[3] Herding was born in Fredrikstad, the son of the actor and revue writer Arne Svendsen and Cecilie Fischer (1886–1957).
Hjorten had been a very popular stage since its was established in 1867, but in 1925 the theater experienced hardship and poor audiences.
In the first years under Herding's management, the theater experienced an upswing, but in 1928 the audience began to dwindle again.
[2][3] In 1933, Herding appeared in Tancred Ibsen's feature film Op med hodet!, which was considered very avant-garde cinematically.
[4] The film premiered in 1934, and is about a naive country boy who comes to the capital, falls in love with an actress, and decides to take to the stage.