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- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Stefan Karl Stefansson was an Icelandic film and stage actor/comedian, best known for playing the villain Robbie Rotten of Nickjr's popular TV program Lazy Town, that currently airs worldwide in over 103 countries, in all five continents, on [such distinguished] networks as BBC, CBBC, CBS, Discovery Kids, Disney, RUV-Icelandic TV, and Nick Jr.
Stefan Karl was born 1975 into a non-biz working class family in the village of Hafnarfjordur in Iceland. Shortly after graduation from drama school [or: from The Icelandic Academy of Arts in Reykjavík] he signed up with the National Theatre of Iceland, soon to be praised by critics and audiences alike as one of the most individual and versatile actor of the younger generation, introduced at the beginning of a new millennium.
As a lead comedic actor with the NT he was invited to play the leading role in the original theatre production of Lazy Town, in which he created the character of Robbie Rotten and when the play was eventually turned into a Television series, he was the obvious choice for the same part, in recognition of his contribution to its extraordinary success. As the villain Stefan Karl has been instrumental to the series and the success it has achieved, which includes number of prestigious awards and honors, including an EMIL Award, EDDA Award, Emmy Award nominations, and most notably two BAFTA Award nomination in the United Kingdom as well as having won the 2006 BAFTA Award, when LazyTown was specifically awarded for the episode titled "Robbie's Greatest Misses." He has also received the "Thorbjorn Egner Award" for an Outstanding Stage Performance as well as having his one man show, Thousand Island Dressing, selected by the President of the Leipzig Film Festival in Germany, as a showcase of Icelandic theatre, and performed at the festival's 10 year anniversary.
As a star player on repertoire at the National Theatre Stefan Karl also excelled in a variety of classical and contemporary starring- and character parts, such as the title role in Rostand's romantic tragedy Cyrano De Bergerac, as the song and dance man Cosmo Brown in Singin' in the Rain, the sufferable (middle age) stage director Lloyd Douglas in Noises Off and Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream. For one season Stefan Karl was borrowed by the NT's competitor The Reykjavík City Theatre, to star in Little Shop of Horrors as the formidable Dentist (plus playing ten different supporting roles).
In his relatively short career Stefán Karl built up a unique range of hilariously funny and eccentric characters, like the singing gay sheep farmer in the popular Icelandic feature comedy Stella Runs for Office, and a huge gallery of diverse comedic characters for the annual New Years Eve Comedy Hour-Variety Show on RUV-TV in Iceland, although it would be quite appropriate to say these had all rolled together into one, in his definitive interpretation of Robbie Rotten.
Stefan Karl was a founder of the reputable nonprofit organisation Rainbow Children in Iceland, a driving force and efficient charity fund raiser for rallying against child bullying, an organization which has now spread to Canada and is currently being introduced to the American public.
Stefan Karl ran his own TV and film production company in Europe, currently developing projects. He was a keen aviation enthusiast with a solo permit as a pilot, a licensed skipper for fishing boats of 30 tons, and during photography of the latest series of Lazy Town, he spent his entire spare time off set as a featured singer, vocal impressionist and youngest member of the popular rock'n roll band Studmenn, a group of celebrated musicians, all over fifty, who's catchphrase is "Lets embrace the oldest teenage rock band in Scandinavia." In his later years, Stefán Karl resided in San Diego with his wife Steinunn Olína, a renowned actress and novelist, and their three daughters and one son.
In October of 2016 Stefan Karl announced that he had developed Bile Duct Cancer. A GoFundMe campaign to cover his medical costs became popular when a few of the songs from "LazyTown" began receiving parodies and Internet memes. Stefan Karl said in August of 2017 that he was in remission but his condition became inoperable in March 2018. He discontinued chemotherapy in June 2018 and died on August 21, 2018.- Sirry Steffen was born on 29 May 1938 in Iceland. She was an actress, known for The Crawling Hand (1963), Hitler (1962) and Inter Nos (1982). She was married to Stefán Bjarnason and Porkel Valdimarsson. She died on 1 February 2020 in Selfoss, Iceland.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Matthew Myers was born on 14 October 1968. He was a producer and production manager, known for Speak (2004), See You Yesterday (2019) and Night of the Living Dead (1990). He died on 20 August 2021 in Iceland.- Additional Crew
- Director
- Writer
Harold Prince was born on 30 January 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for West Side Story (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Cabaret (1972). He was married to Judith Arlene Chaplin. He died on 31 July 2019 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Bobby Fischer was the greatest American chess player in history and might have been the most talented chess player ever to play the game. His career and legacy were marred by eccentricities that developed into what likely was full-blown mental illness that made him an exile from his country of birth that he represented in the greatest proxy battle of the Cold War and from the game he loved.
