Ekman, Hasse

Early years

Hans Gesta Ekman was born in Stockholm in the Östermalm district on September 10, 1915 in the family of actor Gesta Ekman (1890-1938) and (1887-1978), nee Sundstrom. Hasse, as his relatives called him, was baptized in the Oscar Church in November of that year. From 1922 to 1931 he studied at primary and secondary schools in Estermalm. Under the influence of his father, at an early age he chose the career of an actor. At the age of eight, he starred in the movie “The ”, which also starred Gesta Ekman, Sr. A big shock for him was the death of his younger brother, Ian Michael, who died nine months after birth. At the age of seventeen, he wrote and published an autobiographical book, “ ”, in which he talked about how difficult life is for a child of famous parents ^[3] .

Career

As an actor in theater and cinema, he made his debut in the early 1930s. In 1932, he played his first role in Anita Hart and Maurice Draddell’s play “In the Best Families”, directed by his father on the stage of the . His stage partner was actor . In 1934, Hasse, as a theater director, directed the play by Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy , in which his father played the main role ^[3] .

In parallel with work in the theater, he continued to act in films. Returning from a six-month trip to Hollywood, in 1936 he got a role in Gustav Mulander’s film “Intermezzo”, in which he again starred with his father. A year later, Gesta Ekman, the elder, died suddenly. In memory of him in the same year, Hasse wrote the book "Gesta Ekman" ^[3] .

Shortly before that, he debuted as a screenwriter. In 1938, according to the script acquired from him, the director made the film “ ”, in which Hasse played one of the roles ^[3] .

In 1940, he made his film debut, filming the comedy " ". The peak of his work as a filmmaker occurred in the 1940s - 1950s, when he created more than thirty films, mostly comedies. At the same time, films were shot in Denmark in three of his scripts. In 1950, Hasse made the film “ ”, which received critical acclaim and is considered his best work in the cinema. His colleague, Ingmar Bergman, called this painting an “absolute masterpiece” ^[4] . In the 1950s, he created a series of popular comedies with in the title role ^[3] .

As in the cinema, in the theater during this period, Hasse preferred to stage comedies. He himself wrote three plays and directed the revue of Karl Gerhard in 1946, 1957 and 1959. In 1956, he published his only novel, “ ” and a year earlier his second autobiographical book, The published. In the 1960s, Hasse completed his career as an actor and film director ^[4] . His last acting job in the movie was the main role of teacher Stig Brender in the film “ ” (1960), which he shot in his very last scenario. The last picture he shot was the comedy (1964). In the 1960s and 1980s, he set up in Stockholm the numerous revues of and ^{[3] [5]} .

Personal life

Hasse Ekman was married four times. June 22, 1938 in the castle of Elling, he married with Baroness , from whom he had four sons: Gesta , , and . The couple divorced in November 1944. In the same year, Hasse met with actress . On April 24, 1946, they registered their relationship with the Stockholm City Hall. They had a single daughter - . For both spouses, this was a second marriage. They parted in 1953. In Liding on November 11, 1953, Hasse married actress , whom he had been in love with since his youth. For both spouses, this was the third marriage. Their relationship lasted until 1972. In his last marriage with Viveke Traggdgart he entered on August 25, 1974 ^[3] .

Over the years, he has collected a large collection of works of art, which he sold in 1964 and moved to the Mediterranean coast in Catalonia, Spain, where he lived until his death in Marbella on February 15, 2004. Hasse Ekman was buried at the Northern Cemetery in Stockholm ^[3] .

• Ekmansallskapet (neopr.) . www.ekmansallskapet.se. - The site of the Society for the Memory of Gesta Ekman, Sr. and Hasse Ekman. (Swede.)