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Pertti Reponen (1941-1998) - pseudonym Alan Dorkin |
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Finnish television comedy writer, director, and producer. Pertti Reponen also made texts for several songs, translating and writing lyrics among others for such singers or groups Danny, Kirka, Katri-Helena, Tapio Heinonen, Matti&Teppo, Tapani Kansa, Hortto Kaalo, Carola, and Paula Koivuniemi. Minulta usein kysytään, mistä ihmeen tuutista syntyvät nämä ideat ohjelmieni sketseihin. Vastaus on aika yksinkertainen. Kun katselee ympärilleen tässä armaassa Suomenmaassa, kun avaa aamulehden tai kuuntelee uutislähetyksiä, saa joka päivä todeta mitä uskomattomampia hölmöilyjä, epäoikeudenmukaisuuksia ja järjettömyyksiä yhteiskunnassamme, eli hyviä aiheita. Niiltä ei voi välttyä. Jos joku joskus jää huomaamatta, valppaat ystävät kyllä kantelevat sen sketsinkirjoittajalle. (from 'Esipuhe,' in Pertsan parhaita by Alan Dorkin alias Pertti Reponen, Porvoo: Werner Söderström, 1988, p. 7) Pertti ("Pertsa") Reponen was born in Joensuu, the son of Armas Reponen, an office manager, and Hilkka (Ryynänen) Reponen. He studied in Lahti and after graduating, he found in 1963 a job as a camera man in the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE). In 1966 he married Angela Carole Wyner, whom he had met in England. The marriage was happy; they had three children, one of whom, Stefi, studied camera and scriptwriting. When Reponen launched his career on TV, it was still a relatively young form of entertainment in Finland. The first regular public TV programs had been broadcast in the mid-1950s. Increasing employment opportunities in the field attracted a wide variety of talented people. In the 1960s Pertti (Spede) Pasanen, a writer, actor, and producer, made his breakthrough as the most popular and innovative pioneer in comedy. When he began to focus more and more of his creative energies on the movie business, new scriptwriters and producer emerged to fill the growing demand for TV comedy series, among them Jussi Tuominen, Reponen, and Neil Hardwick, whose English background marked his sense of humor. Among Hardwick's early works were the series Tankki täyteen, set on a gas station, and Reinikainen, about a jovial policeman from the country. Tenho Saurén played the title role, and became the best PR man for police. From 1963 to 1967 Reponen worked behind the camera, but in 1967 he
joined the entertainment department as a producer and director. The comedy show Ilkamat, which contained
loosely connected sketches written by Jukka Virtanen, Matti Kuusla. and others, was a great success.
"Onko muuten mikään kamalampaa kuin tilanne, joka koitui monen kohdalle
viime maanantaina. Edellisenä lauantaina oli telkkarista tullut sekä
Viikonloppu, missä Timo Bergholm ja Rakel Wihuri pöyhyttelivät
toistensa pintasilauksia että Ilkamat, jossa ladeltiin huulta kuin
meren mutaa. Minä onneton en nähnyt kumpaakaan. Ja maanantaina,
tiistaina ja keskiviikkona ei sitten mistään muusta keskusteltukaan
kuin noista kahdesta ohjelmasta." ('Punaisen tuvan tarinoita viikon vaihtuessa: Varsinaista hermolepoa' by P i i [Pirkko Kolbe], Helsingin Sanomat, No. 30, 01.02.1970, p. 18) Riding on the success of the show, the team published a book, titled Ilkamat: Kuluneet ja ennen kulumattomat vitsit ja sketsit samannimisestä televisio-ohjelmasta (1970), which collected the best sketches. In
the 1960s, Reponen contributed to folk music movement. He was a member of Finn Trio, and after leaving it he joined Hootenanny
Trio, which introduced Finnish audiences to hillbilly and polka music.
