BONANZA/NBC/1959-73
**(Inga Swenson) Inger Borgstrom, the Scandinavian wife of rancher Ben
Cartwright who lived outside Virginia City, Nevada in the late 1800s. Inger was
the mother of Ben’s second child Eric, aka “Hoss” (Dan Blocker). In a tale told
in flashback, Inger delivered Hoss but was killed by Indians before she could
raise her baby boy. She was Ben’s second wife. After Inger’s death Ben remained
in Nevada and built the Ponderosa ranch. His son Hoss grew up to be a 280-pound
gentle giant. As Eric once said, "Most people just call me Hoss." His nickname
is derived from an old Swedish mountain expression which means "big, friendly
man." The name was suggested by Eric’s uncle Gunnar.
CALL OF THE WILD/ANI/2000
**(William MacDonald) Christopher Blaser, (a.k.a. the “Swede“), a rough-hewn
Canadian postman in his 30s who delivers mail to all corners of the Klondike
with his dogsled team. Swede personality is like the countryside he travels
through - quiet, and lonely. Actor William MacDonald is Canadian.
THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER/ABC/1963-66
*(Inger Stevens/costar) Katrin "Katy" Holstrom, a sexy, Swedish-American farm
girl from Minnesota who came to Washington, D.C. and ended up working as
governess for widowed Congressman Glen Morley and his two children. Other cast
included Walter Sande as Lars Hosltrom and Alice Frost as Mama Holstrom. The
series character was based on the movie The Farmer's Daughter (1947) starring
Loretta Young. Glen and Katy married on the November 5, 1965 episode.
FRIENDS/NBC/1994-2004
*(Matthew Perry/costar) Chandler Bing,, twentysomething data processing
executive living in New York City near a group of close friends. Chandler once
remarked that his “Grandfather was Swedish and that his “Grandmother was a cute
little bunny.” Morgan Fairchild appeared as Chandler’s famous novelist mother
who penned the steamy romance pulp “Mistress Bitch.”
THE GOLDEN GIRLS/NBC/1985-92
*(Betty White) Rose Martin Lindstrom/Gierkleckibicken Nylund, a widowed senior
citizen who moved to Miami Beach, Florida (6151 Richmond Street) after the death
of her husband. Rose is Lutheran, scatterbrained, honest to a fault and has a
proclivity for misinterpreting everybody’s conversations. Rose was born and
raised on a farm in St. Olaf, Minnesota. She took up residence at the home of
Blanche Devereaux along with her cat, Mr. Peepers and roommates, Dorothy Zbornak,
and Sophia Petrillo. Rose's roommates called her a "Swedish Meatball." On April
25, 1992 Rose had a heart attack and wanted to preserve her brain by freezing
her head. Fortunately, she survived. Later that year, Blanche sold her house and
Rose and Sophia pooled their money to purchase The Golden Palace, a small Art
Deco hotel in the trendy section of Miami Beach. For comfort Rose owned a plush
Teddy bear named Fernando.
THE IRON HORSE/ABC/1966-68
**(Roger Torrey) Nils Torvald, a huge Scandinavian crewman working with the
Buffalo Pass, Scalplock and Defiance Railroad line as it built its way west
during the 1880's.
LIFE WITH LUIGI/CBS/1952
**(Ken Peters) Olson, Swedish immigrant attending night classes in Chicago to
improve his English.
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE/NBC/1974-83
**(Richard Bull) Nels Oleson, a Swedish-American merchant who operated a small
general store in the town of Walnut Grove, Minnesota during the 1870s. His
family members included Katherine MacGregor as Harriet, his wife; Jonathan
Gilbert as Willie, his young son; Alison Arngrin as Nellie, his spoiled
daughter; and Allison Balson as Nancy, an adopted orphan. Karl Swenson appeared
as Lars Hanson, the Swedish-American owner of the town lumber mill.
MIKE HAMMER, PRIVATE EYE/SYN/1997-98
**(Malgossia Tomassi) Maya Ricci, Swedish woman who ran the dance/yoga studio
across the hall from the office of private eye, Mike Hammer.
THE NEW LAND/ABC/1974
*(Scott Thomas, Bonnie Bedelia) Christian and Anna Larsen, hardworking married
Swedish immigrants who moved from their homeland to the rugged frontier
wilderness of Solna, Minnesota in 1858. Their children included Todd Lookinland
as their nine-year-old son, Tuliff; and Debbie Lytton as their eight-year-old
daughter, Anneliese. Neighbors included Kurt Russell as Bo; Donald Moffat as
Reverend Lundstrom; and Gwen Arner as his wife, Molly. The series was a spin-off
of two Swedish theatrical movies The Emigrants (1972) and The New Land (1973).
TALES OF THE VIKINGS See "Norwegians"
WHAT A COUNTRY/SYN/1986-87
**(Donna Dixon) Swedish blonde bombshell, who attended a citizenship class at a
Los Angeles night school with a variety of other new arrived immigrants.
Other Programs of Interest
NOXEMA SHAVING CREAM GIRL (TV Commercial)
*(Gunilla Knutson) Swedish-born spokesmodel
Gunilla Knutson, starred as an
attractive eighteen-year-old blonde woman who teasingly urged men to "Take it
off, take it all off" with Noxzema Medicated Instant Shave Cream (1966-73).
Accompanied to the tune of David Rose's rousing pop hit melody "The Stripper",
the commercials showed shaving sequences of a man scraping off Noxema shaving
cream in neat, clean rows as the Noxema Girl said "Take it off. take it all
off!" and "The closer you shave the more you need Noxema." The commercial ended
with the beautiful blonde caressing an aerosol can and then the cheeks of the
now clean-shaven man. The ad campaign was created by William Esty Advertising
Agency in 1966 which later produced fifteen similar spots including ones with
contemporary sports figures like Carl Yazstremski, and Joe Namath ("Ladies, want
to see Joe Namath get creamed?"). Gunilla Knutson (a former Miss Sweden) later
became spokesperson and vice-president of sales for Rose Milk skin cream and the
author of Beauty and Health the Scandinavian Way. In the 1990s, she worked as a
wine taster for Sabrina Wine Importers and a gymnastic instructor at the Buckley
Elementary School in Manhattan.
SWEDISH BIKINI TEAM (TV Commercial)
A group of
gorgeous blonde babes featured in a series of Old Milwaukee beer
spots during the early 1990s. According to the TV commercials, when males
vacationing in the mountains, on the beach or in the water became bored and
thirsty, the Swedish Bikini Team miraculously arrived to rescue them from their
doldrums by providing them with Old Milwaukee Beer and the companionship of
beautiful bikini clad beer bimbos. Although received fondly by many appreciative
male viewers, The Swedish Bikini Team was maligned by those who felt the
commercial alleged message "It doesn't get better than this" associated "sexual
conquest with drinking." In 1991 the Center for Science in the Public Interest
pronounced the ad "unfair, misleading and irresponsible." Female employees of
the Stroh's Brewery filed a lawsuit against their employers stating that their
ads (which portrayed women as "giggling, jiggling idiots who have large breasts
and small minds") helped foster a work environment that encouraged sexual
harassment. Members of the Swedish Bikini Team (who were actually actresses
wearing wigs and pretending to be Swedish) included Peggy Trentini (Eva),
Heather Parkhurst (Hilgar), Jean Frances (Ula), Anna Keller, and Avalon Anders.
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