Rolf Kirkvaag

Rolf Kirkvaag (20 September 1920 – 24 January 2003) was a Norwegian journalist, and a radio- and TV personality. He worked for NRK, the Norwegian state broadcasting network, between 1947 and 1959, and 1969 and 1990. From 1972 to 1985 he was entertainment director.[1]

Rolf Kirkvaag (left)

Already a popular public persona, his fame grew enormously after an incident in 1956. Kirkvaag was among the passengers on a Braathens SAFE plane that crashed by Hommelfjell, the Hummelfjell Accident. Two people were dead and ten still alive. Kirkvaag - with a broken bone in his foot - and another passenger had to walk 18 km (11 mi) for help. The incident made Kirkvaag a national hero, and he has since been referred to as 'Norway's first celebrity'.[1]

Among the shows he hosted were the children's show Titten Tei and the radio quiz show 20 spørsmål (20 Questions). He was also a commentator for numerous sporting events, like the 1952 Winter Olympics.[2] Rolf Kirkvaag's son, Trond Kirkvaag, was a well-known television comedian. Trond, who died in 2007, wrote a controversial biography of his father shortly before his own death. Here he described Rolf's darker side, and alleged that he had been an emotionally distant and occasionally violent father.[3]