Saturday, January 22, 2011

Romy Schneider



















Romy Schneider (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German film actress who was born in Austria and also held French citizenship.

Early life

Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian-born German father Wolf Albach-Retty and her German mother Magda Schneider. After her parents' divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girl's career, often appearing alongside her daughter. Schneider made her film debut in Wenn der weisse Flieder wieder blüht (1953), at the age of 15. Her career was also overseen by her stepfather, Hans Herbert Blatzheim, a noted restaurateur who Schneider indicated had an unhealthy interest in her.

Career

Romy Schneider's first movie was Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) in 1953, credited as Romy Schneider-Albach. In 1954, Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal, playing a young Queen Victoria in the Austrian film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (known in the U.S. as The Story of Vicky and in Britain as Victoria in Dover). Schneider's breakthrough came with her portrayal of Elisabeth, Empress Consort of Austria, in the romantic biopic Sissi (1955) and its two sequels, Sissi – The Young Empress (1956) and Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (1957), all with Karlheinz Böhm, who became a close friend. Less stereotypical films during this busy period include Robinson soll nicht sterben (The Legend of Robinson Crusoe) (1957) putting her among a stellar cast and opposite a young Horst Buchholz, and Monpti (1957), directed by Helmut Käutner and again opposite Buchholz.
Schneider soon starred in Christine (1958), a remake of Max Ophüls's 1933 film Liebelei (itself based upon a play by Arthur Schnitzler and starring her mother Magda Schneider). It was during the filming of Christine that Schneider fell in love with French actor Alain Delon, who co-starred in the movie. She left Germany to join him in Paris and they announced their engagement in 1959.
Schneider decided to live and to work in France, slowly gaining the interest of film directors such as Orson Welles for The Trial (1962), based upon Franz Kafka's The Trial and was introduced by Delon to Luchino Visconti.
Under Visconti's direction, she gave performances in the Théâtre Moderne as Annabella (and Delon as Giovanni) in John Ford's stage play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1961) and in the film Boccaccio '70 (segment: "The Job"). In 1962 Schneider played Anna in Sacha Pitoëff's production of Chekhov's play The Seagull, also at the Théâtre Moderne. A brief stint in Hollywood included appearances in Good Neighbor Sam, a 1964 comedy with Jack Lemmon, and 1965 What's New Pussycat? co-starring Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen who also wrote the screenplay.
Schneider and Delon decided to split up in 1963 although they remained close lifelong friends and continued to work together in such films as La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (1968) and The Assassination of Trotsky (1972).
German stamp published in 2000
Romy Schneider continued to work in France during the 1970s, appearing in films as Les choses de la vie (1970), Max et les ferrailleurs (1971), César et Rosalie (1972), and Le vieux fusil (1975). The harsh L'important c'est d'aimer (1974) garnered her first César Award (France's equivalent of the Oscar).
On 30 October 1974, Romy Schneider created one of the most memorable moments on German television. She was the second guest on Dietmar Schönherr's talk show Je später der Abend (The later the evening) when she, after a rather terse interview, remarked passionately to the last guest, bank robber and author Burkhard Driest: "Sie gefallen mir. Sie gefallen mir sehr." (I like you. I like you a lot.)
Ludwig, Visconti's 1972 film about the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, featured her as a much more complex, mature, even bitter Elisabeth of Austria. "Sissi sticks to me just like oatmeal", Schneider once said.
She also acted in Le Trio infernal (1974) with Michel Piccoli, and in Garde à vue (1981) with Michel Serrault and Lino Ventura. An unpleasant incident occurred during this period with leading German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder who wanted her to play the lead in his 1979 film The Marriage of Maria Braun. Negotiations broke down when he called Schneider a "dumb cow" and Schneider responded by declaring she would never work with such a beast as Fassbinder.
In 1980 she starred in Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch (La mort en direct), based on David G. Compton's novel, playing a dying woman whose last days are watched on national television via a camera implanted in the brain of a journalist (Harvey Keitel). Her last film was La Passante du Sans-Souci (The Passerby), (1982).

Personal life

In July 1966 Schneider married Harry Meyen (1924–1979), a German director and actor who committed suicide in Hamburg, Germany in 1979. The couple had a son, David Christopher, born on December 3, 1966. David died at the age of 14 on 5 July 1981. He had attempted to climb the spiked fence at his stepfather's parents' home when he punctured his femoral artery.
In 1975, Schneider married Daniel Biasini, her private secretary; they separated in 1981. Their daughter Sarah Biasini (born 21 July 1977) is now an actress.

Death

Grave of Romy Schneider and her son in Boissy-sans-Avoir
Schneider began drinking alcohol in excess after the death of her son David. When she was found dead in her apartment in Paris on 29 May 1982, it was suggested that she had committed suicide by taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills. After another post-mortem examination was carried out, authorities declared that she had died from cardiac arrest. Her tombstone at Boissy-sans-Avoir in the Canton of Montfort-l'Amaury bears the name Rosemarie Albach. Shortly afterwards, Alain Delon arranged for David to be buried in the same grave.

