Elisabeth Bergner(1897-1986)
- Actress
- Producer
Elisabeth Bergner was the daughter of the merchant Emil Ettel and his
wife Anna Rosa Wagner. She grew up in Vienna, and she made her theatre
debut in Innsbruck in 1915. In 1916 she obtained a contract in Zürich,
where she played Ophelia next to the famous
Alexander Moissi, who fell in love with
her. The next stage in her career was Vienna, where she posed as a
model for the talented but deeply unhappy sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck.
He fell in love with her, but she rejected him; his suicide soon
afterwards shocked her. After performing in Vienna and Munich she came
to Berlin in 1921. There she played in productions by
Max Reinhardt and became a very
popular actress.
During her early years as an actress, she was often helped by the poet
and critic Albert Ehrenstein, whom she called Xaverl. Ehrenstein was
also in love with her. At one time she promised him a child but changed
her mind. Ehrenstein wrote numerous poems for her, but often she kept
him at a distance. However, their friendship lasted and they continued
to exchange letters.
She made her film debut in
Der Evangelimann (1924). In
1924, director Paul Czinner gave her a part
in
Husbands or Lovers (1924).
This was the beginning of their successful professional collaboration
as well as their personal relationship. Her most successful silent
movie was Fräulein Else (1929).
Bergner and Czinner were both Jews, and after the Nazis came to power,
they emigrated to Vienna and then London, where they were married. She
learned English and was able to continue her career. In London, she
became friendly with G.B. Shaw and J.M. Barrie, who after a long hiatus
from writing drafted a play for her; the result, The Boy David (1936),
unfortunately was not successful. She also appeared as Gemma Jones in
the movie version of
Escape Me Never (1935) by
Margaret Kennedy, which earned
her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Her movie
The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)
was forbidden in Germany.
During her London years, she sent much of her money to relatives and
friends in need, among them Ehrenstein. Bergner's only Hollywood movie,
Paris Calling (1941), failed to
attract attention. On Broadway, she fared better and was very
successful in The Two Mrs. Carrolls. While appearing in it, she
encountered a young aspiring actress who stood in the alley outside the
theater every night and claimed to have seen every performance; Bergner
befriended and later hired her but broke with her after the young
actress -- who called herself Martina Lawrence, the name of one of
Bergner's twin characters in
Stolen Life (1939) -- became
over-interested in all aspects of Bergner's life. Bergner later
recounted this story to her friend
Mary Orr, a writer, who turned it into
the short story "The Wisdom of Eve" -- which was the basis for the
movie All About Eve (1950).
After the war, Bergner worked in New York for a few years; in 1950, she
returned to England. She gave acclaimed Bible readings in Israel in
English, German and Hebrew. In Germany, she resumed her stage career,
and in 1959 she stunned audiences and critics in Berlin with her
performance in Geliebter Lügner, a German version of Jerome Kilty's
Dear Liar, a play based on the letters exchanged between G.B. Shaw and
actress Stella Campbell. In 1961, she returned to the movies, and in
1970 she made her directorial debut. Her last stage appearance took
place in 1973 (Her husband had died in 1972).
In 1978, a volume of her memoirs was published, in which she shared
some of her secrets with the public, such as Lehmbruck's obsession with
her. In 1979 she received the Ernst Lubitsch Prize and in 1982 the
Eleonora Duse Prize. She discussed a possible return to Vienna with
Bruno Kreisky, but she died from cancer at her home in London in 1986.
In Seglitz (Berlin), a city park was named after her.
wife Anna Rosa Wagner. She grew up in Vienna, and she made her theatre
debut in Innsbruck in 1915. In 1916 she obtained a contract in Zürich,
where she played Ophelia next to the famous
Alexander Moissi, who fell in love with
her. The next stage in her career was Vienna, where she posed as a
model for the talented but deeply unhappy sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck.
He fell in love with her, but she rejected him; his suicide soon
afterwards shocked her. After performing in Vienna and Munich she came
to Berlin in 1921. There she played in productions by
Max Reinhardt and became a very
popular actress.
During her early years as an actress, she was often helped by the poet
and critic Albert Ehrenstein, whom she called Xaverl. Ehrenstein was
also in love with her. At one time she promised him a child but changed
her mind. Ehrenstein wrote numerous poems for her, but often she kept
him at a distance. However, their friendship lasted and they continued
to exchange letters.
She made her film debut in
Der Evangelimann (1924). In
1924, director Paul Czinner gave her a part
in
Husbands or Lovers (1924).
This was the beginning of their successful professional collaboration
as well as their personal relationship. Her most successful silent
movie was Fräulein Else (1929).
Bergner and Czinner were both Jews, and after the Nazis came to power,
they emigrated to Vienna and then London, where they were married. She
learned English and was able to continue her career. In London, she
became friendly with G.B. Shaw and J.M. Barrie, who after a long hiatus
from writing drafted a play for her; the result, The Boy David (1936),
unfortunately was not successful. She also appeared as Gemma Jones in
the movie version of
Escape Me Never (1935) by
Margaret Kennedy, which earned
her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Her movie
The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)
was forbidden in Germany.
During her London years, she sent much of her money to relatives and
friends in need, among them Ehrenstein. Bergner's only Hollywood movie,
Paris Calling (1941), failed to
attract attention. On Broadway, she fared better and was very
successful in The Two Mrs. Carrolls. While appearing in it, she
encountered a young aspiring actress who stood in the alley outside the
theater every night and claimed to have seen every performance; Bergner
befriended and later hired her but broke with her after the young
actress -- who called herself Martina Lawrence, the name of one of
Bergner's twin characters in
Stolen Life (1939) -- became
over-interested in all aspects of Bergner's life. Bergner later
recounted this story to her friend
Mary Orr, a writer, who turned it into
the short story "The Wisdom of Eve" -- which was the basis for the
movie All About Eve (1950).
After the war, Bergner worked in New York for a few years; in 1950, she
returned to England. She gave acclaimed Bible readings in Israel in
English, German and Hebrew. In Germany, she resumed her stage career,
and in 1959 she stunned audiences and critics in Berlin with her
performance in Geliebter Lügner, a German version of Jerome Kilty's
Dear Liar, a play based on the letters exchanged between G.B. Shaw and
actress Stella Campbell. In 1961, she returned to the movies, and in
1970 she made her directorial debut. Her last stage appearance took
place in 1973 (Her husband had died in 1972).
In 1978, a volume of her memoirs was published, in which she shared
some of her secrets with the public, such as Lehmbruck's obsession with
her. In 1979 she received the Ernst Lubitsch Prize and in 1982 the
Eleonora Duse Prize. She discussed a possible return to Vienna with
Bruno Kreisky, but she died from cancer at her home in London in 1986.
In Seglitz (Berlin), a city park was named after her.