Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson (born 8 September 1958) is a Swedish fashion designer and drag artist. Mostly known for his performances as the character Babsan (IPA:[ˈbâbsan]), he was educated as a typographist and art director.
Biography
Wilhelmsson was a successful ballroom dancer in his youth.[1] In 1979, he formed a group of drag artists called Surprise Sisters along with friends.[2] During the 1980s, he was often hired as a male striptease dancer, mostly at the nightclub Bacchi Wapen in Stockholm.[3]
He also made the costumes for his character Babsan when he performed in the After Dark show along with Christer Lindarw in 2013. He has also presented a few episodes of the Sveriges Radio late-night show Karlavagnen during the summer of 2014.[9]
His first appearance as Babsan was for the television show Kullagret on SVT in 1986, under the stage name of Baby Doll Karlsson. When the character was due to appear in a live show on ZTV, the presenter Anders S. Nilsson forgot his name and instead called him Babsan and that name has been used ever since.[10]
Babsan's character is of a happy, outspoken middle aged woman who uses glitter and glamour to make her days less boring.[11] Part of the joke is that Babsan's husband, a taxi driver called Gunnar which the audience never gets to meet, is a very ordinary and boring man. Babsan made her TV debut as a recurring figure in the 1992 show Babbla med Babsan.[12] The show also aired on TV3 during 1994 and 1996, giving her a total of three seasons and eight episodes. Babsan also appeared as a guest in the SVT teen comedy series En klass för sig in 2000.[13] She is also a hostess at the gay-nights at the nightclub "Lady Patricia" in Stockholm.[14]
In 2006, Babsan appeared in her own kids shows called Bubbla med Babsan and TV Myra respectively, both airing on TV4.[13] In 2008 she appeared in every episode of Allsång på Skansen, and presented a webshow after each episode.[15] And in one episode on SVT, she performed her own song called "Jetset Babsan".[16]
In late 2009, Wilhelmsson appeared both as Babsan and as other characters in the After Dark Tour. A recorded version of the show aired on SVT on New Year's Eve in 2011.[11][16]
In 2010, Babsan appeared in the kids game show Wild Kids during one of the missions for the kids. In 2011, she participated in Melodifestivalen with the song "Ge mig en spanjor", in the semifinal although the song was voted seventh out of eight songs and did not make the final.[17]
