Ove Sprogøe

Ove Wendelboe Sprogøe Petersen (21 December 1919 – 14 September 2004) was a Danish actor. Born in Odense, his parents were Arthur and Inger Sprogøe. He married Eva Rasmussen in 1945, with whom he had three children. One of these is actor Henning Sprogøe. He made his debut in the film Hans Store Aften (His Big Night). His characteristic prominent chin that had been feared an obstacle of his career did not prevent him from being one of the most versatile and used Danish actors. His strength laid in the almost diabolic, michievous and brash but he effortlessly played meek and shy types as well as elegantiers. Among his many roles on stage in classic plays might be mentioned Mephisto in Faust, the title figure of Strindberg’s The Father and some Molière and Bertolt Brecht characters. An extremely popular actor in Denmark, he played many diverse roles, including several recurring television parts. He appeared in 157 films, making him one of the hardest-working actors in the history of Danish film. In his early years he often was the part of a duo working together with his friend and colleague Dirch Passer. He is probably best known for playing one of the lead roles in the Olsen Gang movies, along with Morten Grunwald and Poul Bundgaard, playing the gang leader Egon Olsen, known for his short temper, striped suit, and cigar. By this role he earned an international fame though mostly in Eastern Europe, in the GDR he together with his colleagues became almost a cult figure. Among his TV roles must be mentioned his elegant and humorous ex-burglar Larsen in the series Huset på Christianshavn (“The House at Christianshavn” - the first Danish sitcom) and his role as the wise and courageous doctor Louis Hansen in the epic, historical drama-series Matador, both also shown outside Denmark. He was an able singer especially in shows or revues and his interpretation of Tim Spencer’s Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women (in Danish re-creation: Fandens Oldemor – “The Devil’s Great-Grandmother”) almost became his signature tune. He was an actor who combined great public sympathy with the ability to remain a private person with a modest lifestyle. After his death it was revealed that he had been a passionate art enthusiast and had amassed a valuable collection of modern paintings. Shortly after his death in 2004, Nordisk Film (the company that made the Olsen Gang movies) established a scholarship for actors in his name. The state-owned road to Vridsløselille Statsfængsel (the prison where his Egon Olsen character was a frequent "guest"), was renamed by the city of Albertslund to Egon Olsens Vej (Egon Olsen Road). On 24 October 2005, his native city of Odense named a square Ove Sprogøes Plads (Ove Sprogøe Square) in his honour. And the bar 'Cafe Halvvejen', named a shot in his honor. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ove Sprogøe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Cast

The Olsen Gang on the Track

The Olsen Gang in Jutland

The Olsen Gang Sees Red

Days in My Father's House

Hovmester Watson

The Olsen Gang in a Fix

The Olsen Gang's Last Trick

The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang

The Olsen Gang Goes to War

The Olsen Gang Outta Sight

Strike First Freddy

The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders

Summer in Tyrol

Sigismund Sülzheimer

The Goldcabbage Family

Leopold Phieselsknast

Lise kommer til byen

Rekrut 67 Petersen

The Veterinarian's Adopted Children

Frøken Nitouche

Ferdinand Piper, teaterdirektør

The Girl and the Playboy

Andresen - advokat

The Queen's Guardsman

Tam, "Kulsoen"s mand

Passer Babysitting Girls

Thorbjørn Hansen

Dust on the Brain

Hr. Thorbjørn Hansen

Dust for all the Money

Thorbjørn Hansen

Journey to the Seventh Planet

Barry O'Sullivan

Poeten og Lillemor i forårshumør

The Olsen Gang Runs Amok

The Olsen Gang's Big Score

The Olsen Gang Long Gone

The Olsen Gang Jumps the Fence

War of the Birds

The Male Magpie (voice)

