Manager of the documentary history section (1966–?)
TV2 (1969–1987)
Kanal 1 (1987–1996)
Also: Writer, historian and documentary filmmaker
Known for
Narration
Title
Doctor of Philosophy (1951)
Title of Professor (Swedish: Professors namn) (1996)
Spouse
Elsa Villius (1952–2012)
Relatives
Gertrud Zetterholm, sister.
Sara Villius, granddaughter.
Finn Zetterholm, nephew.
Awards
H. M. The King's Medal of the 8th size (2012) Royal Order of the Seraphim's Ribbon (2012)
Hans Emil Villiusⓘ (10 July 1923 – 22 June 2012) was a Swedish historian and popular TV and radio personality.[1][2]
Villius received his doctorate in history in 1951 with his dissertation Karl XII:s ryska fälttåg: Källstudier ("Charles XII's Russian campaign: A Source Study.") in which he critically analysed the narrative sources of Charles XII's officers during the campaign. In 1957 Villius joined Swedish Radiotjänst (now Sveriges Radio), Sweden's national public radio corporation, and began making popular historical documentaries and programming until he moved to Sveriges Television (SVT) in 1966. It was at SVT that Villius began working with TV-producer Olle Häger, a very productive collaboration that would span some two decades. During the 1980s and 1990s, Häger and Villius produced several popular documentaries like Fyra dagar som skakade Sverige[1] ("Four days that shook Sweden") in 1988 about the Swedish "Midsummer crisis" during World War II and Raoul Wallenberg - fånge i Sovjet[1] ("Raoul Wallenberg - prisoner in the Soviet Union.") as well as one of SVT's biggest and most popular documentary productions ever, Hundra Svenska År ("One Hundred Swedish years"), consisting of eight one-hour documentaries on the history of Sweden during the 20th century from many different perspectives.
Other than his dedication to entertaining and educating, Villius was most famous for his narrating both his own and others' documentaries, and his soft Kalmar-accent is instantly recognizable to millions of Swedes (even to those who do not know his name). He also played the Minister of Justice in Bo Widerberg's thriller The Man from Majorca (1984). His voice has almost become a concept of its own, intimately associated with serious educational programming and spawning many parodies (e.g., in TV-commercials) and imitations among comedians.
^ abc"Hans Villius". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 2010-05-10.
^"Tv-legendaren Hans Villius är död". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). SvD.se. 22 June 2012.
Hans Emil Villius (10 July 1923 – 22 June 2012) was a Swedish historian and popular TV and radio personality. Villius received his doctorate in history...
Jenny Nyström – painter and illustrator Henrik Strindberg – composer HansVillius – historian Kalmar is twinned with eleven cities: Árborg, Iceland Arendal...
Lund, Historiska media. pp. 240. Karl XII:s ryska fälttåg: källstudier, HansVillius (1951). pp 60 Dorrell, Nicholas. The Dawn of the Tsarist Empire: Poltava...
debate continued when he returned to the subject in an essay in 1954. HansVillius, who critically examined Dahlbergh's depiction of the Danish wars in...
Rönnbäck as Kjell Göran Hedberg: Working at the Swedish Security Service HansVillius as The Minister for Justice Sten Lonnert as Erik Harald Olsson: Alcoholic...
86, Australian Olympic silver medal-winning (1956) sailor, cancer. HansVillius, 88, Swedish historian, television and radio personality, complications...
1916). 22 June – HansVillius, historian and author (b. 1923). 14 July – Sixten Jernberg, cross country skier (b. 1929). 12 November – Hans Hammarskiöld,...
an exclusive pre-recorded text read by radio and television celebrity HansVillius as introduction to their concerts. During the summer of 2007 they’ve...
public offices within the cursus honorum. The law was proposed by Lucius Villius Annalis, a Tribune of the Plebs, after previous debate within the senate...
Mauretania (complete list) – Bocchus I, King (c.110–c.80s BC) China Western Han, China (complete list) – Gaozu, Emperor (202–195 BC) Hui, Emperor (195–188...
taken from Cooley 2012, pp. 458–460. Bodel 1995, p. 296. First proposed by Hans-Georg Pflaum, and accepted by Ladislaus Vidman (Fasti Ostienses, 2nd edition...
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