The chess legend was born Robert James Fischer on March 9, 1943 in Chicago to Regina Wender Fischer. His mother was a Jew who had been born in Switzerland but raised in St. Louis who became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The actual identity of his father is unknown. Regina listed German biophysicist Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, her first husband, as the father on Bobby's birth certificate, but they had been separated since 1939. Bobby's actual father likely was Hungarian physicist Paul Newmenyi, who like his mother, was Jewish. As his mental stability broke down late in life, Bobby became a vicious anti-Semite, insisting he wasn't Jewish.
The young Bobby grew up without a father with his mother and older sister. It was his sister who whet his appetite for chess when she bought a chess set when Bobby was six year old. Reportedly possessed of a super genius I.Q. of 180, Bobby had a remarkably retentive memory. A monomaniac when it came to chess, his memory combined with an uncanny knack for the game and a determination to win transformed him into the greatest chess player in the world.
Bobby became a National Master at the age of 12 and won America's Junior Chess Championship at the age of 13, making him the youngest Junior Champ in history. The 13 year-old Bobby defeated 26-year-old Donald Byrne, winner of America's chess championship, in a 1956 game heralded as "The Game of the Century." By this age, Fischer was showing gifts for improvisation and innovation that marked him as a chess genius.
As a 14 year-old on the cusp of his 15th birthday, he won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1958, giving him the title of International Master. Later that same year, he broke future opponent Boris Spassky's record to become the youngest World Chess Federation Grand Master; Bobby was 15, and Boris was 18 when he set the distinction. The two names would become linked forever in chess history. (When the two first played each other in 1960, Fischer lost during an Argentine tournament, though the two tied and were co-winners of the tourney. He would not beat Spassky until their famous world title match in Iceland in 1972.)
Bobby quit high school at the age of 16 to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow as a chess player. In a 1961 match against American champ Samuel Reshevsky, Bobby dropped out of the match claiming a scheduling dispute with the match organizer after tying Reshevsky in 11 games. Such eccentric behavior heralded his future.
By '62, Fischer was considered the best non-Soviet chess player in the world. Bobby came to hate the Soviet players, who he claimed colluded with each other to him at a disadvantage. In 1966, Bobby placed second behind Boris Spassky in a super-tournament held in California. A year later, he withdrew from the tournament cycle that culminated in the World Championship, again over a scheduling dispute. The cycle ended in 1969 with Spassky crowned as the World Chess Champion.
In 1968, Fischer began an 18-month-long sabbatical from the game, which included sitting out the '69 American Championship tournament as he was dissatisfied with the prize money and the tourney format. Failing to compete should have disqualified him from the 1969-72 Championship cycle, but he was able to compete for the world title when an American Grand Master surrendered his own spot for Fischer.
Starting with the 1970 USSR v. Rest of the World tournament in which he beat former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, the master who had been defeated by Spassky in '69, Bobby began his march to the world championship. Through 1971, he had won 20 straight games in international tournament play, the second-longest win streak in the history of the game. Petrosian broke the streak but was in turn defeated by Fischer to win the right to challenge Spassky, a player he had never beaten, for the world title.
Though he hated Soviet players for what he considered collusion (drawing matches between themselves so they could concentrate on beating non-Soviet players like Fischer), he liked and respected Boris Spassky. Spassky returned the affection and esteem.
By 1972, he was in the position to make good his boast that he was the greatest chess player in the world. His difficult nature when it came to setting match and tournament conditions flared up again, and though he wanted to play in Yugoslavia, he accepted Spassky's suggestion of Iceland for the world title match. Negotiations were so prickly, President Richard Nixon's national security adviser, Henry Kissinger intervened, personally contacting Bobby to ensure that he did not drop out of the match, which was seen as a proxy battle in the ongoing Cold War between America and the Soviet Union.
