Kar de Mumma

Erik Harald Zetterström, better known by his pen name Kar de Mumma, was a towering figure in 20th‑century Swedish humor, whose career spanned nearly eight decades and left an indelible mark on both stage and print. Born on 14 August 1904 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish, Stockholm, he began writing for the daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet at the astonishing age of eighteen, and his witty columns would appear there from 1922 until the mid‑1990s, making him one of the longest‑serving humorists in Swedish media. Over the course of his life he published an annual collection of light‑hearted essays, memories and observations each autumn, a tradition that delighted readers for thirty years and cemented his reputation as a chronicler of everyday Swedish life. In the theatrical realm, Kar de Mumma’s influence was equally profound; in the 1920s and 1930s he crafted many of the most beloved revues, blending satire, wordplay, and musical parody to great acclaim. His most iconic contribution came between 1956 and 1978, when the revues he authored for Stockholm’s Folk‑theatre (Folkan) – especially the eponymous Kar de Mumma revue – became an institution, drawing audiences night after night and shaping the modern Swedish revue tradition. Beyond his public successes, Zetterström’s personal style was marked by a playful irreverence that permeated everything from his stage directions to his newspaper prose, inviting readers and theatre‑goers alike to view the world through a lens of gentle mockery and affectionate observation. Though he retired from regular column writing in the mid‑1990s, his legacy endured, influencing generations of comedians, playwrights and journalists who continue to cite his work as a benchmark for Swedish humor. He passed away on 7 July 1997 in Engelbrekt Parish, Stockholm, leaving behind a body of work that remains a cornerstone of Sweden’s cultural heritage.