Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 â€" 19 October 1981) was a
Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid-1950s, known
for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo".
Between 1916 and 1963 he appeared in over 70 feature films, 16 of
which were produced in the silent era. He is mainly remembered today
for two silent films he made with his fellow Swede, Greta Garbo, and
the pre-Code interracial love affair in The Bitter Tea of General
Yen.Asther, born Nils Anton Alfhild Asther, was the son of Swedish
nationals Anton Andersson Asther (born February 21, 1865, Caroli,
Malmö) and Hildegard Augusta Åkerlund (born November 3, 1869 in
Södra Sallerup, Malmöhus County). Although Anton Andersson Asther
had promised Hildagard Augusta Ã…kerlund aka Hilda Ã…kerlund marriage,
she however was unwed when she gave birth to Nils in Sankt Matthæus
parish in the Copenhagen borough of Vesterbro where she stayed very
briefly. Thus, due to the marriage promise, technically, Nils was not
an illegitimate child. (Also: when the parents married, a note was
made of Anton´s official acknowledgement of the boy.)He spent his
first year as a foster child in Hyllie, Sweden with saddlemaker Rasmus
Hellström and wife Emilia Kristina Möller. He was christened in
Hyllie on February 26, 1897 before moving in with his biological
parents who had married on May 29, 1898 in Malmö.His half-brother
Gunnar Anton Asther (born March 4, 1892 in Caroli, Malmö) was his
father's child from a previous marriage to Anna Paulina Olander, who
had died in July 1895.
Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid-1950s, known
for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo".
Between 1916 and 1963 he appeared in over 70 feature films, 16 of
which were produced in the silent era. He is mainly remembered today
for two silent films he made with his fellow Swede, Greta Garbo, and
the pre-Code interracial love affair in The Bitter Tea of General
Yen.Asther, born Nils Anton Alfhild Asther, was the son of Swedish
nationals Anton Andersson Asther (born February 21, 1865, Caroli,
Malmö) and Hildegard Augusta Åkerlund (born November 3, 1869 in
Södra Sallerup, Malmöhus County). Although Anton Andersson Asther
had promised Hildagard Augusta Ã…kerlund aka Hilda Ã…kerlund marriage,
she however was unwed when she gave birth to Nils in Sankt Matthæus
parish in the Copenhagen borough of Vesterbro where she stayed very
briefly. Thus, due to the marriage promise, technically, Nils was not
an illegitimate child. (Also: when the parents married, a note was
made of Anton´s official acknowledgement of the boy.)He spent his
first year as a foster child in Hyllie, Sweden with saddlemaker Rasmus
Hellström and wife Emilia Kristina Möller. He was christened in
Hyllie on February 26, 1897 before moving in with his biological
parents who had married on May 29, 1898 in Malmö.His half-brother
Gunnar Anton Asther (born March 4, 1892 in Caroli, Malmö) was his
father's child from a previous marriage to Anna Paulina Olander, who
had died in July 1895.
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