Inge Meysel
Encyclopedia
Inge Meysel was a German
actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses. She had a successful stage career and played more than 100 roles in film and on television.
mother Anna Hansen and the German Jew Julius Meysel,
she attended drama schools in Berlin
from 1928 until 1930, thereafter she was on stage in Zwickau
, Leipzig
and Berlin.
During Nazi Germany
Inge Meysel was banned from performing from 1935 until 1945 because of her Jewish father. In 1945 she restarted her career in Hamburg
.
Since the early 1960s Inge Meysel mainly acted in made-for-TV films and got the nickname (Fernseh-) Mutter der Nation ("(Television) Mother of the Nation").
She won numerous German actor awards including a lifetime achievement award from the German Television Awards, but in 1981 she refused to accept the Bundesverdienstkreuz
because "Einen Orden dafür, daß man anständig gelebt hat, brauche ich nicht"
("I don't need an order of merit just for having lived decently").
From the mid-1920s until shortly before her death, Meysel was outspoken on many - often controversial - social and political issues. Despite her decidedly leftist and feminist views, this did not harm her popularity as an actress. In 1992, she came out as a bisexual.
In 2004, aged 94, she died of heart failure at her home near Hamburg. She was cremated and her ashes were buried near her second husband the Austrian filmproducer John F. Olden (1918–1965) at Ohlsdorf Main Cemetery
, Hamburg.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses. She had a successful stage career and played more than 100 roles in film and on television.
Life and work
Born Ingeborg Charlotte Hansen as the daughter of the DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
mother Anna Hansen and the German Jew Julius Meysel,
she attended drama schools in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
from 1928 until 1930, thereafter she was on stage in Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Berlin.
During Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Inge Meysel was banned from performing from 1935 until 1945 because of her Jewish father. In 1945 she restarted her career in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
Since the early 1960s Inge Meysel mainly acted in made-for-TV films and got the nickname (Fernseh-) Mutter der Nation ("(Television) Mother of the Nation").
She won numerous German actor awards including a lifetime achievement award from the German Television Awards, but in 1981 she refused to accept the Bundesverdienstkreuz
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
because "Einen Orden dafür, daß man anständig gelebt hat, brauche ich nicht"
("I don't need an order of merit just for having lived decently").
From the mid-1920s until shortly before her death, Meysel was outspoken on many - often controversial - social and political issues. Despite her decidedly leftist and feminist views, this did not harm her popularity as an actress. In 1992, she came out as a bisexual.
In 2004, aged 94, she died of heart failure at her home near Hamburg. She was cremated and her ashes were buried near her second husband the Austrian filmproducer John F. Olden (1918–1965) at Ohlsdorf Main Cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
-External links:* *...
, Hamburg.
Selected filmography
- Die Staatskanzlei (1989)
- Die Erbschaft (1987)
- DerrickDerrick (TV series)Derrick is a German TV series produced by Telenova Film und Fernsehproduktion in association with ZDF, ORF and SRG between 1974 and 1998 about Detective Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick and his loyal assistant Inspector Harry Klein , who solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings Derrick is a...
- Season 12, Episode 8: "Schwester Hilde" (1985) - Als geheilt entlassen (1960)
- Kabale und Liebe (1959)
- Immer die Radfahrer (1958)
- Das Mädchen vom Moorhof (1958)
- Dr. Crippen lebt (1958)
- Uns gefällt die Welt (1956)
- Des Teufels General (1955)
- Der Mann meines Lebens (1954)
- Tanzende Sterne (1952)
External links
- http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040710/en_afp/germany_theater_obit_040710213952
- http://sueddeutsche.de/panorama/artikel/39/35004/ -- German text
- http://www.rp-online.de/news/german/2000-0530/meysel.html -- older text from 2000 (German)
- http://www.emma.de/632252258296745.html // interview in German language (1987)