Tommy Karlsen Sandum was found dead in his home in Oslo on 6 February.
“Our dear, dear Tommy ❤ Always missed, never forgotten”, it says on his memory page.
Today he was laid to rest from St. Paul’s Church in Grünerløkka, where both artists and acting colleagues were there to remember him.
The priest initially said that the 48-year-old had fallen on the ice, and suffered from chest pains and heavy breathing in the last days of his life.
Blood clot in the lung was the cause of death, said priest Birte Nordahl.
APPEARED: Helle Beck Figenschow, here with crutches on her way to the funeral, and in inset photo from 2003. Left: “Døden på Oslo S” director Eva Isaksen. Photo: Fredrik Solstad/VG / Christian Fougner/VG
One of those present at the funeral was Helle Beck Figenschow (50), who played the character Lena in “Døden på Oslo S” – the film from 1990 that made stars of both Tommy Karlsen Sandum and her.
– I am very sorry, says Figenschow to VG.
She says that she had some contact with Karlsen Sandum in recent years.
Figenschow has been barely visible in public since the mid-nineties.
The attention surrounding her in the wake of the Lena role led to her both dropping her acting career and fleeing the country.
These are some of the others who were present at the funeral:
Actor Viggo Jønsberg. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
Actress Lena Kristin Ellingsen. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
Former parliamentary representative Jette F. Christensen and lighting technician Jon Filip Myrvold. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
Comedian and actor Magnus Devold (tv) Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
Oslo Ace guitarist Peter Larsson (tv) and presenter, comedian and actor Bjarte Tjøstheim. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
Vocalist in the Valkyrie Allstars, Tuva Livsdatter Syvertsen. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
The artists Jarle Bernhoft, Ingrid Olava and Tuva Syvertsen, as well as the actors Håvard Bakke and Lena Kristin Ellingsen, performed in the church.
Bakke performed a version of the Dumdum Boys song “Englefjes” – the hit from “Døden på Oslo S”.
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Tommy Karlsen Sandum is remembered by many as the character Proffen in the films about “Pelle and Proffen”, based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s youth book series about the two friends.
CLASSICS: The film poster and a scene from “Death in Oslo S”. Tommy Karlsen Sandum on the right. Helle Beck Figenschow in the background, Håvard Bakke on the hill. Photo: DVD cover / Lasse Evensen/VG
The first of these film adaptations, “Death in Oslo S” from 1990, is one of the most popular and most frequently referenced Norwegian films ever.
His partner in these films, Håvard Bakke (49), who played Pelle, wrote “Thank you for the trip, my friend” on Facebook, and left an emoji with a broken heart behind, when the death became known.
– Easy to like
Karlsen Sandum also had a central role in the hit series “Lilyhammer”, and voiced around 30 animated films.
TEAM “LILYHAMMER”: Tommy Karlsen Sandum (th), here during the launch of season 2 of “Lilyhammer”, together with (former) Steven Van Zandt, Trond Fausa Aurvåg and Steinar Sagen. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB
It was the brother who brought the sad news three weeks ago.
– We are devastated. Tommy was inalienable to us. Now we ask for peace in the grief, confirmed his brother Raymond Karlstad in another e-mail NRK.
– I have lost one of my best friends of 25 years, and someone with whom I shared a completely unique story from when we were teenagers, Håvard Bakke said to NRK after the death became known.
– He had a large circle around him who were terribly fond of him. Tommy was a guy that was easy to like.
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