Olof Thunberg


Fritz-Olof Thunberg was a Swedish actor, voice actor and director, perhaps best known as the voice of the cartoon character Bamse.

Life and career

Thunberg was born Fritz-Olof Thunberg in Västerås, where he formed a theatre club called Scenklubben which also included Lars Ekborg and the poet Bo Setterlind. He studied at Calle Flygare's drama school in Stockholm and then from 1950 to 1952 at Dramatens elevskola; between the two, in the late 1940s, he performed in public parks.
After finishing drama school, Thunberg joined the Östgötateatern regional theatre, where he directed in addition to acting, then became a freelance actor. In the 1950s he became known for his work on the radio programme Mannen i svart, where he presented all kinds of stories of horror and the supernatural in his deep voice, accompanied by a variety of sound effects. In 1963, he had a supporting role in Ingmar Bergman's drama Winter Light as the church organist Fredrik.
Thunberg appeared in a variety of films, often in a supporting role as a confident charmer, and is the voice of both Bamse and Agaton Sax in children's films and recordings. He also voiced Shere Khan in the Swedish-dubbed versions of both the 1967 Disney The Jungle Book and its 2003 sequel, The Jungle Book 2.
In 2006, Thunberg was a host of Sommar on Sveriges Radio P1.
Thunberg also directed for television.

Personal life

Thunberg was previously married to Ingrid Johansson. He had a later cohabitation with actress, whom he got to know in connection with a radio play. He was the father of actor Svante Thunberg and father-in-law of opera singer Malena Ernman, from whom his granddaughter is the climate activist Greta Thunberg.
In 1959, Thunberg became engaged to actress Lena Granhagen, whom he had met while directing a play in which she acted in at Intiman. They lived together into the 1960s, and they acted together as a couple in the television series Villervalle i Söderhavet in 1963.
Thunberg died on 24 February 2020 at the age of 94.

Selected filmography