Kaj (Kay) Gynt(pseudonym of Karin Sophia Matthiessen; néeKarin Sophia Cederstrand; 24 October 1885 – 1956) was a Swedish-turned-American actress and, for one notable 1927 Broadway musical, a book writer.
Career
Actress
Before emigrating to New York, Gynt performed three years with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. In America, she played Kate in the 1917 film The Eternal Mother[A] and was a skating party guest in the 1917 film, The Last Sentence, directed by Ben Turbett. In 1921, Gynt played Clorinda in Henry Bataille's 3-act romantic comedy, Don Juan, at the Garrick Theatre, New York.[B]
Author
She authored the book for the 1927 Broadway musical revue, Rang Tang.[C] She also co-authored, in 1936 with Langston Hughes, a proposed production, Cock o' the World, music by Duke Ellington, Wilbur Hughes Strickland, MD (1903–1987), and Billy Strayhorn. The work was never performed.[1]
Growing up, emigration, marriage, and family
Gynt grew-up in Stockholm and was friends with Greta Garbo.[D][E] At age 22, she and Harold Gustav Frederic Matthiessen (1883–1940) arrived at Ellis Island, New York, December 21, 1907, aboard the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria from Cuxhaven.[Genealogy 1] That same day, they married each other at the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church,[Genealogy 2] 155 East 22nd Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues). Their marriage was officiated by Rev. Dr. Johan Gustaf Mauritz Stolpe (1858–1938), son of composer Gustav Stolpe (1833–1901). In 1917, Harold and Karin both became United States naturalized citizens.[citation needed]
Family
Gynt's husband, Harold Mattiessen, was a graduate of Swedish Royal University.[citation needed] Gynt's brother, Sölve Cederstrand (1900–1954), was a Swedish journalist, screenwriter, and film director. Another brother, Ragnar Cederstrand (1891–1935), was a Swedish film critic.[citation needed]
^Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Swedish American Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, and Burials; Parish: Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church (re: "Harold Gustaf F. Matthiesson" and "Karin Sofia Cederstrand," December 21, 1907, New York, New York); ELCA Film No. S190(3); SSIRC Film No. S-190 (accessible viaAncestry.com; subscription required)
(Part 1 of 2), Vol. 11, No. 33, August 18, 1934, p. 5 (Part 2 of 2), Vol. 11, No. 34, August 25, 1934, p. 28
Republished: "The Shy, Sad Little Girl Who Became a Star," San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 1982, p. 48 (accessible viaGenealogyBank.com; subscription required)
^"The Vikings Come Again" (photo of Kaj Gynt included), by Walter Bodin (né Walter Beliveau Bodin; 1889–1968), Pantomime, Vol. 2, No. 4, January 28, 1922, p. 8