Enduring popularity

The French journalist Eugène Moineau initiated in 1984 the Prix Romy Schneider; this prize—the most prestigious award for promising actresses in the French film industry—is awarded by a jury each year in Paris in conjunction with the Prix Patrick Dewaere (formerly the Prix Jean Gabin). In 1990, the Austrian newspaper Kurier created the Romy TV Award in honour of Romy Schneider. In 2003, she was voted 78th on the list of the greatest Germans in the German TV programme Unsere Besten (the German version of 100 Greatest Britons)—the second highest ranked actress (Marlene Dietrich was 50th) on that list. Until 2002, the Austrian Federal Railways InterCity service IC 535 from Wien Südbahnhof to Graz was named "Romy Schneider".
A movie about Romy Schneider's life, titled Eine Frau wie Romy/Une femme comme Romy (A Woman Like Romy) was planned by Warner Bros. for 2009; Schneider's role was going to be played by Yvonne Catterfeld. The project was cancelled in July 2009. A musical about Schneider, Romy – Die Welt aus Gold (Romy – The Golden World) was premiered in 2009 at the Theater Heilbronn. In November 2009 the ARD broadcast the feature film Romy with Jessica Schwarz in the title role.

Filmography

Title Year Role Director
Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht 1953 Evchen Förster Hans Deppe
Mädchenjahre einer Königin 1954 Princess Victoria / Queen Victoria Ernst Marischka
Feuerwerk 1954 Anna Oberholzer Paul Burkhard, Erik Charell, and Kurt Hoffmann
Der letzte Mann 1955 Niddy Hoevelmann Harald Braun
Die Deutschmeister 1955 Stanzi Hübner Ernst Marischka
Sissi 1955 Sissi Ernst Marischka
Kitty und die große Welt 1956 Kitty Dupont Alfred Weidenmann
Sissi – Die junge Kaiserin 1956 Sissi Ernst Marischka
Sissi – Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin 1957 Sissi Ernst Marischka
Robinson soll nicht sterben 1957 Maud Josef von Báky
Monpti 1957 Anne-Claire Jouvain Helmut Käutner
Eva (Die Halbzarte) 1958 Nicole Rolf Thiele
Scampolo 1958 Scampolo Alfred Weidenmann
Mädchen in Uniform 1958 Manuela von Meinhardis Géza von Radványi
Christine 1958 Christine Weiring Pierre Gaspard-Huit
Katia 1959 Katia Robert Siodmak
Die schöne Lügnerin 1959 Fanny Emmetsrieder Axel von Ambesser
Ein Engel auf Erden 1959 Stewardess/Angel Géza von Radványi
Purple Noon (Plein soleil) 1960 Freddie's companion (uncredited) René Clément
Boccaccio '70 1961 Pupe (segment Il lavoro) Luchino Visconti
Le Combat dans l'île 1962 Anne Alain Cavalier
The Trial 1962 Leni Orson Welles
The Victors 1962 Regine Carl Foreman
The Cardinal 1963 Annemarie von Hartman Otto Preminger
Good Neighbor Sam 1964 Janet Lagerlof David Swift
L'Enfer 1964[F 1] Odette Henri-Georges Clouzot
L'Amour à la mer 1965 The star Guy Gilles
Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il ?) 1965 scene cut René Clément
What's New Pussycat? 1965 Carole Werner Clive Donner
10:30 P.M. Summer 1965 Claire Jules Dassin
La Voleuse 1965 Julia Kreuz Jean Chapot
Triple Cross 1966 Countess Terence Young
Otley 1968 Imogen Dick Clement
The Swimming Pool 1969 Marianne Jacques Deray
La califfa 1970 Irene Corsini Alberto Bevilacqua
Les choses de la vie 1970 Hélène Claude Sautet
My Lover My Son 1970 Francesca Anderson John Newland
Qui ? 1970 Marina Léonard Keigel
Bloomfield 1971 Nira Richard Harris
The Assassination of Trotsky 1971 Gita Samuels Joseph Losey
Max et les Ferrailleurs 1971 Lily Claude Sautet
César et Rosalie 1972 Rosalie Claude Sautet
Ludwig 1972 Elisabeth of Austria Luchino Visconti
Le Train 1973 Anna Kupfer Pierre Granier-Deferre
Un amour de pluie 1974 Elizabeth Jean-Claude Brialy
Le Trio infernal 1974 Philomena Schmidt Francis Girod
L'important c'est d'aimer 1974 Nadine Chevalier Andrzej Żuławski
Le Mouton enragé 1974 Roberte Groult Michel Deville
Le Vieux Fusil 1975 Clara Dandieu Robert Enrico
Les innocents aux mains sales 1975 Julie Wormser Claude Chabrol
Mado 1976 Hélène Claude Sautet
Une femme à sa fenêtre 1976 Margot Santorini Pierre Granier-Deferre
Gruppenbild mit Dame 1977 Leni Gruyten Aleksandar Petrović
A Simple Story 1978 Marie Claude Sautet
Bloodline 1979 Hélène Martin Terence Young
Clair de femme 1979 Lydia Costa-Gavras
Death Watch 1979 Katherine Mortenhoe Bertrand Tavernier
La Banquière 1980 Emma Eckhert Francis Girod
Fantasma d'amore 1981 Anna Brigatti Zighi Dino Risi
Garde à vue 1981 Chantal Martinaud Claude Miller
La Passante du Sans-Souci 1982 Elsa Wiener/Lina Baumstein Jacques Rouffio









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