Nils Asther

Nils Asther
Asther in 1916
Born	17 January 1897(1897-01-17) Hellerup, Denmark
Died	19 October 1981(1981-10-19) (aged 84) Farsta, Sweden
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1916–1963

Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)^[1] was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo". Between 1916 and 1963 he appeared in over 70 feature films, whereof 16 done in the silent era.

Biography

Born in Denmark in the Copenhagen suburb of Hellerup to unknown biological parents,^[1] Asther was adopted shortly after birth by a wealthy couple in Malmö, Sweden, where he grew up. As a young man he moved to Stockholm, where he received acting lessons from local star Augusta Lindberg, who also became his mistress, although almost 30 years older than he was. Through her, he received his first theatrical engagement at Lorensbergsteatern in Gothenburg, and in 1916 Mauritz Stiller cast him in The Wings. This soon lead to a number of film roles in both Sweden, Denmark and Germany between 1918 and 1926.

In 1927 he left for Hollywood, where his first film was Topsy and Eva. The film also featured the Duncan Sisters, and in 1930 he married one of them, Vivian Duncan, who gave him a daughter, Evelyn.^[2]

By 1928 his good looks had made him into a leading man, playing opposite such stars as Pola Negri, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, with whom he made two films. He grew a thin mustache which amplified his suave appearance.

With the arrival of sound in movies, Asther took voice lessons so as to minimize the presence of his accent, and was generally cast in roles where an accent wasn't a problem, such as the role as Chinese General Yen in The Bitter Tea of General Yen.^[1]

Between 1935 and 1940 he was forced work in England after an alleged breach of contract led to a studio-based blacklist.^[3] There he made six films. He returned to Hollywood in 1940, and although he made another 19 films back up to 1949, his career wasn't the same as it used to be. In the early 1950s he tried to restart his career with in TV, but managed only to secure roles in a few episodes of minor TV series.^[1]

In 1958^[4] he returned to Sweden, almost destitute. He managed to get an engagement with a local theatre and had four film roles in Sweden and Denmark, before finally giving up on acting in 1963 and devoting his time to painting.^[1]

In 1988 his autobiography, Narrens väg (The Road of the Jester) was posthumously published in Swedish.^[2]

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Nils Asther has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6705 Hollywood Blvd.

Selected filmography

• The Wings (1916)
• The Golden Butterfly (1926)
• Sorrell and Son (1927)
• The Cossacks (1928)
• Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
• Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
• The Single Standard (1929)
• Wild Orchids (1929)
• The Sea Bat (1930)
• The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
• Night of January 16th (1941)
• Flying Blind (1941)
• Night Monster (1942)
• Bluebeard (1944)
• The Man in Half Moon Street (1944)
• The Feathered Serpent (1948)
• Suddenly, a Woman! (1963)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Swedish Film Database - in Swedish only
2. ^ ^{a b} Nils Asther page on Answers.com
3. ^ Nils Asther page on "Golden Silents"
4. ^ 78:or och film - in Swedish only

External links

• Nils Asther at the Internet Movie Database
• Nils Asther at the Swedish Film Database
• Nils Asther at AllRovi

Persondata
Name	Asther, Nils
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	January 17, 1897
Place of birth	Hellerup, Denmark
Date of death	October 13, 1981
Place of death	Farsta, Sweden