Wera Engels
Wera Engels , also Vera Engels (born May 12, 1904 in Kiel , † November 16, 1988 in Denklingen ), was a German actress .
Life
The daughter of a naval officer lived in the German colony of Tsingtau and in Japan until she started school in 1909 . Then she spent her childhood in Wiesbaden . In 1926 she immediately got a leading role in the film drama trafficking in girls .
With the beginning of the sound film age, she was able to significantly expand her career thanks to her excellent knowledge of French and English. Her marriage made her a British citizen in 1928. In 1932 she went to Hollywood, where she signed a contract with the film company RKO .
Her arrival was noted with interest by the specialist press, although there were still some doubts as to whether Engels actually had what it takes to become a star. Well-known columnist Elizabeth Yeaman wrote about the actress on November 29, 1932:
- Another foreign star is due to flame across the Hollywood horizon. Radio Pictures, about the only major company here that has not had a foreign “exotic” under contract, is now swelling with pride over the acquisition of Wera Engels. In all events, the studio heads have been negotiating for the services of Wera Engels for two months. Not only is her contract all signed and sealed, but she has arrived in New York. However, she will not proceed to Hollywood immediately. She was, so I am told, so flabbergasted by the sights of Manhattan that she is remaining for a week or so to explore the city. At the studio they describe her as a German Mary Duncan type, from which you might deduct that she is brunette and quite beautiful. They just will type everybody who comes to Hollywood, it seems, but then a comparison is the next best thing to a photograph, and Miss Engels' photos have not yet arrived. She also is credited with having an unusually beautiful speaking voice and her English is quite perfect. A few of the ship's reporters in New York who had a mastery of German proceeded to greet her in German and she smilingly answered them in flawless English. At Radio Pictures they are chanting that Wera Engels is the greatest star brought out of Europe in the past five years! According to that, she must be better than Chevalier, Dietrich, and a host of others. She may be featured at first, but stardom will be hers in a short time if she lives up to expectations.
Engels then also worked in some Hollywood productions, including 1934 in Dangerous Frontiers on the side of Erich von Stroheim , but these were only B-films. The breakthrough she had hoped for did not succeed, and so she returned to Germany in 1935.
Here she acted again in two films and then emigrated to America. In Hollywood she married the Lithuanian actor Ivan Lebedeff. After his death in 1953 she came back to Germany. She ended her film career with a brief appearance in the comedy film Fast a Hero .
Wera Engels urn was buried in the grave of Mary Pickford (1892–1979) at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles at the end of December 1988 .
Filmography
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Web links
- Wera Engels in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Short biography
- Pictures by Wera Engels In: Virtual History
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : The large personal dictionary of the film and filmportal.de name 1904 as the year of birth, IMDb et al. However, 1909.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Engels, Wera |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Engels, Vera |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 12, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kiel |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 16, 1988 |
| Place of death | Thinkers |