Reponen sang and played the banjo; other members of the trio were
Juhani Joutsenniemi (guitar, vocals) and Keijo Räikkönen (guitar,
vocals). Their debut LP from 1966 contained
'Esplanadi,' a sad story about a bad hangover, song and
text by Keijo Räikkönen: "Sinä yönä minä itkin / yksin murheissain /
kuljin Esplanadia pitkin". Reponen made the lyrics to 'Tatuoitu
nainen' (A tattooed woman): "Ja selässä oli nakkisämpylä / ja
poskillaan oli kartta maan /
Voitko usko ollenkaan?" In 1966 Reponen was hired to write song lyrics for Scandia-Musiikki, where Jaakko Salo worked as the record producer. In
1968 Reponen traveled with Salo,
Jyrki Hämäläinen and Danny (Illkka Lipsanen) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Danny sang the song 'I'll Find a Place for Me Someday' at the
Festival Internacional da Cancao; the lyrics were made by Reponen. Moreover, Reponen penned the lyrics to many other hit
songs recorded by Danny: 'Painajainen' (Mas que
nada), 'Maantieltä taloon' (Son of My Father), 'Se eikö todista että
muutuin'
(If I Promise), 'Tuulensuojaan' (Yellow River), 'Räystäät jos tippuu'
(Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head). Danny's 'Lapselle' was a Finnish
version of Freddie Aguilar's song of a prodigal son 'Anak,' but Reponen
turned the set-up around: the parents have failed their
children: "Nyt nähdä lähes vihaa voin, kun vanhempiisi katsot noin / Sä mitä näät, sä koitko vääryyden." (Danny: Minulta Sinulle by Markku Veijalainen, Helsinki: Readme.fi, 2016, pp. 116-119) In 1978, Reponen was nominted as Lyricist of the Year at the Tampere Music Festivals. He said in an interview, that has been interested in song lyrics since his teens. "Koulupoikana Pertti Reponen alkoi tehdä "runonpätkiä ja pilkkalauluja". Todenteolla hän ryhtyi sanoittamaan jo ennen kuin folkkausi käynnistyi 60-luvun alkupuolella Suomessa. "Sanoitukseni olivat tekniikaltaan ok jo tuolloin."" ('Sanoittaja on tilausrunoilija' by Mattiesko Hytönen, Helsingin Sanomat, No. 215, 13.08.1978, p. 20) In the late 1980s, the American singer and songwriter Lee
Hazlewood, who knew that Reponen had translated his song into
Finnish, was surprised of how much royalties he got from this country. When
Hazlewood called Reponen, he learned that behind the success was a
young singer,
Anna Hanski, who had recorded a Finnish version of his ballad
'Kotiviini' (Summer Wine). It was a hit in
Finland, twenty-two years after Hazlewood had originally recorded it
with Nancy Sinatra. Reponen changed some lines:
the wine is made of strawberries, cherries and apples (not of
"Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring"), and there are
no "silver spurs, a dollar and a dime" that the mysterious woman steals
from the man drinking too much of her wine. The Finnish rock musician and novelist Kauko Röyhkä listed 'Hetki lyö' (Beat the Clock by Richard Gottehrer and Jon Stroll) to which Reponen wrote the Finnish words and which was made popular by Kirka & The Islanders, among the 101 best rock lyrics. "Hetki lyö, / riittänyt ei yö, / mukaan tulla et sä voi / nyt lausun sulle: "Näkemiin." (Now it's time / the night's been too short / you can't come with me / and I must say "farewell" to you." Because of serious illness – rheumatism – Reponen retired from YLE but continued to write for television and founded his own production company. He preferred to work at home, where the constant background noise of children, domestic animals, and radio and television only inspired him. Through the influence of his wife Angela, Reponen also incorporated nuances of English humor to Finnish television shows. A very prolific writer, Reponen created for the television
company MTV3 twelve series in the period of 15 years. His comedies
