Knut Ove Lystad (born 31 January 1946) is a Norwegian actor,singer , translator ,screenwriter, comedian and occasional director, best known from the comedy trio KLM alongside Trond Kirkvaag and Lars Mjøen.
Lystad and Mjøen began their entertainment careers with the NRK radio show “Bedre sent enn alvor” (Better late than seriously) in 1975, a program heavily inspired by Monty Python. In 1976, they moved on to television where they joined Kirkvaag, who was already a well-known comedian in Norway, for the satirical news program “Nynytt” (Newnews).
KLM shows later included “Klin Kokos” (Sticky Coconuts, 1981), “MRK Fjærsynet” (MRK TeeVee,[1] 1983), “I spøkelyset” (In the Joke Light, 1984), “Skai TV - imitert fjernsyn” (Skai Ⓡ TV [2] — An Imitated Television (Channel), 1988), “KLMs Nachspiel” (KLM's After Play, 1992) and “KLMs Vorspiel” (KLM's Prelude, 1995). With the exception of the Monty Python-esque “Klin Kokos”. All these shows spoof Norwegian television and current events. Typically, Lystad and Kirkvaag played the comedic roles, while Mjøen was more often cast as a host or a straight man, likely because he was not as gifted of an imitator as the other two. The role as a host suited him well. Mjøen also directed many of the KLM shows.
In 1985, KLM made their first and only feature film, “Noe helt annet” (Something completely different), scoffing Buffalo Bull (Trond Kirkvaag already derided this public figure in 1973 in the “Buffalo Bløffs internasjonale vegg-til-vegg-show”, The Buffalo Bluff Wall-to-Wall International Tour, together with Jon Skolmen, and Kirkvaag as ‘Buffalo Bløff’), a young man who must come to terms about being a vampire. As the title suggests, this movie is heavily inspired by Monty Python's style of humor.
The trio also made four series about Brødrene Dal, about the three explorer brothers Gaus (Mjøen), Roms (Lystad) and Brumund Dal (Kirkvaag), and their absurd adventures. While most of their other work was intended for an adult audience, the “Brødrene Dal” series' target audience was primarily children and teenagers.
In 1998, Lystad was cast in the TV2 sitcom “Karl & co”, which ran until 2001. In 2007 he starred in another sitcom on NRK, “Luftens helter” (The Sky Heroes), which he co-created with his KLM colleague Trond Kirkvaag.