Elsa Lystad is dead – VG

She lived 93 years.

– My mother slept peacefully last night, her son Hallvard Simes confirms NRK, which reported the death first.

Lystad has appeared in more than 60 Norwegian films, had 160 leading roles on stage and participated in numerous television productions.

She began her career at the Falkebergets Theater in 1957 with the role of Laura Isaken in Bør Børson Jr.

The big breakthrough came in 1965 when she performed with Rolf Wessenlund and Harald Heide Steen Jr. Lysthuset Theater began in Oslo.

Annemarie Ottersen (78) played opposite Elsa Lystad several times, including in the TV series “Fredrikson's Factory”, and received the news of her colleague's death with sadness.

– I will remember Elsa exclusively with joy and happiness, she says to VG.

– It is often said about people who die that they are rare, but they are our Really Elsa. Most people may remember her as a comedic actress, but she also mastered seriousness — as in Chekhov's “The Three Sisters” — with unique timing and empathy, Ottersen says.

She often met Elsa Lystad privately in the area around Majorstoa in Oslo.

-She was also a rare thing as a comedic actress who was also funny in private. She was great at telling stories and lifting the mood in the company. Elsa was warm, humane, sympathetic and a wise lady in every way. She will be greatly missed,” says Anne-Marie Ottersen.

-We carry beautiful memories with us

– She will be remembered as someone who spread joy, laughter and seriousness. We carry good memories with us. She left an indelible impression on us and many others, Simes tells NRK.

Elsa Lystad has played on stages across the country and has been on many tours, including with Riksteatret. One of her best remembered characters on television is the seamstress Oddveig in “The Fredrickson Factory.” She helped shape the role herself.

– You gave Oddveig a family. In a workplace like this, no one talks about fasteners, they talk about their families, and what happens at home, she said on “My Life Like Elsa.”

Elsa Lystad herself told unsentimentally about her life in her autobiography “Hva er det meg?”, in which she presents a particularly warm portrait of her mother.

Elsa Lystad married Hungarian Arpad Simes in 1961, whom she met while working in Norwegian theatre. Together they had three children. Arpad Szemes died in 1998.

-Can create gold

Actress and comedian Marianne Krogness (72) has been a friend and colleague of Elsa Lystad for a number of years.

-For me, she was a wonderful friend and mentor. I learned a lot from her, including timing, which is very important in our profession. It was a great old school comedy. When we were walking together in the city, she was stopped by several people who directly said that they loved her, Krogness tells VG.

She describes Lystad's passing as a loss and loss, but she retains many good memories.

-No one can put strange things into words like Elsa. It was truly a rare commodity. When she improvised, she could make gold, as Marianne Krogness describes.

Actor Geir Kvarmi played with Lystad in the Swedish-Norwegian comedy series “Fridriksson Factory” which was shown on NRK in the early 1990s. He describes Lystad as a firework for a woman, and says he thinks of her with a smile on his face.

– It's incredible how much she was able to participate in. I'm glad I was able to participate in a small part of her career.

He describes her as a generous woman who cared about others. Kfarmi in particular remembers that they would quickly burst into laughter if their eyes met while filming. Then the solution was to look at each other in the front or to the side.

– We destroyed a lot of recordings at NRK, – he recalls.

Store: – Seriousness and comedy

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sture (AFP) says he remembers Elsa Lystad because she combined seriousness and comedy in a unique way.

– An actor who was present on many stages and delighted and engaged a wide audience in Norway. “My thoughts go out to her loved ones,” Støre tells NTB.

“I remember Elsa Lystad as a unique combination of seriousness and comedy,” says Storr.

Thomas Seltzer once invited Elsa Lystad to the program “Trygdekontoret” on NRK, and stated that she “must be the funniest lady Norway has ever known.”

He stands by that today.

– Yes, it should be? Seltzer asks.

On the same programme, Bård challenged Tufte Johansen and Harald Eia to make Elsa Lystad laugh.

She was known for her stony face, so they couldn't do that. She was quite the lady, and told, among other things, stories of how, as children, they would sneak into prayer meetings to try out speaking in tongues. Then they laughed themselves to death. This was entertainment for them at the time, Seltzer tells VG.

Stere: One of the biggest

Longtime theater director Tom Sterry (63) wants Elsa Lystad to be remembered as one of Norway's truly great comedians.

– She is without a doubt one of our greatest comedians. In addition, she has performed prominent roles in serious theatre. I met her at the ABC Theater at the time. There I called her my stage mother. She had her tricks up her sleeve which she willingly shared, Stere tells VG.

He will especially remember Elsa Lystad's very special facial expressions that astonished many.

– She used her face, and with her bright red hair, she had a look like no one else, as Sterry describes.

To TV2, Culture Minister Lubna Jafari described Lystad as a very wonderful actor who was loved by many.

She had a distinctive comedic talent, with which she delighted us on stage, on screen, and on the big screen. “My thoughts go out to her loved ones,” Jhaveri (AP) tells TV2.