Tapio Rautavaara

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Tapio Rautavaara (1937)

Tapio Rautavaara (born March 8, 1915 in Pirkkala , † September 25, 1979 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish athlete , musician and actor. His specialty was throwing the javelin .

biography

Childhood and youth

Tapio Rautavaara grew up in Tampere . He came from a poor background; his mother was a single parent, his father unknown. In school, at a time when tensions between left and conservatives were very high in Finland, he was scornfully called “brat of a red” by his schoolmates, and as a working-class child he had problems with conservative teachers. Sometimes he had to steal food out of hunger. At the age of ten, Tapio was selling leftist newspapers to Finlayson workers . His mother planned to move to Oulunkylä near Helsinki . She traveled ahead and Rautavaara lived in a children's home for a year before he could follow. He felt more comfortable in his new place of residence because he was no longer bullied there. Because of his poor health, the doctors advised him to do sports. Since he had always enjoyed throwing stones, he decided to throw a javelin and joined the workers' sports club Oulunkylän Tähti , to which he remained loyal throughout his life.

At 13, Rautavaara had to leave school to work. He sold newspapers and books on railways , with which he earned well. It is said that he read the books he was selling beforehand. With the money he earned, he bought musical instruments and took a course in violin playing at the Helsinki Conservatory , where he completed a three-year course within one year.

Athletic career

Tapio Rautavaara won the bronze medal in the javelin throw at the European Championships in Oslo in 1946 with 66.40 m behind the Swede Lennart Attervall and his Finnish compatriot Yrjo Nikkanen . Two years later, at the Olympic Games in London in 1948 , he was Olympic champion with 69.77 m. In 1950 he finished fifth at the European Championships in Brussels . Rautavaara was the Finnish javelin throwing champion in 1944 and 1945, and from 1947 to 1949. In the 1950s he turned to archery and was the 1958 world champion with the Finnish team in the discipline.

Actors and musicians

Rautavaara was also successful as an actor and musician. His more than 300, mostly calm, sentimental pop songs are still popular in Finland today. His adaptation of the Johnny Cash hit I Walk the Line (Finnish: Yölinjalla ) is one of the most played songs in the late evening. Rautavaara starred in numerous Finnish films and was reportedly slated for the role of Tarzan after Johnny Weissmüller retired .

memory

His monument is in Oulunkylä, the Helsinki district where Rautavaara spent most of his life.

Filmography

  • 1945: Vain sinulle
  • 1946: Synnin jäljet
  • 1947: Kuudes käsky
  • 1947: Kultamitalivaimo
  • 1949: Sinut minä tahdon
  • 1951: Aila, Pohjolan tytär
  • 1951: Rion yö
  • 1952: Salakuljettajan laulu
  • 1953: Pekka Puupää
  • 1953: 2 hauskaa vekkulia
  • 1953: Me tulemme taas
  • 1954: Kummituskievari
  • 1955: Veteran voitto
  • 1955: Villi Pohjola
  • 1955: Kaunis Kaarina
  • 1958: Kahden ladun poikki
  • 1960: Molskis, sanoi Eemeli, molskis!
  • 1961: Tähtisumua
  • 1964: X-paroni
  • 1970: Anna

Discography

  • Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen , 1949/1965
  • Reissumies ja kissa , 1949 (FI: goldgold)
  • Kulkuri ja joutsen , 1950
  • Isoisän olkihattu , 1951/1964
  • Ontuva Eriksson , 1951
  • Sininen uni , 1952
  • Juokse sinä humma , 1953
  • Huutolaispojan laulu , 1956
  • Kulkuriveljeni Jan , 1956
  • Yölinjalla , 1962
  • Tuopin jäljet , 1963
  • Häävalssi , 1969 (single, FI:goldgold)
  • Isoisän olkihattu , 1969 (single, FI:goldgold)
  • Vain merimies voi tietää , 1969 (single, FI:goldgold)
  • Korttipakka , 1976
  • Kulkurin taival 1946-1979 , 1979 (FI:goldgold)
  • Rice pulling taival , 1980 (FI:Double platinum× 2Double platinum )
  • Rice pulling taival 2 , 1983 (FI:goldgold)
  • En päivääkään vaihtaisi pois (FI:goldgold)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Just a Vagabond ( Memento from February 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Music Sales Awards: FI
personal data
SURNAME Rautavaara, Tapio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish athlete, musician and actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Pirkkala , Finland
DATE OF DEATH September 25, 1979
Place of death Helsinki , Finland