer | ||||||
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Ib Christian Albert von Cotta Schønberg (October 23, 1902 – September 24, 1955) was a Danish film actor, and is considered one of the leading actors of Danish film in the 20th century.
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[edit] Biography
The son of a chemist, Ib Schønberg was interested in acting from early life. He made his debut in 1920 and worked for more than ten years as a stage actor, but it was film that made his career. He began as a ”fat man comic” in the 1930s and already then he was a very popular participant in more or less primitive film comedies, often in main roles as leaders of buffoon duos, well-meaning policemen, or more substantial “uncle types”. During World War II he suddenly appeared as a dramatic actor, often in sombre or sinister films, and from then until his death he maintained his position as one of the greatest actors of Danish art films, playing serious roles alongside comic roles.
His voluminous body (due to a metabolic disorder) contrasted strikingly with his normally discrete way of acting. His low voice was often loaded with undertones of kindness, pity or scorn. With effortless ease he appeared both as warm-hearted philanthropists and arrogant cynics, depressed underdogs as well as more social beings.
One of his special gifts was the ability to perform “the colossus with feet of clay”, apparently solid and superior natures - both sympathetic and unsympathetic - who are dissolved. Among his best-known serious performances are his mean-cultivated informer type in Afsporet (1942 - Derailed); his leader af a children’s home, a sadist with shattered nerves in the social film Kampen mod uretten (1949 - The Struggle Against Injustice) and his two versatile portraits of alcoholics who are destroyed in Ta’ hvad du vil ha’ (1947 – Take What You Want) and Café Paradis (1951). Among his many comedian roles must be noted his amiable ham actor in Biskoppen (1944 – The Bishop). In his later years he was a regular participant in the so-called “Morten Korch films” (based upon the regional novels of a very popular Danish light literate) often placed as the fatherly friend of the hero and his serial role as a widower with children in the popular Far til fire (The Father of Four) films.
Apart from froma few Swedish movies, Schønberg made only Danish films. In the late 1940' he was offered the role of Martin Luther in Hollywood but he turned it down. Schønberg was recognised as a film star throughout Europe, but his popularity rested on his audience appeal as the Danish everyman.
Schønberg was known for his almost manic industriousness. In 1949 he took part in every Danish film of that year and during the last six years of his life (1949–1955) he appeared in almost 60 films. He was an active public figure, appearing at the opening of exhibitions, and freely providing the press with interviews about his ideas and projects. Schønberg, with his volatile temper and often transient commitment to projects, felt best suited to working in films rather than theater. However, he occasionally performed on stage and during his last years he was director of the "Circus Revue".
His drive, hard work and temperament, combined with a problem with obesity, contributed to an early death at the age of 52. He was afflicted with a pneumonia in May of 1955 and remained bed-ridden until he died on September 24, 1955.
[edit] Awards
In 1948, Schønberg won the Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Oscar Bergholtz in the film Ta' hvad du vil há (English title: Take What You Want. He again received the Bodil for Best Supporting Actor in 1951 for the film Café Paradis (Paradise Cafe).
[edit] Filmography
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[edit] References
- Schønberg, Bent and Kai Berg Madsen; Ib Schønberg - en mindebog; (1955)
- Stegelmann, Jørgen; - og Ib Schønberg; (1996).
[edit] External links
- Filmography from Internet Movie Database
- IMDb
- The Danish Film Database (In Danish)
- Det Danske Filminstitut (In Danish)
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