Sven-Bertil Taube

Sven-Bertil Gunnar Evert Taube (24 November 1934 – 11 November 2022) was a Swedish singer and actor. Internationally, he was perhaps better known for his acting career. Taube played Henrik Vanger in the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the lead role in Puppet on a Chain.

Biography

Born in Stockholm on 24 November 1934, he was the son of songwriter Evert Taube and sculptor Astri Taube. At age 14, Taube began playing guitar. While traveling throughout Europe, he developed an interest in folklore and folk music. He performed in concerts on Swedish radio while a student at the Royal Beskow School in Stockholm.

Taube graduated in 1954 from the Cherry Lawn School in Darien, Connecticut. While he was a student at the school, Folkways Records invited him to record an album of Swedish folk songs.

From 1959 to 1962, he studied acting at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy in Stockholm. In 1969, Taube moved to London where he was active in British theatre.

Taube was married four times, and had four children. For many years he resided in Fulham. He belonged to an untitled branch of the Baltic German noble Taube family, introduced at the Swedish House of Nobility in 1668 as noble family No. 734. He died in London on 11 November 2022, aged 87.

Musical career

Taube released his first album in 1954; it included a cover of one of his father's songs. He has since released many albums which include songs written by his father. Several of his most well-known versions of Evert Taube songs come from albums recorded in the 1970s, but he recorded more of them at later stages, including his 2007 album Alderville Road. Referring to that album, reviewer Peter Dahlgren said, "Evert had the yarns and Sven-Bertil had the voice."