Teuvo Tulio - The Finnish Valentino
Teuvo Tulio
- born Theodor Antonius Tugai in St Petersburg August 23, 1912, childhood in Latvia
- moved to Finland after his mother’s second marriage to a Finn; grew up in Helsinki
- became one of Finland’s most influential film directors and producers after an early career as silent film star
- probably his greatest star was Regina Linnanheimo, the sexy “bad girl” of Finnish post-war cinema
- “best Finnish director ever”, according to Aki Kaurismäki
- famous for his melodramatic, erotic, and taboo-breaking cinematography; filmed the first toilet scene in Finnish cinema; his final movie was censored from television
- one of Finland’s truly international cultural workers, with mysterious ethnic background. Most sources call him Latvian, while some refer to him as “Latvian-Turkish-Polish-Persian”. He spoke several languages, among them Yiddish, which impressed Paramount boss Adolph Zukor when they met in the late 1940’s. His “exotic looks” earned him some rather odd roles in his early career as an actor. He debuted as a gypsy Casanova with fiery black eyes, which earned him the title of a Finnish Valentino. (Teuvo in a fancy “gypsy” shirt) Later, he also played a rugged Lapp hunter. (Teuvo in a fur hat)
When I first read about Teuvo Tulio, his surname “Tugai” sounded very Tatar to my ears. Tulio’s facial features also reminded me of my father, who is half Tatar. It has also been typical of the Finnish Tatars to ‘inofficially’ change their names to more Finnish-sounding ones, although they have kept their original names. Tulio had the habit of using his original name occasionally, for example when filming Swedish-language versions of his early movies. Another clue!
I first wrote about Theodor Tugai in my old blog Yellow Peril, 12th December 2004. Back then, it was difficult to find information about him on the net, and it hasn’t become much easier since then. The only confirmation of Tulio’s Tatar origin this far has come from my father, who told me that Tulio himself affirmed that he was part Tatar… though I don’t know when, or where… Will it remain a mystery?
There are Tatar minorities all over the world, especially in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Many of these groups are struggling to build a stronger identity against the various conformist nation-states that they inhabit. These Tatars are often enthusiastic to learn about successful “relatives”. I hope some of them can enjoy the story of Tulio. Others may feel disappointment in learning about his name-change and his (almost) total assimilation.
Myself, I feel more than a bit ambiguous about such an exclusive concept of identity. I imagine an individual to consist of many parts, but the individual is greater than the sum of her/his parts. What we inherit from our parents is only one step in some direction; the rest of the road is ours to navigate. There should be nothing strange in Tulio/Tugai’s choice to live as a Latvian/Tatar/Polish/Persian turned Finn; I’m intrigued by his refusal to choose between his birth name and his Finnish name - why not have both? It would be interesting to analyze his life work from the perspective of the outsider who is a master of adaptation and assimilation, but also profiting from his “otherness”, and maybe even changing the viewpoint of the native majority - making the Finns see themselves as the exotic other… (The silent and industrious farmer suddenly in the grip of foreign passions, committing adultery in the haystack, while even the familiar and safe landscape of the farmlands is turning to a wild and tortuous scene of drama…)
Exhibition at Tennispalatsi in Helsinki - in Finnish
Teuvo Tulio in memoriam - Film Archive of Finland - in Finnish
Finnish Artists tempted by Hollywood fame - in English
Muzeju Vestnesis has an article about Tulio in Latvian