Greta Nissen
Greta Nissen (born January 30, 1906 in Oslo as Grethe Ruzt-Nissen, † May 15, 1988 in Montecito , California ) was a Norwegian -born American film and theater actress .
Life
Nissen was born in Oslo in 1906 as the daughter of an officer. As a child, she was allowed to study ballet dance in Copenhagen with a scholarship from Queen Maud of Norway . In 1922 she made her debut as a ballerina at the Nationaltheatret in Oslo. In 1923 and 1924 she starred in two Danish films with Pat & Patachon - the only films made by the actress in Scandinavia .
In 1924 Nissen went to the United States with a Danish dance company . There she briefly studied dance with Michel Fokine . In the same year she was engaged by George Simon Kaufman for the Broadway performance of the play Beggar on Horseback . New York Times reviewer Mordaunt Hall wrote that she was "an attractive and intelligent actress with a remarkable personality." On Broadway she saw the film producer Jesse L. Lasky of Paramount Pictures , who hired Nissen for the 1925 film The Wanderer . In the same year she also played in Highness Makes a Loan .
In 1926 she played in four films. In the same year she returned to Broadway and starred in No Foolin ' , directed by Florenz Ziegfeld . With Hinter Haremsmauern (1928) she rose to one of the stars of the American silent film . Her biggest success was to be the main role in Hellflier . The film was originally conceived as a silent film, but as a director Howard Hughes film The Jazz Singer saw, he decided his film as talkies take. Since Nissen had a noticeable Norwegian accent , she was replaced by Jean Harlow .
In the 1930s, Nissen had increasing problems getting engagements because of her accent. She starred in several British films and also at the Palace Theater and the Ambassadors Theater in London . In 1937 she withdrew completely from the film business.
After Nissen had been married to the actor Weldon Heyburn for two years , she married the Californian industrialist Stuart D. Eckert in 1941 and moved to live with him in Montecito. She and Stuart had a son.
She took American citizenship in the late 1930s. Greta Nissen died in 1988 as a result of her Parkinson's disease .
Filmography
- 1923: Pat and Patachon as photographers (original title: Daarskab, dyd og driverter )
- 1924: Pat and Patachon and the little dancer (Lille Lise let-paa-taa)
- 1925: The Wanderer (The Wanderer)
- 1925: Lost: A Wife
- 1925: In the Name of Love
- 1925: Your Highness makes a loan (The King on Main Street)
- 1926: The Lucky Lady
- 1926: The Lady of the Harem
- 1926: The Love Thief
- 1926: The Popular Sin
- 1927: Blonde or Brunette
- 1927: Blind Alleys
- 1928: The Butter and Egg Man
- 1928: Behind the walls of the harem (Fazil)
- 1931: Women of All Nations
- 1931: Ambassador Bill
- 1931: Good Sport
- 1931: Transatlantic
- 1932: Silent Witness (film) | Silent Witness
- 1932: Rackety Rax
- 1932: The Unwritten Law
- 1933: Best of Enemies
- 1933: The Murderer from the Mexico Bar (Life in a Raw)
- 1933: The Circus Queen Murder
- 1933: Melody Cruise
- 1934: The Luck of a Sailor
- 1934: Red Wagon
- 1934: Hired Wife
- 1935: Honors Easy
- 1936: On Secret Service
- 1937: Cafe Colette
literature
- Hans J. Wollstein: Strangers in Hollywood: The History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films from 1910 to World War II . Scarecrow Press, 2004.
Web links
- Greta Nissen in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Pictures of Greta Nissen on film.virtual-history.com
- Greta Nissen in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Great Nissen at rottentomatoes.com, accessed June 6, 2014.
- ↑ Greta Nissen, 82 Silent Film Star. In: The Boston Globe, July 15, 1988.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nits, Greta |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ruzt-Nissen, Grethe (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Norwegian-born American film and stage actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 30, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oslo , Norway |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 15, 1988 |
| Place of death | Montecito , United States |