Though he later denounced the United States, at the time, Bobby embraced the Cold War rhetoric, declaring the match was "the free world against the lying, cheating hypocritical Russians."
Held in Reykjavik, Iceland from July through September 1972, the drama of the world championship boosted the image and popularity of chess to new heights. Bobby lost the first two games, the first on a bad end move and the second by forfeit when he refused to participate. Because of his eccentric demands, he came close to forfeiting the match, but Spassky agreed to his demand to play in a new room with no TV cameras, the presence of which had upset Fischer.
Fischer won the third game of the match, the first time he had beaten Boris Spassky in 12 years. For the rest of their play in 1972 and their 1992 rematch, Fischer never fell behind Spassky in terms of play or points. Spassky was baffled by Fischer's innovative moves, as he played new lines and combinations that Boris had never encountered before. Fischer won the match and became World Chess Champion by a score of 12.5 points to 8.5 on seven wins, one loss and 11 draws in 19 games.
His championship was heralded by the U.S. media as a victory for the individualistic America over the collectivist U.S.S.R., whose players had dominated chess since the end of the Second World War. It was front page news, and it made Bobby Fischer a celebrity. He reportedly turned down a $1-million offer to endorse a chess set brand as he faded from the public spotlight.
Fischer did not play competitively for the next three years, and in 1975, he forfeited his title by refusing to defend it when the World Chess Federation did not meet one or two of his many demands (estimated at between 64 and a hundred). The world title went to Anatoli Karpov by default, though Fischer continued to insisted he was the world chess champion.
Fischer did not play competitively until 1992 when he met Boris Spassky for a rematch on the resort island of Sveti Stefan in in Montenegro, which was part of all that remained of Yugoslavia along with Serbia. The match was held in defiance of United Nations sanctions against Slobodan Miloseviæ's Serbia for war crimes.
Bobby beat Boris, winning $3.35 million in prize money (approximately $5.65 million in 2012 dollar, when factored for inflation), but because the United States intended to enforce the U.N. sanctions, he had violated American law and could have served up to 10 years in jail upon returning to America. A defiant Fischer went into exile instead, living in Hungary before moving to the Philippines and then Japan.
It was while living in the Philippines during the opening days of the new millennium that Bobby Fischer established himself as a world-class crank. After the 9/11 attacks on the United States, he praised the attacks and spewed forth anti-Semitic drivel on radio broadcasts. The Soviet hater of the Cold War era had become a rabid America hater and Jew-basher at the start of the global war on terror. His anti-Semitism became so extreme, he renamed himself "Robert James" and insisted he wasn't Jewish.
During a stop-over in Japan, Fischer was arrested for traveling with an invalid U.S. passport. He promptly renounced his American citizenship. The arrest meant he could not leave Japan as he was a stateless person wanted by the United States. Facing a potential extradition to the country of his birth, Iceland came through and granted him citizenship, which allowed him to leave Japan. The country was still grateful for the publicity he had brought to its then-unknown capital of Reykjavik. Thus, Fischer moved to Iceland, the place where he had became part of not only chess lore, but of world history
Bobby Fischer died on January 17, 2008 in Reykjavik after having been gravely ill. He made it to his 64th year, which was symbolic, as a chessboard has 64 squares. - Edda Heidrún Backman was born on 27 November 1957 in Akranes, Iceland. She was an actress, known for Schwarz und ohne Zucker (1986), 101 Reykjavík (2000) and The Beast (1986). She died on 1 October 2016 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Gunnar Eyjólfsson was born on 24 February 1926. He was an actor, known for Beowulf & Grendel (2005), The Sea (2002) and The Viking Sagas (1995). He died on 21 November 2016 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Gísli Halldórsson was born on 2 February 1927 in Iceland. He was an actor, known for Children of Nature (1991), Devil's Island (1996) and Cold Fever (1995). He died on 27 July 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Johann Petursson was born on 9 February 1913 in Dalvik, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Prehistoric Women (1950), Hjertetyven (1943) and Carny (1980). He died on 26 November 1984 in Dalbær, Iceland.
