Erik Paaske (21 August 1933 in Kolding, Denmark – 13 June 1992 in Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish theater, TV and film actor and singer.
Erik Paaske was born on 21 August 1933 on Graacksvej in Kolding to father Frithjof Paaske (1900–1982) and mother Johanne Dorthea Thomassen (1898–1967). Paaske attended the local school in adjacent Strandhuse until his fourteenth year and then started his bricklayer's apprenticeship, completing it in 1952.
As a child Erik Paaske was taught to play the accordion and harmonica and was accompanying dances from the age of 10, later with his own trio of musicians. He was also active in the local Frivilligt Drenge- og Pige-Forbund scout-like organisation, playing trombone in their marching band.
Amateur acting and acting school
In 1950 Erik Paaske made his first forey into acting when he joined the local amateur society Sydjydsk Amatørteater, appearing in plays such as Nitouche (1950), Den Grønne Elevator (1950), Det Lille Fyrtøj (1951), Den Elskelige Landstryger (1951) and Den Spanske Flue (1951). In 1955 he switched to KOTA (Kolding og Omegns Teateramatører), an amateur society that staged outdoor summer performances in the local castle Koldinghus.
In 1957 KOTA elected to perform William Shakespeare's En skærsommernatsdrøm (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and engaged actor Søren Weiss from the Royal Danish Theatre to direct. Erik Paaske was cast as the character Rendegarn (Nick Bottom) and Søren Weiss was so impressed by his abilities that he offered to read with Paaske for the purpose of auditioning for entry to the actor's school of the Royal Danish Theatre.
On 5 May 1958 Erik Paaske performed roles from Vor ære og magt by Nordahl Grieg and Erasmus Montanus by Ludvig Holberg in front of theatre principal Alf Henriques, directors Henning Rohde and Henning Brøndsted, and actors / teachers Poul Reumert, Else Højgaard, Martin Hansen and John Price. Erik Paaske was accepted into the school, with two others joining out of a list of 37 applicants.
Erik Paaske graduated in May 1961, was immediately offered a three-year contract to appear on 100 nights per season, and worked in the ensemble until 1974. His debut role in September 1961 was that of Andrei in Anton Chekhov's De tre søstre (Three Sisters).
He was kept busy at the two Royal theatre stages, sometimes playing twice the same day. In the season 1968-69 he was the busiest actor at the venue, appearing a total of 180 times in 7 of the 9 scheduled productions.
During his tenure, Paaske's size and physical appearance made him an obvious choice for comical roles, but major character roles eluded him. In 1974 Paaske requested and was granted leave to pursue other opportunities, but as an extension was denied he decided it was time to go: "I felt it was necessary to be brave. I did not want to end up as someone taken for granted - like one of the chairs stored in the magazine."
After leaving the Royal Danish Theatre Erik Paaske worked exclusively as a freelance actor until his death.
The first day of TV broadcasting in Denmark was 2 October 1951 and in the ensuing decade only small steps were taken in the theatre genre, partly by transmitting live from performances in the existing national venues, partly by enacting live plays in the TV studio. Ten years later a heated discussion erupted as to the future scope of this genre; was it time to cede the stage to modern playwrights or should the TV theatre remain easily accessible to the audience by sticking to traditional and tried-and-tested content?
Erik Paaske inadvertently became an exponent for both options. Following his appearance in two plays in 1962, he was selected as one of the three protagonists of Danish modern dramatist Leif Panduro's first commissioned TV play En af dagene, broadcast on 7 April 1963 and telling a contemporary 20th century story about office politics. This was described as the "first Danish attempt to create a modern form of TV realism." Seven months later Paaske was featured as a main character in Hosekræmmeren (The Hosier and his Daughter). Based on an 1829 short story by clergyman, author and poet Steen Steensen Blicher, this production was deeply ingrained in a 19th century rural and religious sensibility both in terms of language and narrative.
In 1967 Paaske was selected to play one of the two main characters of Leif Panduro's 6-part crime series Ka’ De li’ østers? a role that started his journey towards becoming a Danish household name. As stated by B.T. (tabloid): "After six years of bit parts at the Royal Danish Theatre, Erik Paaske jump into the TV role with a success that made the viewers identify him with the senior constable - and for the first time the reviewers were completely on his side." In an October 1967 JydskeVestkysten newspaper report it was described that Erik Paaske had "become so famous that people turn around on the street when they see him."
Erik Paaske worked in films intermittently throughout his career, almost exclusively in smaller parts. His largest role was in Bille August's Pelle the Conqueror, the film winning both the Palme d'Or in Cannes and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 1988.
Det er så synd for farmand (1968)
Me and My Kid Brother and Doggie (1969)
Walter og Carlo - Yes det er far (1986)