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Marlene Dietrich in the 1920sMarlene Dietrich (December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992) was a German-born actress, entertainer and singer.

Early life
Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich or Maria Magdalena Dietrich in Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany to Louis Erich Otto Dietrich and Wilhelmina Elisabeth Josephine Felsing, Marlene played the violin before joining Max Reinhardt's acting school in 1921, making her official film debut two years later (although historians insist that Dietrich actually appeared as an extra in a 1919 German film).

After acting in only German movies at first (while also dancing as a chorus girl in cabarets and in stage plays), she got her first role in the first European talking picture, The Blue Angel (1930), directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Hollywood
She then moved to Hollywood to make Morocco, for which she received her only Oscar nomination. Her most lasting contribution to film history was as the star in several films directed by von Sternberg in the pre-Code early 1930s, such as The Scarlet Empress and Shanghai Express, in which she played "femmes fatale". She gradually broadened her repertoire in Destry Rides Again, A Foreign Affair, Witness for the Prosecution, Touch of Evil and Judgment at Nuremberg.

The singer
Dietrich sang in several of her films (most famously in von Sternberg's The Blue Angel, in which she sings "Falling In Love Again"("Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt"), having made records in Germany in the 1920s. Following a slowdown in her film career, she made a number of records first for Decca, Elektrola, EMI, and for Columbia. Her distinctive voice was later satirized, by Lotte Lenya, in the song Lieder by cult British trio Fascinating Aïda. Madeline Kahn did the same in the Mel Brooks classic Blazing Saddles.

World War II
In 1937, while her film career stalled, Dietrich became an American citizen. In 1941 the U.S. entered the Second World War and Dietrich became one of the first celebrities to raise war bonds. She entertained troops on the front lines in a USO revue that included future TV pioneer Danny Thomas as her opening act. Dietrich was known to have strong political convictions and the mind to speak them. She was a staunch anti-Nazi who despised Germany's anti-Semitic policies of the time.

Her singing helped on the homefront of the U.S.A too, as she recorded a number of anti-Nazi records in German for the OSS, including Lili Marleen, a curious example of a song transcending the hatreds of war. She also played the musical saw to entertain troops. She sang for the Allied troops on the front lines in Algiers, France and into Germany with Generals James M. Gavin and George S. Patton. When asked why she had done this, in spite of the obvious danger of being within a few kilometers of German lines, she famously replied "aus Anstand" – "it was the decent thing to do".

Personal life
Unlike her professional celebrity, which was carefully crafted and maintained, Dietrich's personal life was kept out of public view. She married once, to director's assistant Rudolf Sieber, a Roman Catholic who later became a director at Paramount Pictures in France.

Her only child, Maria Sieber (married name Maria Riva), was born on December 13, 1924. When Maria Riva gave birth to a son in 1948, Dietrich was dubbed "the world's most glamorous grandmother". The great love of the actress's life, however, was the French actor and military hero Jean Gabin. As for her husband, he had a tragically unstable longterm mistress who looked a bit like and eventually believed herself to be Dietrich.

Despite all of this, she was reportedly offered a king's ransom to return to Germany, due to her immense popularity as well as Hitler's ardour, which she declined. It is true that she quipped that she would return only when one of her Jewish friends (possibly Max Reinhardt) could accompany her.

Her return to Germany in 1960 was met with protests, (including a pelting with tomatoes and eggs) by the German people, many feeling betrayed by her actions during WWII. When hearing the chants, "Marlene go home", Dietrich was quoted as saying, "I guess they have a love-hate feeling for me".

In later years it has also been indicated that she was bisexual, and involved in romantic affairs with actresses Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert and Ona Munson, among others.

Stage and cabaret

Marlene Dietrich in a 1972 London concertFrom the 1950s to the mid-1970s Dietrich toured internationally as a successful cabaret performer. Her repertoire included songs from her films as well as popular songs of the day. Until the mid-1960s her musical director was famed composer Burt Bacharach.

