Sven Alarik Melander (30 October 1947 – 31 March 2022) was a Swedish journalist, comedian, television presenter, and actor. He hosted multiple shows for SVT, acted in films and theater, and co-presented the 1994 Melodifestivalen competition.
Early life
Melander grew up in Malmö with his parents, Alrik Melander (1907–1977) and Alice Melander (née Mattsson; 1911–1986).[citation needed] By 1965, Melander was part of the Malmö FF ice hockey team, which won the SDS-Pucken competition of that year.[citation needed] Two of his teammates were future national-team footballers Staffan Tapper and Roy Andersson.[1] During his high school years, he befriended musician Björn Afzelius.[1] In 1967, both Melander and Afzelius were part of a hootenanny band called Lille Mats.[2]
Melander studied engineering, but after graduation, he soon became interested in journalism and attended the School of Journalism in Gothenburg.[3] In 1970, Melander interned at the newspaper Expressen in Malmö, and after graduating in 1971, he found a substitute job at the newspaper.[4] After his period at the newspaper ended, he obtained a full-time job at the newspaper Aftonbladet.[4] Between working at the newspapers, he worked for Radio Stockholm and also filmed his first big movie role.[4]
Career
Film and television
In the early 1980s, Melander established himself as a comedian and entertainer, starting with the role of Berra in Lasse Åberg's film Sällskapsresan in 1980.[5] Along with Åke Cato, Melander wrote sketches and scripts for the SVT shows Häpnadsväktarna (in 1981) and Vitsuellt.[6]
Along with Stina Lundberg Dabrowski, he was the television presenter for the SVT entertainment and comedy show Nöjesmaskinen between 1982 and 1984.[7] In 1985, Melander presented the show Nöjesmassakern along with Gösta Engström, Jon Skolmen, and Åke Cato; some of his most well known comedy sketches originated from that show, including "Werner och Werner" and "Trollet Rulle".[8] Between 1986 and 1989, Melander worked for SVT as the CEO of entertainment programmes.[9] In 1991, he presented another comedy and entertainment show for SVT called Tack för kaffet.[9]
Melander co-presented Melodifestivalen 1994 with Kattis Ahlström.[10] For several years, Melander presented the show Upp till bevis on SVT, and sports shows on TV4, such as the horse-racing show Vinnare.[11][12] In 2019, he was given an award for his work in television at the Kristallen-gala.[13] In 2018, he took part in Stjärnorna på slottet, on which he shared his life's story.[14]
Along with Åke Cato, Melander acted in the show En rökare på Tobaksbolaget in Malmö in 1991.[1] Along with Eva Rydberg, he acted in the comedy play Allo Allo Emliga armén and in Lilla fransyskan at the Palladium in Malmö.[16] He also acted in Eva Rydberg's production of Hemvärnets glada dagar at Fredriksdalsteatern in Helsingborg in 2005.[16] Between 2007 and 2008, he acted in the play Little Shop of Horrors in Halmstad.[17] He also appeared in the revueTvå bröder emellan.[18]
In 2016, Melander returned to the role of Berra in the musical version of Sällskapsresan at Nöjesteatern in Malmö and Chinateatern in Stockholm.[19]
He also worked as a translator of scripts, including translation of Ray Cooney's revues Hotelliggaren, Det stannar i familjen, and Kuta och kör.[20]
^Richter, David (8 May 2017). ""Hotelliggaren"". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^Lindqvist, Daniel Andersson, Johan (31 March 2022). "Sven Melander är död". Göteborgs-Posten. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sven Melander.
