Alf Prøysen () (23 July 1914 – 23 November 1970) was a Norwegian author, poet, playwright, songwriter and musician. Prøysen was one of the most important Norwegian cultural personalities in the second half of the 20th century. He worked in several different media including books, newspapers and records. He also made significant contributions to music as well as to television and radio. He also wrote in the Arbeiderbladet from 1954 until his death. He was also noted for his series of books featuring Mrs. Pepperpot (Norwegian: Teskjekjerringa). The fictional character of a series of children's books established him as a children's author. The series of books were first published during 1956 and was first published in English in 1959. Background He was born Alf Olafsen at Rudshøgda in Ringsaker in Hedmark county, Norway. He was the son of Olaf Andreassen (1880–1959) and Julie Mathiasdatter (1879–1961). He was raised as the youngest of four children born to a rural farm family. Career Prøysen became an apprentice at the Norwegian School of Applied Sciences, where he was a copywriter and actor in the annual student reviews from 1942–45. He became associated with NRK, making his recording debut in 1947. Prøysen soon became a national celebrity. Through songs such as Husmannspolka, Tango for to, Lillebrors vise, Du ska få en dag i mårå, Julekveldsvis, Jørgen Hattemaker, Musevisa and Romjulsdrøm he became extremely popular through the 1950s and 1960s. Prøysen contributed to many artistic fields: children's radio, short stories, theater and music. Most of his stories and songs took place in an environment similar to the rural village where he grew up. In 1945 he debuted with Dørstokken heme, a collection of short stories. His only novel Trost i taklampa (1950) was a success both as a book and as a play. He was frequently featured on radio and television programs during the 1950s and 1960s. Prøysen was awarded the Norwegian Cultural Council Honorary Prize (Norsk kulturråds ærespris) in 1970. A large part of Prøysen's writing consisted of short stories. Much of his production was made for children. The first stories about Teskjekjerringa were published in the magazine Kooperatøren. In 1956 the first book of a series about Teskedsgumman was published. From 1967, Swedish television featured a popular series. In the 1980s, a Japanese cartoon series for 130 episodes was made. Teskjekjerringa was published in the Penguin Books classic series becoming an international success.