Baronessen fra benzintanken

You Are Not Alone

Kim's Father / Superintendent

Don Olsen kommer til byen

Sømænd og svigermødre

Peter Jensen - Kanustis ven

Nyhavns glade gutter

Direktør Schwartz

Tough Guys of the Prairie

The Egborg Girl

Advokat Kurt Mikkelsen

Politiassistent Møller

Een pige og 39 sømænd

Styrmand Karlsen

Our Home Is Our Castle

Famous Five Get in Trouble

Five and the Spies

What a Pity About Daddy

Love Thy Neighbour

Pastor Weigaard

Along Came a Soldier

Baron Royal King von Konig

The Greeneyed Elephant

På tro og love

Still Dust on the Brain

Thorbjørn Hansen

Det var paa Rundetaarn

The Missing Clerk

Biebitz Von Biebitz

A Day Without Lies

I kongens klæ'r

Jens Rasmussen - rekrut 65

Forelsket i København

Lægeforsker Vagn Jochumsen

Wife on vacation

Apoteker John Bjerre

Når enden er go'

The Girl and the Viscount

Ved Kongelunden...

Vognstyrer Iversen

Fun in the Streets

Lykkens musikanter

Tag til marked i Fjordby

Jeg er sgu min egen

Onkel Bill fra New York

Revolution My A..

Arthur Antonsen

Hip Hip Hurrah!

Det stod i avisen

Læge S. Gregersen

Vi har det jo dejligt

Carmen & Babyface

Engelsk lærere

Der var engang en gade

Danselærer Johny Johnsen

Det var en lørdag aften

Your Money or Your Life

Elvis Hansen, en samfundshjælper

The Revolt of the Thralls

The Thralls' Children

Charlot og Charlotte

Direktør Bernhard Bang

Når engle elsker

Gabriel, Archangel

Niels Peter Dalum, Oles medstuderende

Hjemme hos William

The Hour of Parting

Michael Jacobsen

Helmer, kriminalassistent

The Moelleby affair

Digter Mortensen

Det er ikke appelsiner - det er heste

Discretion Wanted

Fuld mand i bus

Drømmen om det hvide slot

It's Nifty in the Navy

Lars Tofte, kroejer og færgemand

En ven i bolignøden

Hvad vil De ha'?

Gæst hos Hansens

Den ubetænksomme elsker

Overbetjent Olufsen

I de lyse nætter

Den gamle mølle paa Mols

Lenin, You Rascal, You

The Major's Guard

In the Middle of the Night

Købmand - Susans far

Direktør William H. Schmidt

The Poet and the Little Mother

Murder in the Dark

Friends at Arms: On a Bear Run

Oberst ved konkurrerende regiment

Vores fjerde far

Hjerter er trumf

Ejnar - Pouls ven - cyklebud

The Poet and Lillemor and Lotte

The Girl and the Press Photographer

Gammel døv dame

Sagfører Krogstad

The Reluctant Sadist

Kampen mod uretten

Watch Your Back, Professor!

Konkurrerende redaktør

Penge som græs

The Tove Andersen Criminal Case

Kys til højre og venstre

Nu går den på Dagmar

Vi som går køkkenvejen

Give God A Chance On Sunday

Præst ved Roskilde Domkirke

Historien om Olsen Banden

Bandefører Balling

Kristinus Bergman

That Brief Summer

Danmark er lukket

The Viking Watch of the Danish Seaman

Hans Store Aften

Kærlighed ved første desperate blik

The Olsen Gang: Forever!

Berlingske Tidende 1749-1949

Dansk bladtegning: danske bladtegnere - En dokumentation

All this - and Iceland too

Children of the Warriors

Det er så yndigt at følges ad

Kick Me in the Traditions!

Superfos Glasuld – et isoleret tilfælde

Revolutionen i vandkanten

Mand fra en anden klode

Næste Gang er det dig

Mand i cottoncoat

En dag i radioen

Toppen og bolden

Fortæller (voice)

Tintin and the Temple of the Sun

Dupond/Dupont (stemme)

Crumb at a Gallop