include Ällitälli, Merirosvoradio, Valehtelijoiden klubi, Älywapaa palokunta, Soitinmenot, Velipuolikuu, Kissa vieköön, Paha yskä, Heksa ja Leksa, Siivotaan siivotaan, Vesku rempallaan, Wiisikko, Sketsofrenia, Kolmannen korvapuusti, and Jäitä hattuun. "Soitinmenojen kirjoittajaryhmä on pitkälle sama kuin Älywapaassa palokunnassa. Kynän jälki on kuitenkin tällä kertaa leppeämpi, harmittomampi, voi sanoa, tyhjempikin." ('Jatkeen jatkeen jatke' by Jukka Kajava, Helsingin Sanomat, No. 252, 16.09.1985, p. 47) Reponen's musical play, Elämän sait soimaan, was produced in 1994. An important collaborator was the composer and singer Aarno Raninen, who set the music to the TV comedies Älywapaa palokunta, Soitinmenot, and Kolmannen korvapuusti, all scripted by Reponen. Ällitälli(1971; 16 episodes), which Reponen directed for YLE, received the Bronze Rose at the international Rose d'Or Festival of Montreux in 1972 (the Golden Rose went to Marty Feldman's Comedy Machine). In addition, Reponen received Venla award in 1987, and several awards for his lyrics for songs. Pappia kyydissä (1998), starring Santeri Kinnunen as a chaplain in trouble,
was Reponen's last TV series. He had a kidney transplant and
dialysis treatments. But
optimistic by nature, he made jokes about his illness. "It has been
examined, that laughter can heal," he said. "Tärkeintä huumorin
synnyssä on oivallus: kyky nähdä tavallisia asioita eri kulmasta,
löytää uusia erilaisia näkökulmia, "uusia tasoja tavalliseen
junttaamiseen". Vaikeinta on tarjota lopputulos niin, että toinenkin
kokee saman oivalluksen." ('Kaikelle on voitava nauraa' by Päivi Syrjänen, Helsingin Sanomat, No. 225, 20.8.1991, p. A 4)
Pertti Reponen died of cancer in Helsinki on August 31, 1998. He left behind a huge debt. Reponen's widow
has said that it took 16 years to pay back the loans and taxes. ('Sanoittajalegenda
Pertsa Reposen leski maksoi miehensä velkoja 16 vuotta: Olin hänelle
vihainen kymmenen vuotta' by Maiju Majamaa, Iltalehti, 20.09.2015) Reponen's TV comedies drew on the performances of such actors as Heikki Kinnunen, who featured in several
productions, Leo Lastumäki, Erkki Liikanen, Eija Ahvo, Susanna
Haavisto, Erkki Saarela, Pentti Siimes, Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, and Kari
Hietanen. Ideas for his scripts Reponen found from family life, basic
characters of the Finnish folk humour, topical issues, and the British
comedy tradition starting from Monty Python. Although Reponen utilized
internationally known comedy forms, his point of view was profoundly
Finnish. The scope of subjects was wide: machismo, toasters,
digestion, dwarftossing, priests, beauty queens, know-alls, fire brigades, marriage, infidelity,
and so on. Nevertheless, Reponen rarely touched
upon political subjects, except mocking Helsinki's municipal
politics. In one sketch Mayor Hilasvitku tells that the city plans to
set a submarine on Töölönlahti (Töölö bay) as a turist trap – all
town residents know that the bay is small, low, and muddy. But there
is a truth behind the joke. The Finnish submarine Vesikko
from the 1930s can be found on the island Fortress of Suomenlinna and in the
1990s the businessman Jari Komulainen opened to the public a Soviet Foxtrot class submarine in Helsinki. (Komulainen was married to the daughter of President Mauno Koivisto.) Many of the sayings from
Reponen's
sketches – as "Aha," "Mielenkiintoista..."
(Interesting...), "Onks Viljoo näkyny?" (Have you seen Viljo?),
and "Lycka till" (Good luck) – became part of everyday speech. Viljo's friend Heikki is the prototype of a Finnish
man – he is dressed in an undershirt and sweat pants. A bottle of
Koskenkorva liquor sticks out from the hip pocket. He has old black
shoes without socks, a peaked cap, and he smokes a cigar and is
constantly searching his mystical friend Viljo, who is never seen
anywhere. The character was not planned. Viljo was first introduced to the TV audience in Älywapaa palokunta.
