Elizabeth T. Spira

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Elizabeth T. Spira (right) with Hannah Fischer , 2009 at the Hietzing Adult Education Center

Elizabeth Toni Spira (born December 24, 1942 in Glasgow , Scotland , United Kingdom ; † March 9, 2019 in Vienna ) was an Austrian television journalist . As a producer and presenter of the documentary series Everytagsgeschichte and the show Liebesg'schichten und Marriagessachen for the public broadcaster ORF , she achieved great popularity in Austria from the late 1980s .

Life

Spira was born in 1942 as the daughter of the Austrian emigrant Eva Spira born. Zerner and Leopold Spira were born in Glasgow, Scotland. As a participant in the Spanish Civil War in France and England, the father was temporarily interned as an " enemy alien " and, as a Jew and Communist, was threatened with death several times in Austria during the time of National Socialism . In 1940 he married his partner in British exile.

In 1946 the Spira couple returned to Vienna with their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret , where Elizabeth T. Spira attended elementary school and then the Stubenbastei grammar school. She then began - after a brief interlude at the University of World Trade  - to study journalism at the University of Vienna , which she completed with a doctorate .

In 1972 Spira began her journalistic career with the Austrian weekly magazine profil . In 1973 she moved to ORF as a TV editor , where she was part of the editorial team for the teleobjektiv documentary film series from 1974 to 1984 and worked with Robert Dornhelm , among others . Spira repeatedly referred to the head of the show, Claus Gatterer , as her most important journalistic teacher.

After the teleobjective program was discontinued , Spira created her own broadcast format with the documentary film series Everyday History in 1985 , which she continued until 2006. In 1997 she started love stories and marriage matters . These have recorded relatively high audience rates across all generations up to the present day. It was characteristic of this program that half a dozen very different people were selected for each program. A filming team from the station drove to each selected person and shot a short feature about him or her at their place of residence. In contrast to some other “coupling shipments”, no cheap production was delivered. In the summer of 2018, the 22nd season of love stories and marriage matters was broadcast. In March 2018, after a statement by Spira to the Kleine Zeitung , many media reported that this would be the last season. Soon afterwards, however, Spira no longer ruled out a continuation beyond 2018. This also depends on their state of health.

Spira was married to the former castle actor Hermann Schmid for 37 years (they have an adopted daughter together) and lived in Vienna for most of her life. For many years, for purely taste reasons, she preferred to go out in public primarily in black clothing.

On the night of March 9, 2019, Spira died after a long illness at the age of 76 in Vienna, as her family confirmed. Once a heavy smoker, she suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Her life's work was honored by high-ranking Austrian politicians from all parties, above all by Federal President Van der Bellen , who described her as a “great chronicler of local society and of individuals”. Spira had “a relentless look at the Austrian reality, which was always characterized by respect”.

Grave of Elizabeth T. Spira at the Vienna Central Cemetery, next to that of Wilma Lipp

She was buried on March 22, 2019 in an honorary grave of the City of Vienna at the Vienna Central Cemetery in Ehrenhain Gruppe 40, No. 205.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ORF legend Elizabeth T. Spira died at the age of 76. In: tt.com. March 9, 2019, accessed March 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Elizabeth T. Spira is dead. In: ORF.at . March 9, 2019, accessed March 9, 2019 .
  3. ^ Franz Kössler: A Jewish birth left in the Alpine country. In: Falter . Vienna, No. 11/19, March 13, 2019, p. 30.
  4. ↑ Elizabeth Toni Schmid in the search for the deceased at friedhoefewien.at
  5. ↑ Cf. Nina Bayer: Elizabeth T. Spira: Love of a life. In: [Statement]. The media magazine. July / August 2014, pp. 16-17.
  6. ↑ And it couples again! Spira's ORF “love stories and marriage matters” go into the next season. In: der.orf.at. Retrieved July 13, 2018 .
  7. ↑ "Queen of Lonely Hearts" ends this year. In: kleinezeitung.at. March 6, 2018, accessed July 13, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Elisabeth T. Spira ends with the "love stories". In: diepresse.com. March 7, 2018, accessed July 13, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Spira cannot be "nailed down" to the future of ORF. In: kleinezeitung.at. June 19, 2018, accessed July 13, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Elizabeth T. Spira: "I could spit". In: wien.orf.at. July 7, 2018, accessed July 13, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Your personal love story. The everyday psychologist has been married to actor Hermann Schmid for 32 years. In: news.at. August 4, 2012, accessed March 9, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b Adieu, story collector! Elizabeth T. Spira has died. In: diepresse.com. March 9, 2019, accessed March 11, 2019 .
  13. ↑ "I scratch the red-white-red paint with pleasure". In: deutschlandfunkkultur.de. July 4, 2018, accessed March 12, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Mourning the ORF legend. Great chronicler of everyday life at home: Elizabeth T. Spira is dead. In: kleinezeitung.at. March 9, 2019, accessed March 9, 2019 .
  15. ↑ "An unswerving woman". Mourning for Elizabeth T. Spira. In: ORF.at. March 9, 2019, accessed March 10, 2019 .
  16. ^ Funeral service for T. Spira on March 22nd. In: wien.ORF.at. March 14, 2019, accessed March 22, 2019 .
  17. ^ Farewell to Elizabeth Toni Spira. In: wien.ORF.at. March 22, 2019, accessed March 22, 2019 .
  18. ^ Prize of the City of Vienna in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna .
  19. ↑ Elizabeth T. Spira received the German Prize for Criticism. In: ORF.at. May 13, 2018, accessed March 12, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Spira, Elizabeth T.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spira, Elizabeth Toni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian television journalist
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 2019
Place of death Vienna