Vesa-Matti Loiri

Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri (born 4 January 1945 in Helsinki) is a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004.

Vesa-Matti Loiri
Born (1945-01-04) 4 January 1945
Helsinki, Finland
Other namesVesku
Occupationactor, musician
AwardsJussi for Best Actor
1976 Rakastunut rampa
Honorary Jussi
1963 Pojat
Jussi for Best Supporting Actor
1982 Pedon merkki
Telvis
1984 Best Actor
1986 Best Actor
1987 Best Actor
1999 Special Telvis
Venla
1989 Special Venla

Life and career

Loiri became an actor in 1962, when he had a role in the movie Pojat, directed by Mikko Niskanen. Loiri did his most recognised work with comedian-director-producer Spede Pasanen, starting from Noin seitsemän veljestä. Spede and Loiri also developed his highly popular Uuno Turhapuro persona which would star in one of Finland's longest and most commercially successful film-series. In 2005, he starred in the film Shadow of the Eagle, which was directed by Timo Koivusalo. Six films starring Loiri are in the top 20 list of the highest-grossing domestic films in Finland. Total number of tickets sold to the screenings of these six films is 3,715,948.

As a musician, Loiri has performed compositions of Perttu Hietanen and Taisto Wesslin, Eino Leino's poems, Carl Michael Bellman's drinking songs and Juha "Watt" Vainio's songs. Loiri also plays the flute, a talent he put to use representing Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 in The Hague/Netherlands with the song "Huilumies", dedicated to his flute. He finished last in a field of 19 participating countries. During his career, Loiri has sold over 730,000 certified records in Finland and is currently the fifth-best-selling soloist and ninth-best-selling artist of all time in the country.[1][2][3][4][5][6] He was the voice of the Genie in the Finnish dub of Disney's Aladdin, even performing the musical number Friend Like Me.

Loiri appeared in the premiere of Aulis Sallinen's opera Kullervo in Los Angeles in 1992, creating the role of the blind singer.[7]

Loiri has also had a lifelong interest in sports. He held the office of Chairman of the Finnish billiards association for multiple years.

Awards
  • Honorary Jussi Award 1963 for his role in the film Pojat
  • Best male actor Jussi 1976 in Rakastunut rampa
  • Best supporting male actor Jussi 1982 in Pedon merkki
  • Jussi 1983 for his wide appearance in the year's films
  • Concrete Jussi 1998
  • Festival International du Film Indépendant awarded Loiri in Brussels in 2003 for his role in Pahat pojat
  • Best Actor Telvis in 1984, 1986 and 1987
  • Special Telvis in 1999
  • Special Venla in 1989
  • Black Nights Film Festival awarded Loiri in Tallinn for A Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010

Discography

Albums
Year Album Peak positions Certification
FIN
[8]
1971 4+20
1972 Vesku Suomesta
1973 Veskunoita
1974 Merirosvokapteeni Ynjevi Lavankopoksahdus
1977 Vesku Helismaasta
1978 Eino Leino
1980 Ennen viimeistä maljaa
1980 Eino Leino 2
1981 Vesa-Matti Loiri tulkitsee Oskar Merikannon lauluja
1983 Täällä Pohjantähden alla
1984 Lasihelmipeli
1985 Eino Leino 3
1986 Naurava kulkuri
1987 Voi hyvä tavaton
1988 Pim peli pom
1988 Sydämeeni joulun teen
1989 Unelmia
1990 Seitsemän kertaa
1994 Vesa-Matti Loiri
1995 Kaksin
1995 Uuno Kailas
1995 Nauravan kulkurin paluu
1997 Rurja
1998 Sydämeeni joulun teen 6
2000 Kirkkokonsertti  –
2001 Eino Leino 4 – Päivän laskiessa 6
2003 Ystävän laulut 1
2004 Ystävän laulut II – Albatrossi 2
2004 Ivalo 1
2004 Inari 1
2008 Kasari 1
2009 Hyvää puuta 2
2010 Skarabee 3
2011 4+20 (re-release) 3
2013 Tuomittuna kulkemaan 1
2014 Kaikkien aikojen Loiri 6
2015 Runoilijan tie 29
2016 Pyhät tekstit 4[9]

Compilations
Year Album Peak positions Certification
FIN
[8]
1973 Laulu on iloni ja työni
1992 Lapin kesä
1996 20 suosikkia – Lapin kesä
1996 20 suosikkia – Saiskos pluvan
1999 Lauluja rakastamisen vaikeudesta
2001 Kaikki parhaat
2001 Parhaat – Vesku Suomesta 18
2007 Ystävän laulut 1 & 2
(compilation of 2003 and 2004 albums)		 12
2008 Naurava Kulkuri – Huumorinkukkia 17
2012 Lauluni aiheet I 14
Lauluni aiheet II 27
Lauluni aiheet III 28

Singles
  • 2008: "Sydämeeni joulun teen" (reached No. 14 in the Finnish Singles Chart)
  • 2009: "Hyvää puuta" (reached No. 19 in the Finnish Singles Chart)

Filmography

See also

References
  1. "Vesa-Matti Loiri" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  2. "Vesa-Matti Loiri (Kusela)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  3. "Kaikkien aikojen myydyimmät kotimaiset albumit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  4. "Kaikkien aikojen myydyimmät ulkomaiset albumit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. "Kaikkien aikojen myydyimmät kotimaiset singlet" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  6. "Kaikkien aikojen myydyimmät ulkomaiset singlet" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. Milnes, Rodney. 'Kullervo' – a child of our time. Opera, June 1992, Vol 42, No 6, pp 652–655.
  8. "Vesa-Matti Loiri discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. http://ifpi.fi/tilastot/virallinen-lista/albumit/2016/43
Preceded by
Katri Helena
with Katson sineen taivaan		 Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
1980		 Succeeded by
Riki Sorsa
with Reggae OK
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.