Wenche Foss
Wenche Foss | |
---|---|
Oslo, Norway | |
Other names | Eva Wenche Steenfeldt Foss Stang |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1935–2011 |
Spouse(s) | Alf Scott-Hansen Thomas Stang |
Eva Wenche Steenfeldt Stang (5 December 1917 – 28 March 2011), better known as Wenche Foss (Norwegian:
Personal life
Wenche Foss was born to engineer
Her first marriage was to engineer and film producer
Career
She made her stage debut in 1935 as Ingrid in
Foss was also an accomplished vocalist (mezzo-soprano) who received classical training with M. Hviid and K. B. Børresen. Her performances in Emmerich Kálmán's operetta Die Bajadere, Eduard Künneke's Der Vetter aus Dingsda, Franz Lehár's operettas Der Graf von Luxemburg and The Merry Widow, in which she played the title role.[1] She pioneered musical parts in such musicals as Kiss Me, Kate, Cabaret and Hello, Dolly.[1]
Foss also took the occasional role as a voice actress. She provided the voice of Enkefru Stengelføhn-Glad in the 1975 animated feature film
Activist and humanitarian
In 1953, Foss gave birth to a child with Down syndrome who died at a young age. She is credited with raising public awareness about disabled individuals, founding, among other things, the vacation resort "Solgården" ("Hacienda del Sol") in Alicante, Spain.[1]
She survived breast cancer in 1971 and wrote a candid account of her experience. She was a strong supporter of gay rights[1] and an outspoken critic of the Christian Democratic Party owing to its opposition to gay marriage and gay rights. She also questioned the raison d'être of the party, maintaining that "religion and politics should not be mixed".[7]
Death and recognition
Foss was decorated as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1972. In 1988 she was promoted to Commander with Star in the same order. She was one of few Norwegian civilians to hold such a high rank in the King's order of chivalry. She has also been awarded the Red Cross Badge of Honour and appointed a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.[when?]
Foss received a number of accolades, among them the
On 2 December 2010, Wenche Foss announced that she was seriously ill and did not expect to live past New Year.[8] She died in her sleep on 28 March 2011 at Diakonhjemmet Hospital in Oslo, surrounded by her family.[9]
Her death saw an outpour of public grief and tributes rarely bestowed upon civilians.[10] The Norwegian government announced she would be buried with government honour at state expense, the fifth woman in Norwegian history to be given this respect. The funeral was broadcast live on national television, 4 April 2011, and was, in keeping with Foss' own wishes, open to the public. It was also attended by King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, as well as Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and other prominent members of government.[11]
Foss is depicted on the tail fin of a Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800, with the registration SE-RXD.[12]
Selected filmography
- 1940: Tørres Snørtevold
- 1942: En herre med bart
- 1942: Jeg drepte!
- 1942: The Dangerous Game
- 1945: Rikard Nordraak
- 1946: Et spøkelse forelsker seg
- 1948: Trollfossen
- 1951: Kranes konditori
- 1952: Det kunne vært deg
- 1953: Ung frue forsvunnet
- 1959: Støv på hjernen
- 1959: Herren og hans tjenere
- 1962: Tonny
- 1963: Om Tilla
- 1974: Bør Børson Jr.
- 1975: Flåklypa Grand Prix(voice of Enkefru Stengenfhøn-Glad)
- 1980: Life and Death
- 1982: Victoria L
- 2006: En udødelig mann (Kristine Cathrine Ploug)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lyche, Lise (2000). "Wenche Foss". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon. Vol. 2. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget.
- ISBN 978-82-05-37434-8.
- ^ Wenche Foss i Min tro: Jeg kunne ikke sovne uten aftenbønnen Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Store norske leksikon(in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ Steenstrup, Bjørn, ed. (1948). "Stang, Ole Andreas". Hvem er hvem? (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 500. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ Tisdall, Jonathan (17 October 2007). "Oslo finally has mayor". Aftenposten. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ^ "Wenche Foss vil legge ned KrF". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 20 November 2004.
- ^ "Wenche Foss er alvorlig syk". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010.
- ^ Henriksen, Arve (28 March 2011). "Wenche Foss er død". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- Se og Hør (Norway)(in Norwegian). 30 March 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ "Bisettelsen var i Wenche Foss' ånd". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ "SE-RXD | Boeing 737-8JP | Norwegian | JetPhotos". JetPhotos. Retrieved 2 February 2023.