It was Thursday 19/10 that the tragic news that Lasse Berghagen passed away.
“Lars Berghagen, our Larsan, has today quietly fallen asleep after a long illness. As we previously told you, he underwent heart valve surgery in September from which his body never recovered,” the family writes in an email to TT.
On social media, the beloved Lasse is mourned by friends, family, colleagues and the Swedish people.
In an interview with Aftonbladet told Sanna Nielsen about his first meeting with Lasse.
“You watched the nervous little girl take her stumbling steps onto the singing stage for the first time and you held my hand and guided me so beautifully through the entire program. You were an amazing teddy bear who made everyone feel welcome and safe. Thank you for everything Lasse. You are in my heart forever,” she wrote.
“Thank you Lasse! You will forever be a glowing beacon within Swedish show business. It was a great honor to sing your immortal hit ‘Teddybjörnen Fredriksson’ for you on your birthday a few years ago, now you get to sleep on his arm”, writes the artist Magnus Carlsson.
Anders Lundin’s fond memory of Lasse Berghagen
Someone who shared a very nice memory of Lasse was Anders Lundin.
Anders Lundin was the one who took over as program manager for “Allsång på Skansen” after Lasse Berghagen.
– I remember him as a big, warm and happy person who had a very charming manner. He could call suddenly sometimes and then he had seen something he thought was very good and so he wanted to say it, says Anders Lundin and tells about an occasion when he and Berghagen were guests of “Allsång på Skansen” and that he wanted to invite him for a beer , he says in an interview with The Express.
– It was silly to get a beer before the program was finished and then I said: “But damn it, it’s Lasse Berghagen, of course he’s going to get a beer”. He was very grateful for that, says Lundin.
Lasse Berghagen was 78 years old.