| Sæbjørn Buttedahl | |
| Birth Date: | 10 November 1876 |
| Birth Place: | Lier, Buskerud, Norway |
| Birthname: | Nils Sæbjørn Buttedahl |
| Death Place: | San Diego, California, United States |
| Occupation: | Actor, Sculptor |
| Yearsactive: | 1896–1955 |
| Spouse: | Clare Petrea Margrethe Benelli |
| Children: | Ellen Sinding |
| Relatives: | Leif Sinding (son-in-law) |
Sæbjørn Buttedahl (10 November 1876 – 10 July 1960) was a Norwegian stage and film actor who later found prominence as a sculptor.
Nils Sæbjørn Buttedahl was born in Lier, Norway and began his career as a stage actor in 1896 at the age of twenty. From 1907 to 1924 he was engaged at the Centralteatret (Central Theater) in Oslo (then known as Kristiana).[1] He appeared in a number of stage plays by Henrik Ibsen, and appeared onstage with such eminent Norwegian actors of the era as Agnes Mowinckel and Martin Linge.[2]
Buttedahl appeared in three feature-length silent films during his career as an actor. Two of these films, 1926's Simen Mustrøens besynderlige opplevelser and 1927's Den glade enke i Trangvik were directed by Harry Ivarson. His final film role was in the 1927 romantic drama Fjeldeventyret (A Mountain Romance),[3] directed by his son-in-law Leif Sinding.[1]
During his time as an actor, Buttedahl also began a career as a sculptor, mainly as a sculptor of busts and almost exclusively sculpted notable theater personalities. He debuted his work at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo in 1912. Notable works in the public collection include:
Sæbjørn Buttedahl married Danish stage actress Clare Petrea Margrethe "Maggie" Benelli (1870–1933).[5] They had one daughter, Ellen (Buttedahl) Sinding (1899–1980), who married film director Leif Sinding and became a film actress and dancer.[6]
In 1926, Buttedahl emigrated to the United States, where he toured the country with appearances reciting poems and singing folk songs.[3] [7] [8] He settled in San Diego, California, where he died in 1960 at age 83.