His arrangements helped to disguise Dietrich's limited vocal range and allowed her to perform her songs to maximum dramatic effect. Spectacular costumes (by Jean Louis), body-sculpting rubber undergarments, careful stage lighting, tight dresses into which she was sewn standing up, and, reportedly, gruesome mini-facelifts (achieved by weaving her hair into tight braids, pinning them tightly to her scalp with surgical needles, and then topping it all with sexy wigs) helped to preserve Dietrich's glamorous image well into old age.

In 1968, she received a Tony Award for her stage show. In 1973, her stage show was broadcast on television.

Final years
Her show business career largely ended on September 29, 1975, when she broke her leg during a stage performance. She appeared briefly in the film, Just a Gigolo, in 1979, and wrote and contributed to several books during the 1980s.

She spent her last decade mostly bed-ridden, in her apartment on the avenue Montaigne in Paris, during which time she was not seen in public but was a prolific letter-writer and phone-caller. Maximilian Schell persuaded Dietrich to be interviewed for his 1984 documentary Marlene, but she did not appear on screen. She was somewhat estranged from her daughter, but got on well with her grandson, Peter Riva. Her own husband, Rudolf Sieber, had died of cancer on June 24, 1976.

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2005, her daughter and grandson claim that Marlene Dietrich was politically "active" during these years. She would keep contact with world leaders by telephone, running up a monthly bill of over 3,000 (USD). Her contacts included Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, though whether she had any influence on them, is unknown.

Dietrich died peacefully on May 6, 1992, at the age of 90 in Paris, France. A service was conducted at La Madeleine in Paris before 3,500 mourners and a crowd of well-wishers outside. Her body, covered with an American flag, was then returned to Berlin where she was interred in her birthplace at the Städtischen Friedhof III, Berlin-Schöneberg, Stubenrauchstraße 43-45, in Friedenau Cemetery.

In 1994 her memorabilia were sold to the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (after US institutions showed no interest) where it became the core of the exhibition(see[[1]]) at the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany, which is not far away from the square named Marlene-Dietrich-Platz in her honour on November 8, 1997.

Her place in Hollywood

Berlin-SchönebergDietrich never integrated into the Hollywood entertainment industry, being always an outsider for mainstream America. Her heavy German accent gave an extra touch to her performance but made her look "foreign" in the eyes of Americans.

Dietrich was a fashion icon to the top designers as well as a screen icon whom later stars would follow. Her public image and some of her movies included strong sexual undertones, including bisexuality.

Intriguingly, as the writer Tony Barrell has pointed out (London Sunday Times, January 1, 2006), Dietrich was born on exactly the same day as another famous actress, Irene Handl. Though they played very different parts, both were educated at all-girls schools and had connections with Noël Coward.

  Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo (1979) .... Baroness von Semering
... aka Just a Gigolo (USA)

Paris - When It Sizzles (1964) (uncredited) .... Cameo appearance
... aka Together in Paris (USA)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) .... Mrs. Bertholt
... aka Judgement at Nuremberg

Touch of Evil (1958) .... Tanya 'Tana'
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) .... Christine Helm Vole
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) .... Saloon Hostess
Montecarlo (1956) .... Maria de Crevecouer
... aka Monte Carlo (USA)
... aka The Monte Carlo Story (USA)
Rancho Notorious (1952) .... Altar Keane
No Highway (1951) .... Monica Teasdale
... aka No Highway in the Sky (USA)
Stage Fright (1950) .... Charlotte Inwood

Jigsaw (1949) (uncredited) .... Cameo appearance (nightclub patron)
... aka Gun Moll (USA: reissue title)
A Foreign Affair (1948) .... Erika Von Schluetow
Golden Earrings (1947) .... Lydia
Martin Roumagnac (1946) .... Blanche Ferrand
... aka The Room Upstairs (USA)
Kismet (1944) .... Jamilla
... aka Oriental Dream (USA: reissue title (TV title))
Pittsburgh (1942) .... Josie 'Hunky' Winters
The Spoilers (1942) .... Cherry Malotte
The Lady Is Willing (1942) .... Elizabeth Madden
Manpower (1941) .... Fay Duval
The Flame of New Orleans (1941) .... Countess Claire Ledoux, aka Lili
Seven Sinners (1940) .... Bijou Blanche
... aka Cafe of the Seven Sinners

