Gerhard Knoop

Gerhard Herman Knoop (3 November 1920 – 25 October 2009) was a Norwegian actor, stage producer, theatre director and film director. He is mostly known for directing the movies Minne om to mandager, Dei rid mot havet (1960) and Avskjedsgaven (1961).

Early and personal life Knoop was born in Kristiania (present-day Oslo), the son of Herman Waldemar Knoop (1887–1961) and Ellen Caroline Sontum (1897–1962). He made his stage debut in a school revue while studying at the gymnasium. He took his examen artium (university entrance exam) in 1939. During World War II he was involved in resistance work, and had to flee to Sweden in 1942, where he joined the police troops. After the war, he studied at the University of Oslo and at the University of Denver. He married Eva Cecilie Julsrud in September 1948 in Denver.

Theatre career Knoop was employed at Rogaland Teater from 1949, first as actor and later as stage producer. Among his productions were adaptions of Arnold and Bach's farce Die spanische Fliege, and of Ibsen's play A Doll's House, He started the independent theatre group Intimteatret in 1991, together with Merete Skavlan. He died in Oslo on 25 October 2009.