Torben Ulrich, father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, has died at the age of 95.
In a tribute posted to Instagram, Lars paid tribute to his dad.
“95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing…. and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude,” the drummer wrote. “Thank you endlessly! I love you dad.”
Who Was Torben Ulrich?
Born in Copenhagen in 1928, Torben enjoyed a successful career as both an amateur and professional tennis player, twice winning the Antwerp International singles title and spending several years as a member of the Danish Davis Cup team. He also pursued a career as a music journalist, writing for various Danish newspapers and magazines.
The elder Ulrich was also a musician, playing clarinet and saxophone (among other instruments) and contributing to a variety of projects over the years. Most recently, Torben released Oakland Moments: Cello, Voice, Reuniting (Rejoicing), a collaboration with composer Lori Goldston, in 2022.
Mick Wall’s 2012 book Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica described Torben as “A long-haired, splendidly whiskered Gandalf-like figure whose obsession with physical and mental fitness continued long after his professional sports career ended.”
The book also quoted a 2005 interview in which Torben described his busy lifestyle: “Maybe I played tennis in the afternoons, and then would go play music at night, and then after that I had to go up to the newspaper and write reviews, and after that maybe I would meet some of my friends in the morning and have breakfast, and then I had to go to band practice at noon and play tennis at 3:00. All of a sudden, I hadn’t slept in three or four days.”
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Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
