Martti "Masa" Elis Niemi (born 20 July 1914 in Viipuri – died 3 May 1960 in Tampere) was a Finnish actor. Niemi started his career as a drummer, but became popular as a comedian. He is most famous for his role as "Pätkä" in all thirteen original Pekka ja Pätkä movies. Other movies he has acted in include, for example, Majuri maantieltä. Masa Niemi's signature phrase in his role as Pätkä was "I know it's none of my business, but..." July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Not to be confused with the Danish town and county of Viborg in Jutland Viapori, a Finnish transcription of Sveaborg, better known as Suomenlinna castle Vyborg from the tower of the castle Vyborg (transcription of Russian Выборг) is a town with 70,000 inhabitants at Russias border to Finland... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Location within Finland Tampere (Swedish name Tammerfors) is a city in southern Finland located between two lakes: Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Pekka ja Pätkä is the name of several comedy films made in the 1950s in Finland, starring Esa Pakarinen as Pekka Puupää and Masa Niemi as Pätkä. The titles also refer to the main characters in these films. ... This is a list of personal signature phrases, i. ...

Tragical life of Masa Niemi

Niemi died in May 1960 of suicide, after frustration because lack of roles. He took an overdose of sleeping pills and died of intoxication. He left a suicide note saying: "Life is good when you're a zero! Good bye, Masa." Some people suppose his death could have been an accident. Masa Niemi suffered from disturbance of mental health and alcoholism. On May 31st,1960 a U-2B Francis Gary Powers was shot down near Sverdlovsk in the USSR by a Soviet surface to surface air missile. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... Alcoholism is a powerful craving for alcohol which often results in the compulsive consumption of alcohol. ...

Masa Niemi was only 154 cm (about 5 feet 6.299 inches) tall, but he is said to have drunk at least a bottle and a half of Koskenkorva hard liquor every day. By careful examination of the films, several scenes can be spotted where Niemi was drunk on set. For example, Niemi would never have agreed to do the scene where Pätkä is lifted with a crane 10 metres (about 32 feet 8.08 inches) up if he hadn't drunk a bottle of Koskenkorva just before. The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial and U.S. customary unit of length. ... Koskenkorva Viina (also known simply as Koskenkorva, or Kossu) is the most common clear spirit drink (38%) in Finland, produced by the state-owned alcohol company Altia. ... A tower crane with a pivoted main boom Cranes on the Shenska River, Cherepovets, Russia A crane is a tower or derrick equipped with cables and pulleys that is used to lift and lower materials. ... The metre, or meter, is a measure of length, approximately equal to 3. ...

A few years after Niemi's death, there was an attempt to search for a new Pätkä to accompany Pekka. The producer even had a new script ready. The attempt was cancelled, because it became obvious that no one but Masa Niemi could ever play Pätkä. After a couple of decades, Visa Mäkinen made two more Pekka Puupää films, with Jaakko Kallio playing Pätkä.

Filmography

• Suviyön salaisuus (Secret of summer night) (1945)
• Kipparikvartetti (Four skippers) (1952)
• Lentävä kalakukko (1953)
• Pekka Puupää (Peter Woodhead) (1953)
• Me tulemme taas (Here we come again) (1953)
• Pekka Puupää kesälaitumilla (Pekka and Pätkä on a summer holiday) (1953)
• Hei rillumarei! (1954)
• Pekka ja Pätkä lumimiehen jäljillä (1954)
• Taikayö (Magical night) (1954)
• Majuri maantieltä (The major from the roadside) (1954)
• Pekka ja Pätkä puistotäteinä (1955)
• Kiinni on ja pysyy eli Pekan ja Pätkän uudet seikkailut (1955)
• Pekka ja Pätkä pahassa pulassa (1955)
• Pekka ja Pätkä ketjukolarissa (1957)
• Pekka ja Pätkä salapoliiseina (1957)
• Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä (1957)
• Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla (On the Suez) (1958)
• Pekka ja Pätkä miljonääreinä (As millionaires) (1958)
• Ei ruumiita makuuhuoneeseen (No bodies in the bedroom) (1959)
• Yks' tavallinen Virtanen (Just an ordinary Finn) (1959)
• Pekka ja Pätkä mestarimaalareina (1959)
• Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut (Isaskar Keturi's wonderful adventures) (1960)
• Pekka ja Pätkä neekereinä (1960)
• Kaks' tavallista Lahtista (Two ordinary Finns) (1960)

External links

• Masa Niemi at The Internet Movie Database
• Masa Niemi on Finnish IMDB