2009 deaths

Knut Sejersted Selmer (7 November 1924 – 25 March 2009) was a Norwegian legal scholar.
He was born in Aker as a son of professor Ernst Westerlund Selmer (1890–1971) and Ella Sejersted (1895–1968), and was the brother of Ernst Sejersted Selmer. He was a grandnephew of Johan Selmer and Jens Selmer and a first cousin of Francis Sejersted. He finished his secondary education at the Haagaas School in 1944 and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1949. He was a deputy judge in Nord-Troms and Fredrikstad between 1949 and 1952. In January 1950 he married Elisabeth Schweigaard.He was a research fellow at the University of Oslo from 1953 to 1959, took the dr.juris degree in 1958 on the thesis The Survival of General Average. A Necessity or an Anachronism?, and also had an average adjuster exam from 1954. He was appointed as a professor of insurance law at the University of Oslo in 1959, and remained here until 1989. He served as dean from 1970 to 1973. His fields in addition to insurance law were maritime law, tort, computer law and privacy law. His best known book was Forsikringsrett (1982), and he also expanded on Ragnar Knoph's basic law book together with Birger Stuevold Lassen, issued the fourth through seventh editions of Knophs oversikt over Norges rett between 1966 and 1975.Together with Jon Bing he organized the "department for EDB issues" in 1971, the current Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law, creating one of the world's first centres of research into that type of issues. Selmer he has also chaired the boards of the Norwegian Data Inspectorate and Lovdata.He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1961 and was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1993 as well as with the Defence Medal 1940–1945. He died in March 2009 in Oslo. A bust of him is located at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law.

Sjur Refsdal (30 December 1935 – 29 January 2009) was a Norwegian astrophysicist, born in Oslo. He is best known for his pioneer work on gravitational lensing, including the Chang-Refsdal lens.

Anne-Sofie Østvedt (later married Strømnæs) (2 January 1920 – 16 November 2009) was one of the leaders of the Norwegian intelligence organisation XU.
She started her resistance work by publishing underground newspapers, and in December 1941 XU recruited her. The Gestapo began hunting her in the autumn of 1942, and she had to live undercover for the rest of the war.
Despite her young age, she was vital to the organisation and was second in command, but her identity was a strict secret and almost none within the XU knew her. Since one of her cover names was "Aslak" - a male name in Norway - it was a huge surprise for many to meet her after the war was over.
After the end of the war she received a scholarship and from the summer of 1945 she studied chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, graduated with a master's degree and then returned to Norway in 1951. Studying with her in California was the leader of XU, Øistein Strømnæs, whom she married.

Astrid Borgny Folstad (31 May 1932 – 21 January 2009) was a Norwegian actress.
She was educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre from 1953 to 1956. She made her debut at the National Theatre in 1955, and was employed at Det Norske Teatret from 1956 to 1959 and at the National Theatre from 1959. She had ninety parts in total before retiring in 2003. She also appeared in several films and television series, including Kristin Lavransdatter. From 1970 to 1986 she was a teacher at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre.She was married to fellow actor Knut Risan. She resided at Høvik.

Finn Christensen (26 February 1920 – 28 February 2009) was a Norwegian painter and graphic artist.
He was born in Kristiania and attended the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts from 1945 to 1947. He had several substantial decorating assignments, among others at hospitals (Rikshospitalet 1964, Ullevål and Aker 1969), churches (Lambertseter 1967, Åssiden 1968) and NRK. The National Gallery of Norway owns the relief Relieff (1971–72) and nine drawings; works were also bought by Riksgalleriet, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Nationalmuseum, Statens Museum for Kunst and the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Arts Council Norway from 1985 to 1988.

Wayne Tippit (December 19, 1932 – August 28, 2009) was an American television and stage character actor. He was best known to television audiences for playing Ted Adamson on the 1970s and 1980s CBS soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, for five years. He later portrayed Palmer Woodward, the father of Heather Locklear's character, Amanda Woodward, on the Fox primetime soap opera, Melrose Place, during the 1990s.

Donald MacCormick (16 April 1939 – 12 July 2009) was a Scottish broadcast journalist.

Mosse Jørgensen (3 January 1921 – 30 June 2009) was a Norwegian school principal and non-fiction writer.
She is especially remembered as a co-founder and the first principal of a reformed secondary school in Oslo in 1967, Forsøksgymnaset. She published the book Kunsten å overleve med en tenåring i huset in 1969. Her book Fra skoleopprør til opprørsskole from 1971 was translated into eight languages. She was awarded the Medal of St. Hallvard in 1993, and the Ole Brumm prize in 1998.

Knut Eidem (24 December 1918 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian journalist and non-fiction writer.
He was a brother of Odd Eidem. While a student at the University of Oslo, Knut Eidem was among those rounded up following the 1943 University of Oslo fire, arrested and sent to Sennheim concentration camp. He remained incarcerated here until the camp was liberated.As a writer he published a book about the fire, Aulaen brenner (1980), and also the commercial success Rui-jentene som kom til Kongen (1974), then Se deg i speilet (1975), Før vi vandrer (1981) and Cato (1983, about Cato Zahl Pedersen). His journalist career was spent in Dagbladet from 1950 to 1990. He died in January 2009.

Torstein Eliot Berg Grythe (24 November 1918 – 1 May 2009) was a Norwegian choir leader.
He was born in Kristiania as a son of tailor Endre Grythe (1882–1955) and Asta Berg (1897–1978). He enrolled in violin studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 1927, and joined the boys' choir Olavsguttene in 1928 and Oslo Domkor in 1932. He became vice conductor under Arild Sandvold. In 1940 he started the boys' choir Sølvguttene ("The Silver Boys"). During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany he was arrested on 29 November 1943 and was imprisoned in Grini concentration camp until 23 December. In August 1946 he married civil servant Eva-Marie Lindegaard.Sølvguttene was ultimately organized in relation to Operation Weserübung. Grythe had played the viola in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation radio orchestra since 1937. In 1951 he was appointed as conductor of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation boys' choir, founded in 1947. The choir was incorporated into Sølvguttene in 1967, and conducted the choir until 2004.He also conducted other choirs, including the Bondeungdomslaget men's choir in 1952 and the Norwegian Student Choral Society from 1973 to 1976. He was a music teacher at Foss Upper Secondary School from 1955 to 1972 and at Oslo Teachers' College from 1972 to 1987.He was decorated with The King's Medal of Merit in gold, the Medal of St. Hallvard and the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. He received silver and gold records, the Spellemann Honorary Award in 1990, and the Gammleng Prize in 1996.