Gerty Molzen

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Gerty Molzen

Gerty Margarethe Molzen (born January 30, 1906 in Flensburg ; † August 31, 1990 in Glücksburg ) was a German actress, cabaret artist, singer, author and copywriter. She began her career at the opera, made her way through the 1950s as a cabaret artist, worked as an actress and started a pop career at the age of 79. Gerty Molzen died in her house in Glücksburg on the Baltic Sea at the age of 84.

Life

Beginnings

Gerty Margarethe Molzen was born on January 30, 1906 in Flensburg as the daughter of a shipowner who was respected on the Flensburg Fjord and a pastor's daughter. Even as a child she was a real bundle of energy: “I would have much preferred to have been a boy and have done everything I can to gain recognition among boys' circles. I was the rascal of the streets. Wherever I was, there was always a stir. ”The idea of ​​becoming a singer came from her father, who sent her to study singing in Berlin, Munich and Milan, where she was tutored by teachers like Signore Vanzo. She had her first appearance as a singer in the St. Mary's Church in Flensburg in 1930.

Career as a singer and cabaret artist

In 1933 she went to the opera in Koblenz as an alto . There she sang in Verdi's might of fate ; roles in The Magic Flute , Arabella, and Gypsy Baron followed . In 1934/35 she moved to the Saarbrücken Opera, followed by other guest appearances at home and abroad.

Gustaf Gründgens discovered Gerty Molzen's comic talent, and it was he who advised her to switch to the comic subject one day. First he engaged her as the singing voice of Elisabeth Flickenschildt . Gerty Molzen shone in two pieces with her singing (including Auprès de ma blonde ) as part of the film The Step from the Path (including with Marianne Hoppe ) from 1938. During the Second World War, she had to perform as a frontline entertainer - as was customary at the time keep the troop happy. The soldiers, however, had little interest in Brahms and Schubert, so they were asked to perform something funny. She grabbed her accordion and heralded her second career as a cabaret artist. “I lived in a permanent alternation between happiness, cheerfulness, sadness and melancholy. That went through my whole life. "

After the war, she toured all of Germany with her cabaret program, performed at family celebrations, company parties or in health resorts. In 1962 she had her first film role; Jürgen Roland hired her for his production Polizeirevier Davidswache . Smaller roles followed (in a film with Helga Feddersen, the TV court and later in The American Friend of Wim Wenders ).

Petuhtante as a book author

In addition, Gerty became a book author ( Gerty Molzen distributed , Das Gerty Molzen Book and others) and described humorous the life of the so-called Petuhtanten , who were to be found at the turn of the century on conveying ships , for example on the saloon steamer Alexandra , on butter trips. Gerty Molzen carried her home in Flensburg to her heart for life and made it known throughout the world through her art. With the books Flensburger Originals and Petuhfahrt nach Glücksburg , she keeps the "Flensburg Originals" alive to this day. The Lübecker Nachrichten gave Gerty appreciative respect for this: “The humorous Gerty Molzen knows the Petuh aunts inside out. She deserves the fame of having set a monument in her vivid, humorous performance of the Flensburg Petuhtanten. "

Career as a pop singer

In 1984 the producer Gerd Plez ( Hong Kong Syndicate ) discovered Gerty Molzen as a rock lady and recorded the Lou Reed classic Walk on the Wild Side with her . A sensation that takes you through all the feature pages and TV entertainment programs - everyone is talking about the "rock grandma". She performed worldwide , such as in the London Hippodrome , in Vienna in P4 , and even in the New York Palladium . A film team from NDR accompanied her to New York . The big TV portrait ran on May 5, 1986 on ARD and was a loving homage by Berlin filmmaker Heide Breitel (title: I'm not beautiful, I'm much worse ). Gerty then released other singles such as Do You Really Want to Hurt Me or Wild Thing . Inspired by her success as a singer, Gerty got engagements in film and TV series ( Großstadtrevier , Der Landarzt ) - a late satisfaction and recognition that Gerty visibly enjoyed.

In September 1986 Richard von Weizsäcker awarded her the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon for "exhilarating and strengthening services to the young and old" . Gerty Molzen was even noticed in Japan; one shot a personality feature for Japanese television , which was broadcast there on January 20, 1987. In the same year her single No style came out.

On the death bed

In 1989 Gerty Molzen had her last film role: In Gábor Altorjay's project CityLife , she played a dying woman in the episode Der Polsprung , which takes place in Hamburg. Lying on her deathbed, a grandmother shares her legacy with her granddaughter, partly singing (cover version on Its a mans' world / James Brown ) and partly speaking. A poignant final role, which also gave the heavy subject a Gerty-typical note with a strong dash of humor. Gerty was unable to attend the premiere during the 1990 Berlin Film Festival in person.

On August 31st she died in her house in Glücksburg, where the funeral service took place on September 7th with her family and some loyal companions. Their ashes were later given to the sea on the high seas .

Honors

Works

  • Flensburg originals . Self-published, Hamburg 1963, DNB  453445039 .
  • De Flensburger Deerns hem 'a bacillus more! Self-published, Hamburg 1964, DNB  453445020 .
  • Petuhfahrt to Glücksburg . Self-published, Hamburg, DNB  575167211 (around 1966).
  • Aunt Tiedde sees it soooo! JB Meyer, Flensburg 1967, DNB  457629592 .
  • The Gerty Molzen Book . Skandia-Verlag Sørensen, Flensburg 1976, ISBN 3-88060-008-2 .
  • Gerty Molzen distributes ... Dansk Boghandel, Flensburg 1979, DNB  891344373 .
  • “See you next tour!”: Petuh stories . Baltica-Verlag, Glücksburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-934097-35-3 .

Discography

  • 1962: The roty Lilly single
  • 1966: When we women were still women - single
  • 1976: Petuhfahrt to Glücksburg - single
  • 1985: Take a walk on the wild side - single
  • 1986: Do you really want to hurt me - single
  • 1987: Wild thing / No style - single
  • 2013: From Flensburg to New York: Songs from 60 Years on the Stage - CD

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joachim Pohl: CD release party: Wiederhör'n with Gerty Molzen. In: Flensburger Tageblatt . December 2, 2013, accessed June 14, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Gerty Molzen CD. In: Flensburg Maritime Museum . City of Flensburg, accessed on June 14, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Molzen, Gerty
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Molzen, Gerty Margarethe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actress, cabaret artist, singer, book author and copywriter
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Flensburg
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 1990
Place of death Glücksburg