Hildegard Knef
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia. (August 2010) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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| Hildegard Knef | |
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 Hildegard Knef, aged 69, at her last concert (March 5, 1995) in Berlin |
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| Born | December 28, 1925 Ulm, Germany |
| Died | February 1, 2002 (aged 76) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, writer |
| Years active | 1944–2001 |
| Spouse | Kurt Hirsch (1947–52) (divorced) David Cameron (1962–76) (divorced) 1 child Paul von Schell (1977–2002) (her death) |
Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (December 28, 1925 – February 1, 2002) was a German actress, singer and writer. She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff.
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[edit] Early years
Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm. She began studying acting in 1940, aged 14. She appeared in several films before the fall of the Third Reich, but most were not released until after World War II.
During the Battle of Berlin, Knef dressed as a soldier in order to stay with her then lover Ewald von Demandowsky, joining him in defence of Schmargendorf.[1] She was later sent to a prisoner of war camp.[2]
Her best known film roles were "Susanne Wallner" in Wolfgang Staudte's film Die Mörder sind unter uns (The Murderers Are Among Us), the first film released after the Second World War in East Germany and produced by DEFA); and in 1950, "Marina" in Die Sünderin (The Sinner), in which she performed a brief nude scene, the first in German film history, causing a scandal. When the Roman Catholic Church protested, she responded vehemently, “I can't understand all the tumult - five years after Auschwitz.”[3]
In the 1960s, she appeared in a number of low budget films such as Hammer films The Lost Continent.
She appeared in the 1975 screen adaptation of the Hans Fallada novel, Every Man Dies Alone directed by Alfred Vohrer,[4] released in English as Everyone Dies Alone in 1976[5] and for which she won an award for best actress at the International Film Festival in Carlsbad,[6][7] then in Czechoslovakia.
[edit] United States
David Selznick invited her to Hollywood, but she refused to agree to the conditions of the contract which reportedly included changing her name to Gilda Christian and pretending to be Austrian rather than German.[8]
Years later, Knef's first husband, an American named Kurt Hirsch, encouraged her to try again for success in the U.S. She changed her name from Knef to Neff and achieved a measure of stardom on Broadway as “Ninotchka” in the Cole Porter musical, Silk Stockings.
[edit] Chanteuse
She began a new career in 1963 as a singer and surprised her audiences with the deep, smoky quality of her voice and the many lyrics, which she wrote herself. Fans around the world rallied in her support as she defeated cancer several times. She returned to Berlin after the reunification.
In the 1960s and 1970s she enjoyed considerable success as a singer of German chansons, which she often co-wrote. The song she is mostly remembered for is "Für mich soll's rote Rosen regnen" ("Red roses are to rain for me"). She is also known for her version of the song "Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin" ("I still have a suitcase in Berlin") and "Mackie Messer" ("Mack the knife")[9]. She sold more than three million records in total.
[edit] Publications
She published several books. Her autobiography Der geschenkte Gaul - Bericht aus einem Leben (The Gift Horse - Report of a Life) from 1970 was a candid recount of her life in Germany during and after World War II. It allegedly became the best-selling German book after World War II. Her second book "Das Urteil" ("The Verdict") from 1975 was a moderate success. It dealt with her struggle with breast cancer.
[edit] Family
She was married three times and had a daughter, Christina (born May 16, 1968) by her second marriage, to British actor David Cameron.
[edit] Death
Knef died from emphysema, aged 76, on February 1, 2002.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Frühlingsmelodie (1945)
- Murderers Among Us (1946)
- Under the Bridges (1946)
- Die Sünderin (1950)
- Decision Before Dawn (1951)
- Diplomatic Courier (1951)
- Night Without Sleep (1952)
- Henriette (1952)
- The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
- Illusion in Moll (1952)
- The Man Between (1953)
- Svengali (1954)
- No Orchids for Lulu (1962)
- Caterina di Russia (1963)
- Waiting Room to the Beyond (1964)
- Gibraltar (1964)
- Mozambique (1965)
- The Lost Continent (1968)
- Everyone Dies Alone (1976)
- Fedora (1978)
- La Casa 4 (1988)
[edit] References
- ^ Beevor, A (2003) Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, P311
- ^ Hildegard Knef chronology: 1925-1949 Hildegard Knef fan website. Retrieved March 5, 2012
- ^ Ralf Schmitt, "Hildegard Knef ist tot" Spielfilm (February 1, 2002). Retrieved March 5, 2012 (German)
- ^ Biographie Carl Raddatz Film Museum Potsdam. Retrieved March 5, 2012 (German)
- ^ "Everyone Dies Alone" Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 5, 2012
- ^ Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 1976 Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 5, 2012
- ^ Hildegard Knef chronology: 1970-1979 Hildegard Knef fan website. Retrieved March 5, 2012
- ^ [1]
- ^ English lyrics for Mackie Messer by Hildegard Knef
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hildegard Knef |
- Hildegard Knef at the Internet Movie Database
- Fan site, officially authorized*(German) (partly in English)
- Hildegard Knef in the German National Library catalogue (German)
- Hildegard Knef on Europopmusic.eu (English)
- Hildegard Knef discography at MusicBrainz
- Short Portrait
- Hildegard Knef at Find a Grave
