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/2000-2001
**(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+
*(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.” Chandler's father was a
gay drag queen.
I REMEMBER MAMA/CBS/1949-57
*(Peggy Wood) Marta "Mama" Hansen,
the matriarch of a family of five Norwegian
immigrants living in San Francisco at the
turn-of-the-century. The happy family unit
included Judson Laire as "Papa" Lars Hansen, a
carpenter; Dick Van Patton as the elder son,
Nels; Rosemary Rice as elder daughter, Katrin;
and Iris Mann/Robin Morgan as little sister,
Dagmar Iris. Other regulars were Ruth Gates as
Aunt "Yenny" Jenny; Carl Frank as Uncle Gunnar
Gunnerson; Alice Frost as Aunt Trina Gunnerson;
Malcolm Keen/Roland Winters as Uncle Chris;
and Patty McCormack as Ingeborg.
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.
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).
N.Y.P.D. BLUE/ABC/1993+
*(Ricky Schroder) Danny Sorenson,
up-and-coming police detective of Norwegian
descent who works out of the 15th precinct in
New York City. On the 1999-2000 season episode
“Who Murders Sleep” Danny reveals a disturbing
nightmare to his Polish partner, Andy Sipowicz.
The dreams have Danny trying to save his
sisters from a fire but can’t. The episode
also mentions Danny holding the hands of his
sisters as they arrived by plane from Norway.
He was only six-years old at the time. His
parents had recently got a divorce. Danny was
murdered while working undercover in May of
2001.
THE VICTOR BORGE
SHOW/NBC/1951
*(Victor Borge) Victor Borge, a
Danish entertainer who hosted this comedy
variety series in the early days of
television. He was born Borge Rosenbaum in
Copenhagen on January 3, 1909. While touring
in Finland in 1940 (part of his act satirized
Hitler), the Nazi's took over his country of
Denmark forcing him to relocate to America
where he soon became a regular with Bing
Crosby on THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL. Examples of
his humor: "To be honest with you, I only know
two numbers. One is "Claire De Lune," and the
other one isn't." or "I will now play
Rachmaninoff's "Second Piano Concerto." Number
two. It is by Rachmaninoff, who also wrote the
music. It's for piano and a concerto."
THE VIKINGS (TALES OF THE
VIKINGS)/SYN/1960-61
*(Jerome Courtland) Leif Ericson,
the Norse explorer who traveled the seas in
search of adventure during the medieval ages.
Also featured were Walter Barnes as Finn,
Stefan Schnabel as Firebeard; and Buddy Baer
as Also. Filmed in Europe (the snowcapped
mountains of West Germany) with same sets and
costumes used in the motion picture "The
Vikings" (1958) starring Kirk Douglas.
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.
BONUS ITEMS
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.
