Johnny Bergh
{{Short description|Norwegian television producer (1934–2014)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Johnny Bergh
| image= Johnny Bergh i kontrollrommet på Centralteatret med Lillian Onstad (cropped).jpg
| caption = Bergh in the control room for a TV broadcast in the 1960s, from the Centralteatret in Oslo, Norway.
| birth_name = Johnny Odd Berg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|5|6}}
| birth_place = Austrheim, Norway
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|12|23|1934|5|6}}
| occupation = TV producer, director, scriptwriter, TV host, actor
| spouse = Bitte Monn-Iversen (1982—2014)
}}
Johnny Odd Bergh (May 6, 1934 – December 23, 2014) was a Norwegian producer, scriptwriter and director. He was a key player in the development of Norwegian television, and one of the most influential people in Norwegian entertainment until the mid 90s.{{cite news|title
= En gigant i norsk fjernsynshistorie|newspaper = Aftenposten|date = 5 May 1999|page = 10 |language=no }}
Biography
File:Actors Johnny Bergh & Tom Tellefsen.jpeg while performing at The National Theatre in Oslo in 1958.]]
Bergh started his career as a jazz musician and comedy actor in Bergen, and studied acting at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. In 1958 he was recruited to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation - two years before regular television broadcasts started in Norway - as employee number 12. After just a few years he became a prominent director and producer.{{cite news|title = Demonproducer uten nerver|newspaper = Aftenposten|date = 27 November 1965 |language=no }} As one of the first TV workers in Norway, Bergh worked for the first years with everything from the Nobel Peace Prize and the news to theatre and large studio shows. It was however entertainment that would become his speciality.{{Cite web |title=Nobel Peace Prize awarded to journalists Ressa and Muratov |url=https://whyy.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-awarded-to-journalists-ressa-and-muratov/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}}
During his career he produced several thousand TV programs. The shows went on to become benchmark productions for Norwegian entertainment, and many want on for many seasons, some still being in production. Programs include: Lørdagskveld med Erik Bye (talkshow), Kontrapunkt (quiz show), Momarkedet (live variety show), Kvitt eller dobbelt (Norwegian version of The $64,000 Question), Ta sjansen (annual event), Dette er ditt liv (Norwegian version of This Is Your Life), Nyttårsshow (variety show), OL-show (Olympic variety show), Spellemannprisen (Norwegian music awards) and Melodi Grand Prix (Eurovision Song Contest).{{cite web|url=http://nbl.snl.no/Erik_Diesen|title=Erik Diesen|author=Hans Fredrik Dahl|publisher=Store norske leksikon|language=Norwegian|date=25 February 2020|access-date=}}
He was the responsible national producer for the Nordic collaborative Nordvision broadcasts in the early days of Norwegian television. Bergh also directed concerts with international artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Jim Reeves and Otis Redding.{{cite web|url=http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/inne-ute/article315572.ece|title=Da Otis kom til Oslo|author=Geir Rakvaag|publisher=Dagsavisen|date=20 September 2007|access-date=|archive-date=1 March 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080301083623/http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/inne-ute/article315572.ece|url-status=dead}} From 1986 til 1990, Bergh was the editorial director at the NRK's entertainment department.
Bergh had a close professional and personal relationship with TV hosts like Erik Bye, Knut Bjørnsen, Erik Diesen and Harald Tusberg, and produced and developed several shows with all of them. He gave Norwegian entertainment personalities like Harald Heide-Steen jr., Roald Øyen and Stein Roger Bull their first jobs in television and launched Dan Børge Akerø as an entertainment name.{{cite news|title = Han ansatte Harald Heide-Steen jr. og oppdaget Dan Børge|newspaper = Dagbladet|url = http://www.dagbladet.no/2014/12/23/nyheter/nrk/nrk_tv/harald_heide-steen/erik_bye/36877465/|date = 23 December 2014|language=no }}{{cite news|title = - Han var min venn og læremester|newspaper = Se og Hør|date = 9 January 2015|last = Haugen|first = Erlend |language=no }} He also got to work with international artists like Julie Andrews, Bing Crosby, Johnny Weissmuller, Josephine Baker, Ken Curtis, Danny Kaye, The Delta Rhythm Boys, Marty Feldman, Donna Summer, Tina Turner, ABBA and Cliff Richards.{{Cite news|title = Momarkedet legges ned etter 62 år|newspaper = Seher.no|url = http://www.seher.no/kjendis/momarkedet-legges-ned-etter-62-år-55818|date = 28 April 2012|language=no }}
Bergh won six times in Rose D'Or in Montreux with different comedy shows.{{cite news|title = Jubilanter|newspaper = Aftenposten|date = 6 May 2009|page = 13 |language=no }} Among these prize winning productions are To Norway, Home of Giants, starring John Cleese, which won two awards. Productions by Johnny Bergh got over 30% of the places when the Norwegian paper Dagbladet awarded the best Norwegian TV entertainment ever in 2010.{{Cite news|title = Folkets dom over tidenes beste tv-underholdning|newspaper = Dagbladet|date = 23 August 2010|page = 34 |language=no }}
Bergh has had a strong influence as a role model, mentor and creator of TV as a visual medium. He was the first in Norway who could tell a story with living images on TV. Through his work he created a school for producing that made the foundation of the professional level of production in Norway today.{{Cite news|title = Johnny Bergh - Nekrolog|newspaper = Aftenposten|date = 31 January 2014|first = Stein-Roger|last = Bull |language=no }}
Personal life
Bergh was married to the TV producer Bitte Monn-Iversen, daughter of composer and producer Egil Monn-Iversen and singer, comedian and actor Sølvi Wang,{{Cite news|title = Støtte i sorgen|newspaper = Se og Hør|date = 9 January 2015|last = Haugen|first = Erlend |language=no }} and died on December 23, 2014, at the age of 80.{{cite web | url=https://www.nrk.no/kultur/nrk-produsent-johnny-bergh-er-dod-1.12117601 | title=NRK-produsent Johnny Bergh er død | date=23 December 2014 }}
References
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External links
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- {{IMDb name|id=0074560}}
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Category:People from Nordhordland
Category:Norwegian jazz musicians
Category:Norwegian television directors
Category:Norwegian television producers