Destry Rides Again (1939) .... Frenchy
Angel (1937) .... Maria 'Angel' Barker, aka Mrs. Brown
Knight Without Armour (1937) .... Countess Alexandra Vladinoff
... aka Knight Without Armor (USA)
The Garden of Allah (1936) .... Domini Enfilden
Desire (1936) .... Madeleine de Beaupre
... aka The Pearl Necklace
I Loved a Soldier (1936) .... Anna Sedlak
... aka Hotel Imperial (USA)
The Devil Is a Woman (1935) .... Concha Perez
The Scarlet Empress (1934) .... Princess Sophia Frederica/Catherine II
The Song of Songs (1933) .... Lily Czepanek
Blonde Venus (1932) .... Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
Shanghai Express (1932) .... Shanghai Lily, aka Magdalen
Dishonored (1931) .... Marie Kolverer/X27
Morocco (1930) .... Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
Blaue Engel, Der (1930) .... Lola Lola
... aka The Blue Angel (USA)

Schiff der verlorenen Menschen, Das (1929) .... Ethel Marley
... aka Grischa the Cook
... aka Navire des hommes perdus, Le (France)
... aka The Ship of Lost Men
Frau, nach der man sich sehnt, Die (1929) .... Stascha
... aka The Woman Men Yearn For
... aka The Woman One Longs for (USA)
... aka Three Loves
Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame (1929) .... Laurence Gerard
... aka I Kiss Your Hand Madame (USA)
Gefahren der Brautzeit (1929) .... Evelyne
... aka Dangers of the Engagement (USA)
... aka Dangers of the Engagement Period (International: English title)
... aka Liebesnächte (Germany)
... aka Nights of Love (USA)
Prinzessin Olala (1928) .... Chichotte de Gastoné
... aka Art of Love (USA)
... aka Princess Olala
Café Elektric (1927) .... Erni Göttlinger
... aka Cafe Electric (International: English title)
... aka Wenn ein Weib den Weg verliert
Sein größter Bluff (1927) .... Yvette
... aka His Biggest Bluff (UK)
... aka His Greatest Bluff (International: English title)
... aka The Big Bluff
Kopf hoch, Charly! (1927) .... Edmée Marchand
... aka Heads Up, Charley (International: English title)
Dubarry von heute, Eine (1927) .... Kokotte
... aka A Modern Dubarry
Madame wünscht keine Kinder (1926) (uncredited) .... Dancer
... aka Madame Doesn't Want Children (USA)
... aka Madame Wants No Children
Manon Lescaut (1926) .... Micheline
Juxbaron, Der (1926) .... Sophie, ihre Tochter
... aka The Imaginary Baron (International: English title)
Tänzer meiner Frau, Der (1925) .... Dance extra
... aka Dance Fever (USA)
... aka Dancing Mad
Sprung ins Leben, Der (1924) .... Mädchen am Strand
... aka Leap Into Life (UK)
... aka Roman eines Zirkuskindes, Der (Germany: alternative title)
Mönch von Santarem, Der (1924)
... aka The Monk from Santarem (UK)
Mensch am Wege, Der (1923) .... Krämerstochter
... aka Man by the Roadside (USA)
... aka Man by the Wayside (UK)
... aka People Along the Way (International: English title)
... aka What Man Lives By (Australia)
So sind die Männer (1923) .... Kathrin
... aka Kleine Napoleon, Der (Germany: alternative title)
... aka Napoleons kleiner Bruder (Germany: alternative title)
... aka The Little Napoleon (International: English title)
Tragödie der Liebe (1923) .... Lucy
... aka Love Tragedy (USA)
... aka The Tragedy of Love (USA)