- Jón Páll Sigmarsson was born on 28 April 1960 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He died on 16 January 1993 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Actor
- Director
- Sound Department
Helgi Skúlason was born on 4 September 1933 in Iceland. He was an actor and director, known for Pathfinder (1987), When the Raven Flies (1984) and Shadow of the Raven (1988). He was married to Helga Bachmann. He died on 25 September 1996 in Iceland.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Ryan Karazija was born in 1982 in Iceland. He was a composer and actor, known for Death Stranding (2019), Killjoys (2015) and Low Roar: Give Me an Answer (2017). He died on 29 October 2022 in Iceland.- Elís Philip William Scobie was born on 29 April 1990 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Cold Light (2004). He died on 20 June 2012 in Akranes, Iceland.
- Bessi Bjarnason was born on 5 September 1930. He was an actor, known for The Girl Gogo (1962), Message to Sandra (1983) and Niðursetningurinn (1951). He died on 12 September 2005 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Writer
- Actor
Halldór Laxness was born on 23 April 1902 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was a writer and actor, known for Salka Valka (1954), Atomic Station (1984) and Under the Glacier (1989). He was married to Auður Sveinsdóttir and Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir. He died on 8 February 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Þráinn Karlsson was born on 24 May 1939 in Akureyri, Iceland. He was an actor, known for When the Raven Flies (1984), Land and Sons (1980) and Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli (1981). He died on 22 May 2016 in Akureyri, Iceland.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sigurveig Jónsdóttir was born on 10 January 1931. She was an actress, known for The Seagull's Laughter (2001), Agnes (1995) and Devil's Island (1996). She was married to Valdimar Pálsson. She died on 3 February 2008 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Actress
- Director
Herdís Þorvaldsdóttir was born on 15 October 1923. She was an actress and director, known for The Sea (2002), The Cliff (2009) and The Girl Gogo (1962). She died in March 2013 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Flosi Ólafsson was born on 27 October 1929 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor and director, known for When the Raven Flies (1984), The Girl Gogo (1962) and Running Blind (1979). He was married to Lilja Margeirsdóttir. He died on 24 October 2009 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Árni Tryggvason was born on 19 January 1924. He was an actor, known for The White Viking (1991), Agnes (1995) and Devil's Island (1996). He died on 13 April 2023 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Actor
- Director
Baldvin Halldórsson was born on 23 March 1923 in Iceland. He was an actor and director, known for Kristrún í hamravík (1972), The Girl Gogo (1962) and Children of Nature (1991). He died on 13 July 2007 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Ævar Kvaran was born on 17 May 1916 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was a director, known for Nýtt hlutverk (1954), The Last Farm in the Valley (1950) and Reykjavíkurævintýri Bakkabræðra (1951). He died on 7 January 1994 in Iceland.
- Guðrún Þ. Stephensen was born on 29 March 1931. She was an actress, known for A Policeman's Life (1985), Murder Story (1977) and Gildran (2001). She died on 16 April 2018 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Helgi Hóseasson was born on 21 November 1919 in Iceland. He died on 6 September 2009 in Iceland.
- Páll Arason was born on 2 June 1915 in Iceland. He died on 7 January 2011 in Iceland.
- Director
- Writer
Róska Óskarsdóttir was born on 31 October 1940 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Róska was a director and writer, known for Sóley (1982). Róska died on 13 March 1996 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Stefan Islandi was born on 6 October 1907 in Skagafjörður, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Rams (2015) and Sommerglæder (1940). He was married to Else Brems. He died on 1 January 1994 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Guðmunda Elíasdóttir was born on 23 January 1920 in Bolungarvík, Iceland. She was an actress, known for Jar City (2006), Privacy (1995) and Shadow of the Raven (1988). She was married to Sverrir Kristjánsson and Henrik Knudsen. She died on 2 August 2015 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Loftur Guðmundsson was born on 18 August 1892 in Iceland. He was a director and writer, known for Milli fjalls og fjöru (1949), Niðursetningurinn (1951) and Iceland in Moving Pictures (1925). He died on 4 January 1952 in Iceland.- Skapti Ólafsson was born on 7 October 1927 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Pearls and Swine (1997). He was married to Sveinfríður Guðrún Sveinsdóttir and Kolbrún. He died on 1 August 2017 in Iceland.
