Eva Dahlbeck Passes On

Before anything else, I have to apologise for not making more posts this week. Sadly, I have had a fairly severe sinus infection that has left me so tired after getting off work I have the strength for little else beyond checking my email and reading the various blogs I read. Fortunately, I am feeling a bit better.

Eva Dahlbeck, best known for her roles in various Ingmar Bergman films, passed on February 8 at the age of 87. Having had Alzheimer’s disease for many years, the cause was an infection.

Dahlbeck was born on March 8, 1920 in Saltsjö-Duvnäs, Sweden. She attended the Dramatens elevskola (in English, the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school) from 1941 to 1944. She was a regular on the Swedish stage from 1944 to 1964. Dahlbeck's debut on film was in an uncredited role in the film Bara en kvinna in 1941. Her first credited role was in Rid i natt (literally, Ride Tonight) in 1942). By the late Forties she was playing major roles in films, such as Kärlek och störtlopp in 1946 and Tva Kvinnor in 1947. Eventually she would star in several of Bergman's films, including Sommarnattens leende (Smiles of a Summer Night 1955), En Lektion i kärlek (Lesson in Love 1954), Kvinnodröm (Dreams 1955), and Kvinnors väntan (Secrets of Women 1962). She also played the Queen in Gabriel Axel's Den Rode kappe (Hagbard and Signe 1967).

In 1964 Dahlbeck retired from the stage. She last appeared on screen in 1970 in Tintomara. She found a new career in writing, writing several novels starting with Hem till kaos (Home to Chaos) in 1964. Her last novel was Sökarljus (Searching Lights), published in 1999. She also wrote the screenplay for Arne Mattsson's period crime movie Yngsjömordet (Woman of Darkness), released in 1966.

Eva Dahlbeck was an immensely talented actress who could play a variety of roles and be very convincing. She played everything from a celebrity reporter in Kärlek och störtlopp to actress and mistress to a count Desiree Armfeldt. Her versatility gave her a justifiably long acting career. The fact that she was able to follow up her acting career with a successful writing career is even more cause to admire Eva Dahlbeck. She was certainly a woman of a good deal of talent.