1. Nils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid-1950s, known as "the male Greta Garbo".
16 Facts About Nils Asther
1. 2.
Nils Asther spent his first year as a foster child in Hyllie, Sweden with saddlemaker Rasmus Hellstrom and wife Emilia Kristina Moller.
3.
Nils Asther was christened in Hyllie on February 26,1897, before moving in with his biological parents who married on May 29,1898, in Malmo.
4.
In 1927, Nils Asther left for Hollywood, where his first film was Topsy and Eva.
5.
Nils Asther grew a thin mustache which amplified his suave appearance.
6.
Nils Asther was cast opposite Greta Garbo in Wild Orchids as the tempting Javanese Prince De Gace.
7.
Between 1935 and 1940, Nils Asther was forced to work in England after an alleged breach of contract led to a studio-based blacklist.
8.
Nils Asther returned to Hollywood in 1940, and although he made another 19 films up until 1949, his career was never the same, and he appeared mostly in small supporting roles.
9.
Nils Asther was a homosexual in a time when it was a dangerous social stigma, both personally and professionally.
10.
Nils Asther grew up in a deeply religious Lutheran home, believing homosexuality was a sin and society viewed homosexuality as a disease.
11.
In 1929 during filming on location in Catalina The Single Standard with Nils Asther, she was overheard berating the actor for grabbing her so roughly.
12.
Rumors exist from the early 1930s that Nils Asther had relationships with Swedish director Mauritz Stiller and Swedish writer Hjalmar Bergman and with other male colleagues.
13.
The middle of the book, written by Nils Asther, covers the years between his birth and his return to Sweden in 1958.
14.
Nils Asther did however, introduce Nils to her family, and to the Swedish painter Nils Dardel and his freethinking artistic circle.
15.
Nils Asther died on October 13,1981, at a hospital in Farsta, Stockholm.
16.
In 1960, Nils Asther was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 6705 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the film industry.