My Family & Max von Sydow

I’ve always meant to share a family story about Max von Sydow. Now feels timely. The actor passed in March one month shy of his ninety-first birthday. To honor him, Turner Classic Movies aired THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957) on Friday as part of its virtual film festival, TCMFF: Special Home Edition. My story comes from my dad’s side of the family, from his Finnish side.

When my father was somewhere between eleven and thirteen, von Sydow appeared at a Finnish Luthern church on Cape Cod. He can’t remember which town or church. My dad thinks the church was in Wareham or Carver. Cape Cod saw a large influx of Finnish immigrants in the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century. The churches they built exist today.

Dad remembers his mother Siiri saying, we are going to this! A firm declaration from a mother of six boys whose births spanned fourteen years. Also a warning not to cause any problems to prevent attending.

I asked Dad if my grandmother had a crush on von Sydow. While younger, her husband Philip looked like Henry Fonda, but when he was older when I knew him, he was a tall, thin man with a long face. Not Swedish looking. Irish looking. He was that and Scottish. Maybe she had a type generally? Dad thinks she was excited to meet a movie star.

My grandmother and her relatives turned the von Sydow visit into an informal family reunion. Some regularly frequented the church and were there from its start. Dad had multiple family members who worked on the church. He remembered his uncle Paul wired the building.

My father’s extended family descended on the church to attend the service and meet the artist. Dad said the ceremony ended and von Sydow eventually exited the meeting hall. He walked down the steps, and soon he was surrounded by an eager crowd, including my family members who’d fondly reminisce about meeting him around young me.