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May 26, 2012
Ingmar Bergman 'switched at birth': report
Published: 26 May 11 09:56 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Updated: 26 May 11
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/34002/20110526/
Ingmar Bergman, the famed Swedish director who died in 2007, was not his mother's biological son, according to the results of an investigation by his niece published on Thursday.
- Fans revel in auction of Ingmar Bergman's personal effects (28 Sep 09)
- Bergman honoured in new stamps (7 Oct 07)
- Ingmar Bergman dead (30 Jul 07)
- Obituary: Ingmar Bergman (30 Jul 07)
The revelations, published in a new book by Bergman's niece Veronica Ralston, stem from an investigation she carried out after reading a book by author Louise Tillberg published last year which Tillberg argued that her father and uncle were siblings of Ingmar Bergman born to Hedvig Tillberg (nee Sjöberg).
"I contacted the board of forensic medicine to see if it was possible to perform a DNA analysis to clarify this," Ralston told DN.
"I suggested that they could use stamps which Ingmar Bergman had licked and sent on letters and postcards to his parents and compare them with my DNA."
Following the analysis, the agency informed Ralston, the biological granddaughter of Karin Bergman, that she and her famous film director uncle were not biologically related.
Ralston's sensational findings are presented in "Kärleksbarnet och bortbytingen" ('The love child and the changeling'), in which the author also attempts to offer an explanation for what happened.
"When my grandmother Karin Berman gave birth to her son on July 14th, 1918, she had been very sick for a long period of time and it's possible the baby didn't survive," according to Ralston.
"But I haven't checked with the hospital in Uppsala if there are any records of a stillborn baby, so that is just speculation. But I think that is exactly what happened and that her husband Erik then switched the child with a baby that Hedvig Sjöberg had previously given birth to in Stockholm."
Editors Note: In a previous version of this article, Bergman's niece, Veronica Ralston was erroneously referred to as his granddaughter.
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Just because something isn't of interest to YOU personally, doesn't negate the fact that it is News.
As for proofreading... although that IS a good trait for a news publication, the act of getting the news out is often a higher need that extended proofing (this has been the case of News issues for several hundred years)
Goes to show, if one does enough digging, they're bound to find a treasure : )
First, it seems that his niece is just looking for an easy way to make a name for herself. The other family, Sjoberg, was just looking to share in the limelight of his achievements for purposes of validation, perhaps, not for purposes of financial gain. His niece, however -- was it absolutely necessary to write a book?
I am a huge fan of Bergman, and have watched all of the documentaries. He was a very sad old man, filled with dread and regret, I wish so bad that I could have somehow provided him with comfort. And maybe this news would have comforted him, he seems to feel as if he was insufficient compared to his father, because he told a few lies as a child.
His father was a priest, no? is there any proof that his father is actually his father, or perhaps maybe his father had an affair with a woman other than his wife, and she gave the infant to the man she loved when his legal wife lost their own child? I don't believe this is necessary, because many poor people would give away their child if they had no chance to provide with it, and who better than a priest to bring it up.
If his father were guilty of infidelity, then perhaps Bergman really wasn't so different from his father, and it was extremely unfortunate that he spent his latter years torturing himself?
I don't know, I am disturbed by this whole issue. If you've ever seen the documentary "Richter: The Enigma" I find a similar situation -- one of the most unbelievably talented geniuses, who is unbelievably hard on himself. Because if these two men aren't happy, then what chance does someone like me ever have?