Simo Veli Atte Salminen (8 November 1932 – 2 September 2015)[1] was a Finnish comic-actor best known for his many performances in movies and television shows by Spede Pasanen, usually playing his sidekick in some fashion.

[2] Salminen is best remembered for the role of the luckless mechanic Sörselssön, working at an auto-repair shop with the foul-mouthed Härski Hartikainen (Pasanen) in the Uuno Turhapuro film series.

Jukka Virtanen, director of Millipilleri and Noin 7 Veljestä, has said of Salminen that he complimented Spede on-screen by being naturally funny and without stealing the spotlight.

[4] He originally trained as a pastry chef, an occupation he practiced for 20 years between 1947-1967, before choosing to focus entirely on the entertainment industry.

Salminen was also adversely affected by the downturn and recession experienced in Finland during the early 1990s, which led to the financial problems with his company Lasilandia.