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.
