Ernst Rolf
Encyclopedia
Ernst Rolf was born in Falun
Falun
Falun is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 36,447 inhabitants in 2005. It is also the capital of Dalarna County...
, Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
in central Sweden, where his father was a tailor and member of the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. Ernst Rolf's interest in music started at an early age and as a child he used to perform at IOGT
International Organisation of Good Templars
The IOGT International is an international non-governmental organisation working in the field of temperance...
meetings. Ernst sang songs while his older brother Birger played the piano.
In 1906, Ernst Rolf started working at the mail order company Åhlén & Holm
Åhléns
Åhléns is a Swedish chain of department stores, located in almost every city in the country, and with several stores in the major cities, including 18 stores in Stockholm alone . Åhléns also has business operations in Norway. It is one of Sweden’s leading retailers in a number of fields...
in the small town of Insjön
Insjön
Insjön is a locality situated in Leksand Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 2,150 inhabitants in 2005. In 1899 Åhléns started out as the mail order business Åhlén & Holm. 19 years later, in 1918, the mail order firm Clas Ohlson was founded in Insjön. The sawmill Bergkvist sågen was also...
, Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
. He made his career debut in a Wizard of Oz performance, playing Dorothy in an all-male cast.
In 1907 he started touring the country as a singer and bondkomiker (rustic comic). He soon became a celebrity and was very successful. He was renowned for his large trench coat, shown in the photograph. Ernst Rolf’s first recording was made in 1910, and throughout his career he made 851 recordings. He also acted in a couple of films.
Rolf was married three times. The last time was from 1930, with actress Tutta Rolf
Tutta Rolf
Tutta Rolf was a Norwegian-Swedish film and theatre actress and singer. She appeared in 14 films between 1932 and 1939...
.
In 1932, Ernst Rolf tried to commit suicide by drowning himself. The attempt failed, but as a result of it he caught pneumonia which eventually took his life on Christmas Day the same year. He is buried at Norra begravningsplatsen
Norra begravningsplatsen
Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of Metropolitan Stockholm. The cemetery is located in the municipality of Solna.Inaugurated on June 9, 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables....
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
External links
- Ernst Rolf at Swedish music and film.
- Guide to Ernst Rolf collection in Falun..
The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings
Mp3 files and streaming audio at the Internet Archive