- Actor
- Writer
- Costume Designer
Höddi Björnsen was born on 7 December 1989 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor and writer, known for The Breeding (2007), Clownie & The Satanic Cult (2006) and Knight of the Living Dead (2005). He died on 14 October 2015 in Reykjavík, Iceland.- Elías Mar was born on 22 July 1924. He was an actor, known for Message to Sandra (1983). He died on 23 May 2007 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Make-Up Department
- Special Effects
- Actor
Stefan Jorgen was born on 24 March 1977 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Flags of Our Fathers (2006), The Wolfman (2010) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). He died on 8 April 2018 in Iceland.- Guðbergur Bergsson was born on 16 October 1932 in Ísólfsskáli, Iceland. He was a writer, known for The Swan (2017) and Lobster Soup (2020). He died on 4 September 2023 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Ívar Helgason was born on 30 May 1922 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Atomic Station (1984). He was married to Lilja Th. Ingimundardóttir. He died on 15 May 1989 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- María Guðmundsdóttir was an actress, known for Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), The Night Shift (2007) and Heiðin (2008). She died on 14 December 2021 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Þórir Roff was an actor, known for Mr. Bjarnfreðarson (2009). He died on 3 September 2016 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Gunnhildur Sigurðardóttir was born on 21 October 1956 in Akureyri, Iceland. She was an actress, known for Angels of the Universe (2000) and Pearls and Swine (1997). She died on 14 July 2014 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Birgir Karlsson was born on 15 March 1932 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Veggfóður: Erótísk ástarsaga (1992). He died on 7 May 2003 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Hannes Hafstein was born on 4 December 1861 in Möðruvöllum, Hörgárdal, Iceland. He was married to Ragnheidur Stefánsdóttir Hafstein. He died on 13 December 1922 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Writer
- Executive
Gunnar Gunnarsson was born on 18 May 1889 in Vathjóstadur, Iceland. He was a writer and executive, known for Borgslægtens historie (1920) and Svartfugl. He was married to Franzisca Antonia Josephine Jørgensen. He died on 21 November 1975 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Þröstur Guðbjartsson was born on 23 October 1952. He was an actor, known for Schwarz und ohne Zucker (1986), Agnes (1995) and Remote Control (1992). He died on 17 July 2021 in Kópavogur, Iceland.
- Rúnar Georgsson was born on 14 September 1943 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was an actor, known for Devil's Island (1996). He died on 30 December 2013 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Prins Póló was a composer, known for Paris of the North (2014). Prins was married to Berglind Hasler. Prins died on 29 September 2022 in Iceland.
- Actor
- Director
Brynjólfur Jóhannesson was born on 3 August 1896 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was an actor and director, known for Niðursetningurinn (1951) and Milli fjalls og fjöru (1949). He died on 8 April 1975 in Reykjavík, Iceland.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Sigurdur Ingi was born on 24 December 1981. He was an actor and writer, known for Vogaverk (2010), Valhalla - The Legend of Thor (2019) and Salamandra Box (2008). He died on 26 April 2013 in Reykjavik, Iceland.- Castro Ljúflings was born in 1993 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Knight of the Living Dead (2005). He died on 25 September 2005 in Selfoss, Iceland.
- Bryndís Pétursdóttir was born on 22 September 1928. She was an actress, known for The Viking Sagas (1995), Niðursetningurinn (1951) and The Seagull's Laughter (2001). She died on 21 September 2020 in Iceland.
- Davíð Stefánsson was born on 21 January 1895 in Fagriskógur, Eyjafjördur, Iceland. He was a writer, known for Kultainen portti (1961), Den gyllene porten (1968) and The Golden Gate (1984). He died in 1964 in Akureyri, Iceland.
- Runólfur Dagbjartsson was born on 21 April 1923 in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. He was an actor, known for New Life (1983). He died on 19 May 2008 in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.