Marlene Dietrich

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Marlene Dietrich

• By Marlena Basel

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Berlin-SchonebergGermany
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Childhood

• Marlene Dietrich also known as Maria Magdalene
  Dietrich was born in Berlin-Schoneberg on
  December 27,1901.
• Her father was a police Lieutenant and imbued in
  her a military attitude to life.
• Marlene was known at school for bedroom eyes
  the affairs she had with older men, one of which
  was her professor who was later terminated.
• Marlene soon after entered the Cabaret scene in
  the 1920s Germany.
• Married her first husband Rudolf Sieber, a Roman
  Catholic who later became director of Paramount
  Pictures in France.
• Marlene began her infamous relationships with
  some of the most famous men in History.

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Career

• Marlene studied the violin before starting as an
  actress for Max Reinhardt in Berlin and Vienna.
• She made her first film debut in 1923. The Blue
  Ange(1930) was the first German sound film,
  directed by Josef von Sternberg and is noted for
  introducing Marlenes signature song Falling in
  Love Again.
• Marlene moved on to Hollywood under contract with
  Paramount starring in her only Oscar nominated
  role Morocco.
• Marlene received most popularity for all of her
  films in the 1920s-30s before dropping the
  acting scene.

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Career (continued)

• Marlene sang in several of her films, making
  records in Germany in the 1920s.
• After a short break from acting, Dietrich was
  produced under many labels such as Decca,
  Elektrola, EMI, and for Columbia.
• Marlene soon began to gain competition with her
  songs, Lotte Lenya starred in Mel Brooks Blazing
  Saddles and sang Lieder.
• In 1937, she made a film in London for producer
  Alexander Korda and claimed that she was
  approached by representatives of the Nazi party
  to return to Germany, but turned them down and
  became an American citizen in 1939.
• Marlene soon became an important influence to
  the U.S.A engaging in anti-Nazi songs for the OSS

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World War II

• In 1941 the U.S. entered the Second World War
  and Dietrich became one of the first celebrities
  to raise War Bonds for the troops.
• Marlene entertained troops on the front lines at
  the USO, she was known to have strong political
  convictions and the mind to speak them. She was
  said to be an anti-Nazi and despised anti-Semitic
  policies of National Socialism.
• She sang for famous Generals such as James M.
  Gavin and George S. Patton. When reporters asked
  her why she did that in spite of danger being
  within a few kilometers of German lines, she
  replied Aus Anstand- it was the decent thing
  to do.
• Dietrich was awarded the Medal of Freedom for
  her work with the war and was later made the
  Chevalier (Commander) of the Legion d Honneur
  (Legend of Honor) by the French government.

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Taking the Stage

• From the 1950s- mid 1970s Dietrich
  successfully toured as a Cabaret dancer. Her
  repertoire included her songs from albums and
  films.
• Until the mid 1960s her musical director was
  famed composer Burt Bacharach.
• Jean Louis helped make Dietrichs image
  preserved by giving her temporary mini face-lifts
  to keep her from aging and by making her costumes
  more revealing.
• Her return to Germany in 1960 for a concert tour
  elicited mixed feelings. Most Germans thought
  she had betrayed her homeland due to her actions
  during WWII. Although some not all Germans felt
  that way Marlene went on tour in Israel and sang
  another rendition of Pete Seegers song Where
  Have All The Flowers Gone? in German .
• Dietrich received a Tony award in 1968 for her
  stage show, breaking the unofficial taboo against
  the use of German in Israel.

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The Last

• Her show business career largely ended on Sep
  29, 1975, when she broke her leg during a stage
  performance in Australia. She wrote and
  contributed to many books during the 1980s.
• She spent her last years in bed at her home of
  Montaigne in Paris, was not seen by public and
  was only visited by her daughter. She agreed to
  a 1984 documentary but did not appear on screen.
  Her husband Rudolf Sieber died of Cancer on June
  24, 1976.
• It was stated from Dietrichs daughter that she
  was politically active in her later years, she
  remained in contact with Ronald Regan and Mikhail
  Gorbachev, running her phone bill over
  3,000(USD).
• Dietrich died peacefully of natural causes
  (renal failure) on May 6, 1992. At the funeral in
  front of over 3,500 mourners, her body was
  covered by an American flag and returned to
  Berlin near her birthplace.

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The Legacy Aftermath

• Dietrich was always an outsider with her German
  accent but when she hit the Hollywood scene she
  became the most redound for her efforts and help
  that she played during the war as well as her
  famous relationships with war hero Jean Gabin,
  Edward R. Murrow, Yul Brynner and Frank Sinatra.
• She remained a fashion icon to top designers and
  screen icon who stars later followed. Her
  Avant-garde lifestyle was highly recognized, her
  media attention as well as her performances made
  her look foreign in the eyes of America.
• She is always remembered at the Sony Center in
  Berlin named after Marlene Dietrich- Platz in her
  honor on November 8, 1997.

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The one and onlyMarlene Dietrich
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Bibliography

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlene_Dietrich
• http//www.imdb.com/Bio?Dietrich,Marlene
• http//www.leninimports.com/marlene_dietrich.html
• http//www.biggeststars.com/m/marlene-dietrich-hom
  e.html
• http//www.marlene.com/bio.html
• http//www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_hom
  e/1520/Marlene_Dietrich.htm
• http//www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Dietrich,_Marle
  ne/
• http//www.quotationspage.com/author.php?authorMa
  rleneDietrich
• http//www.imdb.com/name/nm0000017/

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The always loved and rememberedLena Dietrich

• The most beautiful rose is one without horns,
  you make a rose, your love the pedals and the
  horns are the problems getting in the way.

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The End to a LEGACY