Uta Hagen

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Uta Hagen, 1940s

Uta Thyra Hagen (born June 12, 1919 in Göttingen , † January 14, 2004 in New York City , New York , United States ) was a German-American actress .

Life

Uta Hagen was the daughter of the art historian Oskar Hagen and the opera singer Thyra Leisner , which in a way gave her an inclination for the theater and singing in the cradle. On August 23, 1924 (departure; arrival September 4) she moved with her parents from Germany to the United States in Wisconsin . After studying Dramatic Arts in London , she became a celebrated stage actress in America.

She made her stage debut in Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1937 as Ophelia in Dennis , Massachusetts . In Othello she appeared on stage as Desdemona alongside Paul Robeson in the title role and with José Ferrer as Iago . In 1947 she replaced Jessica Tandy in the role of Blanche on Broadway in Tennessee Williams ' drama Endstation Sehnsucht with Marlon Brando as Stanley . In the world premiere of Edward Albee's famous play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? she played the role of Martha opposite Arthur Hill as George in 1962 . Her few film appearances include roles in The Boys from Brazil (1978) alongside Laurence Olivier , Gregory Peck and Lilli Palmer and in The Affair of Sunny von B. (1990) alongside Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons .

As an acting teacher, she taught actors like Robert De Niro and Amanda Peet , but also Geraldine Page , Jason Robards and Matthew Broderick at her second husband's drama school, the Herbert Berghof Studio . In 1973 she wrote her first book, Respect for Acting , in which she showed and explained the acting profession as a demanding and equally diverse craft. Her second book, A Challenge For The Actor , published in 1991 , is a revision and expansion of the first, which she reworked into a training manual for actors.

Awards

For her achievements Hagen received two Tony Awards and in 1999 another for her life's work, a Lifetime Achievement Award . In 1999 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Private

Uta Hagen was married to two fellow actors; her first marriage to José Ferrer in 1938 ended in divorce in 1948. She then married Herbert Berghof on January 25, 1957 , with whom she was married until his death in 1990. Her older brother Holger Hagen was theater and music commissioner for the US military government in West Germany from 1945 to 1948. Until his death in 1996 he was a sought-after actor and voice actor in Germany .

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Uta Hagen: Small actor manual. Authors' House Publishing House, Berlin 2007.

Web links

Commons : Uta Hagen  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Hagen, Uta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hagen, Uta Thyra (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Göttingen , German Empire
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 2004
Place of death New York City , New York , United States