As Kinnunen recalls: "Pertsa toi A4-lapulla Vilosohvit-nimisen sketsin,
jossa toinen mies kysyi 'Onks Viljoo näkyny?' Toinen sanoi ei, johon
kysyjä vastasi aha, ja käveli pois. Siinä sitten aloin miettiä Mikkelin
miehiä, jotka käyttävät lyhyeenkin keskusteluun reilusti aikaa ja
taukoja, pälyilevät ympäriinsä ja pössyttelevät tupakkaa, siitä se
Viljo alkoi muotoutua." (Heikki Kinnunen: tarinankertojan elämät by Elisa Heilala, Helsinki: Tammi, 2016, p. 203) Reponen's minimalist Beckettian dialogue perhaps appeals only to the Finnish sense of humor. HEIKKI: Viljo's character inspired the film Onks Viljoo näkynyt? (1988), produced by Spede Pasanen and directed by Hannu Seikkula. In 1981 Pasanen wrote the comedy Pölhölä (The
Village of Simpletons). Directed by
Reponen, Heikki
Kinnunen, and Taavi Kassila, it was shot in fifteen days. The story was set in a village populated
by all kinds of ignoramus. Critics were lukewarm but the film reached
an audience of 157,000 viewers in cinemas. Time has not made the film
any better. "80-luvun
kehnoimpia sutaisuja on tämä käsittämätön idiotiakomedia, jonka
tuotannosta vastaa Spede. Heikki Kinnunen, Aake Kalliala, Helge Herala,
Olavi Ahonen ynnä muut esiintyvät pölhölän kylään sijoitetussa
farssiveltoksessa, jossa Käppyrän suku ja väki toheloi." (Mikael Fränti, in Helsingin Sanomat, No. 271, 04.10.1993, p. D 8) Reponen's
other screen credits include Piilopirtti (1978), co-scripted with Seppo Huunonen and Vesa Nuotio, and the pessimistic comedy Koomikko
(1983), written with Matti Ijäs and Heikki Kinnunen. These films were
received with mixed critical reaction, too. Leo Lastumäki's performance
in Koomikko was praised in Helsingin Sanomat.
"Leo Lastumäki tekee . . . erään elämänsä parhaista töistä. Hän
paljastaa hätkähdyttävän terävästi komiikan takana olevan pessimismin,
väsymyksestä nousevan julmuuden." ('Koomikot ovat surullisia miehiä' by Helana Ylänen, Helsingin Sanomat, No. 70, 12.03.1983, p. 18) However, the film failed at the box office with only 14,000 admissions. For further reading: Suomi, minun maani: sodanjälkeisen sukupolven tuntoja tämän päivän Suomessa, edited by Salme Sauri (1987); 'Kaikelle on voitava nauraa' by Päivi Syrjänen, Helsingin Sanomat (20.8.1991); Kuka kukin on: henkilötietoja nykypolven suomalaisista = Who's Who in Finland, edited Irja Hämäläinen, Risto Rantala, Hannakatri Hollmén (1994); Yleisradion historia. 2. osa, 1949-1996: aikansa oloinen by Raimo Salokangas (1996); Yleisradion historia. 3. osa, 1926-1996: tekniikka, kaiken perusta by Kari Ilmonen (1996); Elon aika by Aarre Elo (1996); 'Pölhölä,' in Suomen kansallisfilmografia. 9, 1981-1985: vuosien 1981-1985 suomalaiset kokoillan elokuvat, edited by Sakari Toiviainen, et al. (2000); Get on: 101 rocklyriikan parasta, edited by Kauko Röyhkä (2000); 'Lapselle,' in Danny: Minulta Sinulle by Markku Veijalainen (2016) Selected works:
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