He was raised on Kungsholmen in Stockholm, where his father had a
flower shop. His father was also a social democratic politician. 'Unga
Ărnar', a socialist youth club, had a theater club which he joined.
Since his parents were poor, he had to start work at the age of 16 as a
delievery boy. Meanwhile, he continued with acting, performing at
weddings and stag parties. In 1944 he met 'Gunnar 'Knas' Lindkvist' and
'Curt 'Minimal' Ă
ström' and together they formed 'Tre Knas', touring
Sweden with funny sketches. In 1946 the three of them joined the Casino
Theatre, playing comedy together with
Arne KĂ€llerud and
Gösta Bernhard. In 1957 he
bought the 'Nöjeskatten' theatre together with
Arne KĂ€llerud. His first
movies were often extensions of what he had done on the stage:
Lattjo med Boccaccio (1949)
or
StjÀrnsmÀll i Frukostklubben (1950). As time passed, his acting developed, giving place for more
mature and dramatic parts like
Harry Munter (1969),
Man on the Roof (1976) or _"Babels hus" (1981) (mini)_.