Marianne Koch
Encyclopedia
Marianne Koch is a retired German
actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her appearances in spaghetti western
s and adventure films of the 1960s. She later worked as a television host and as a physician.
Between 1950 and 1971, Koch appeared in more than 65 films. In the haunting 1954 espionage thriller Night People
she starred alongside Gregory Peck
. Sergio Leone
's 1964 production A Fistful of Dollars
showcased her alongside Clint Eastwood
as a civilian tormented by ruthless local gangsters, torn between her husband and child and the villains. In Germany she was probably best-loved for her many years of participation in the highly popular TV game show Was bin ich which ran from the 1950s until 1988 and achieved ratings of up to 75% at its peak.
In 1971, she resumed the medical studies she had broken off in the early 1950s to become an actress. She got her MD in 1974 and practiced medicine until 1997 as a specialist in Munich. In 1976, she was one of the initial hosts of Germany's pioneering talk show 3 nach 9 (Three After Nine), for which she was awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the German television industry, the Grimme Preis. She also hosted other television shows and had a medical advice program on radio.
In 1953, she married the physician Gerhard Freund, with whom she has two sons. The marriage ended in 1973 after Freund began an affair with Miss World
1956, Petra Schürmann
, whom he later wed.
Marianne Koch is in a relationship with the publicist Peter Hamm since the mid 1980s.
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 of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her appearances in spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s and adventure films of the 1960s. She later worked as a television host and as a physician.
Between 1950 and 1971, Koch appeared in more than 65 films. In the haunting 1954 espionage thriller Night People
Night People (1954 film)
Night People is a 1954 motion picture drama starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Bjork and Buddy Ebsen, directed by Nunnally Johnson. It was co-written by Jed Harris, a noted theatrical producer....
she starred alongside Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
. Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
's 1964 production A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
showcased her alongside Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as a civilian tormented by ruthless local gangsters, torn between her husband and child and the villains. In Germany she was probably best-loved for her many years of participation in the highly popular TV game show Was bin ich which ran from the 1950s until 1988 and achieved ratings of up to 75% at its peak.
In 1971, she resumed the medical studies she had broken off in the early 1950s to become an actress. She got her MD in 1974 and practiced medicine until 1997 as a specialist in Munich. In 1976, she was one of the initial hosts of Germany's pioneering talk show 3 nach 9 (Three After Nine), for which she was awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the German television industry, the Grimme Preis. She also hosted other television shows and had a medical advice program on radio.
In 1953, she married the physician Gerhard Freund, with whom she has two sons. The marriage ended in 1973 after Freund began an affair with Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
1956, Petra Schürmann
Petra Schürmann
-External links:* - richly illustrated...
, whom he later wed.
Marianne Koch is in a relationship with the publicist Peter Hamm since the mid 1980s.
Selected filmography
- Der Stern von AfrikaDer Stern von AfrikaDer Stern von Afrika is a 1957 black-and-white German war film portraying the combat career of Luftwaffe World War II fighter pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille. It stars Joachim Hansen and Marianne Koch and was directed by Alfred Weidenmann...
(1957) - Napoléon II l'AiglonNapoléon II l'AiglonNapoléon II l'Aiglon is a French drama film from 1961, directed by Claude Boissol, written by Paul Andréota, starring Bernard Verley and Jean Marais. The scenario was based on a novel of André Castelot...
(1961) - Death Drums Along the RiverDeath Drums Along the RiverDeath Drums Along the River or Sanders is a 1963 German/English international co-production using the same characters as Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River. Filmed on location in South Africa, it features Richard Todd and Marianne Koch leading a cast of British, German and South African actors...
(1963) - A Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
(1964) - Clint the StrangerClint the StrangerClint the Stranger, also known as Clint the Nevada's Loner, Nevada Clint and Clint, the Lonely Nevadan , is a 1967 Italian spaghetti western starring George Martin...
(1967)