Leopoldine Konstantin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leopoldine Konstantin as woo in Jedermann 1912
Konstantin as Fortuna in Lumpazivagabundus at the Deutsches Theater in 1911

Leopoldine Eugenie Amelie Konstantin (born March 12, 1886 in Brno , † December 14, 1965 in Vienna ) was an Austrian actress .

Life

Her father was Michel Constantin, who in 1890 was editor of the Modern Poetry published by Eduard Michael Kafka (son of Maria Constantin) .

She took private acting lessons from Alexander Strakosch (1846–1909), whom she married shortly afterwards, and made her debut in 1907 with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. She embodied Thea in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening (1907), the pages in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1907), Perdita in A Winter's Tale (1908) and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1910).

From 1911 she could also be seen at the Berliner Kammerspiele and became a well-known personality at the Berlin salons . During the First World War she moved to Vienna in 1916, where she appeared - sometimes compared to Helene Odilon    - at the Stadttheater Wien , the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Deutsches Volkstheater . She portrayed typical Grande Dames here , and she was particularly successful in 1924 at the Volkstheater in the title role of Friedrich Schiller's Maria Stuart .

Since 1912 she took part in silent films, initially in leading roles. When she increasingly had to make do with supporting roles after the First World War, she turned away from this medium for some time. In 1923 she built a house for herself and her son Alexander in Westerland , and in 1924 she married the Hungarian ministerial advisor and author Géza Herczeg .

From 1933 she resumed her film work, and in 1935 she returned to Austria. Divorced in the meantime, she emigrated to England in 1938. After losing her son in a bombing raid on London, Konstantin moved to the United States. Since she spoke only very poor English, she first had to make ends meet as a factory worker until, after intensive language studies, she was given a major supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's Infamous in 1946 as the possessive mother of a Nazi sympathizer ( Claude Rains ). When asked why she only made this one Hollywood film despite good reviews, she replied: "My very first part and they made me in this monster!"

Until 1957, Leopoldine Konstantin took part in three episodes of largely forgotten American television series. She returned to Austria in 1948, but was unable to build on her earlier successes. Only occasionally did she work in German theaters or take part in readings for the radio.

Leopoldine Konstantin last lived with her adopted daughter Elisabeth Herczeg in Vienna's Trauttmansdorffgasse ; she died of cardiac arrest on December 15, 1965 and was laid to   rest in the Vienna Central Cemetery ( Evangelischer Friedhof Simmering) . 

Filmography (selection)

Leopoldine Konstantin as Maria in the production of Eduard Stuckens Gawân. A mystery in the Berlin Kammerspiele , 1910

literature

  • Kay Less : "In life, more is taken from you than given ...". Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. ACABUS-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8 , p. 282 f.

Web links

Commons : Leopoldine Konstantin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to aeiou : December 15.
  2. ^ Austrian National Library: ANNO, Arbeiter Zeitung, 1916-10-06. Retrieved May 30, 2017 .
  3. ^ Raoul Auernheimer :  Leopoldine Konstantin. In:  Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt (No. 18715/1916), September 27, 1916, p. 1 ff. (Online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp
  4. ^ Leopoldine Konstantin. Retrieved February 23, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b Kay Less : “In life, more is taken from you than given…” Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria 1933 to 1945. A general overview . 1st edition. Acabus-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8 , p. 283, text online .
  6. ^ Leopoldine Konstantin . (English). In: findagrave.com , September 25, 2006; Retrieved February 24, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Konstantin, Leopoldine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Konstantin, Leopoldine Eugenie Amelie (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian actress
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Brno
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 1965
Place of death Vienna