Romy Schneider

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Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider in the late 1950s
Born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty
September 23, 1938(1938-09-23)
Vienna
Died May 29, 1982 (aged 43)
Paris
Spouse(s) Harry Meyen (1966-1975) 1 child
Daniel Biasini (1975-1981) 1 child

Romy Schneider (September 23, 1938 – May 29, 1982) was an Austrian–German actress. Born in Vienna, she also held French citizenship and died in Paris at the age of 43.

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[edit] Early life

Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty in Vienna into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian father Wolf Albach-Retty and her German mother Magda Schneider. After her parents' divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girl's career, often appearing alongside her daughter. Romy made her film debut in Wenn der weisse Flieder wieder blüht (1953), at the age of 15. Young Romy's career was also overseen by her stepfather, Hans-Herbert Blatzheim, a noted restaurateur who Schneider indicated had an unhealthy interest in her.[1][2][3][4][5]

[edit] Career

Romy Schneider's first movie was Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) in 1953, credited as Romy Schneider-Albach; this was also the debut of Götz George. In the film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (The Story of Vicky [US] / Victoria in Dover [UK]) (1954) Romy Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal. This Austrian movie is about the early years of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, in particular her first encounter with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Schneider's breakthrough came with her portrayal of Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria, the later Empress Consort of Austria, in the romantic biopic Sissi (1955) and its two sequels, Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin (1956) and Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (1957). Less stereotypical films during this busy period include Robinson soll nicht sterben (The Legend of Robinson Crusoe) (1957) putting her among a stellar cast and opposite a young Horst Buchholz, and Monpti (1957), directed by Helmut Käutner and again opposite Buchholz.

Schneider soon starred in Christine (1958), a remake of Max Ophüls's 1933 film Liebelei (itself based upon a play by Arthur Schnitzler). It was during the filming of Christine that Schneider fell in love with French actor Alain Delon, who co-starred in the movie. She left Germany to join him in Paris. Schneider became engaged to Delon in 1959.

Schneider stayed in France, slowly gaining the interest of film directors such as Orson Welles for The Trial (1962), based upon Franz Kafka's The Trial and was introduced by Delon to Luchino Visconti.

Under Visconti's direction, she gave performances in John Ford's play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and in the film Boccaccio '70 (segment: "The Job"). A brief stint in Hollywood included appearances in Good Neighbor Sam, a 1964 comedy with Jack Lemmon, and 1965 What's New, Pussycat? costarring Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen who also wrote the screenplay.

Scheider and Delon decided to split in 1963. Later she married Harry Meyen (1924–1979), a German director and actor who later committed suicide. The couple had a son, David Christopher Meyen (1966–1981). In 1975, Schneider married Daniel Biasini, her private secretary; they separated in 1981. Their daughter Sarah Magdalena Biasini (born July 14, 1977) is also an actress.

Schneider continued starring in films with Alain Delon. Together they did La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (1968). The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) followed and Delon remained a lifelong friend.

Romy Schneider worked in France as an actress during the 1970s, giving performances in films such as Les choses de la vie (1970), Max et les ferrailleurs (1971), César et Rosalie (1972), and Le vieux fusil (1975). The harsh L'important c'est d'aimer (1974) garnered her first César Award (France's equivalent of the Oscar).

On 30 October 1974, Romy Schneider created one of the most memorable moments on German television. She was the second guest on Dietmar Schönherr's talk show Je später der Abend (The later the evening) when she, after a rather terse interview, remarked passionately to the last guest, bank robber and author Burkhard Driest: "Sie gefallen mir. Sie gefallen mir sehr." (I like you. I like you a lot.)[6][7][8]

stamp published in 2000
stamp published in 2000

Ludwig, Visconti's 1972 film about the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, featured her as a much more complex, mature, even bitter Elisabeth of Austria. "Sissi sticks to me just like oatmeal," Schneider once said.[9]

She also acted in Le Trio infernal (1974) with Michel Piccoli, and in Garde à vue (1981) with Michel Serrault and Lino Ventura.

In 1980 she starred in Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch (La mort en direct), based on D. G. Compton's novel, playing a dying woman whose last days are watched on national television via a camera implanted in the brain of a journalist (Harvey Keitel). Her last film was La Passante du Sans-Souci (The Passerby), (1982).

[edit] Death

Schneider began drinking alcohol in excess after the sudden death of her 14-year-old son David on July 5, 1981. David had attempted to climb the spiked fence at his stepfather's parents home when he punctured his femoral artery. When Romy Schneider was found dead in her apartment in Paris on May 29, 1982, it was suggested that she had committed suicide by taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills. However, no post-mortem examination was carried out. She was declared to have died from cardiac arrest. Her tombstone at Boissy-sans-Avoir in the Canton of Montfort-l'Amaury bears the name Rosemarie Albach. Shortly afterwards, Alain Delon arranged for her son David to be buried in the same grave.[10]

[edit] Enduring popularity

The French journalist Eugène Moineau initiated in 1984 the Prix Romy Schneider; this prize—the most prestigious award for promising actresses in the French film industry—is awarded by a jury each year in Paris in conjunction with the Prix Patrick Dewaere (formerly the Prix Jean Gabin). In 1990, the Austrian newspaper Kurier created the Romy TV Award in honour of Romy Schneider. In 2003, she was voted 78th on the list of the greatest Germans in the German TV programme Unsere Besten (the German version of 100 Greatest Britons)—the second highest ranked actress (Marlene Dietrich was 50th) on that list.

A movie about Romy Schneider's life, titled Eine Frau wie Romy (A Woman Like Romy) is planned by Warner Bros. for 2009; Schneider's role is to be played by Yvonne Catterfeld.[11][12] In March 2008, a $7 million TV production depicting her life under the title Romy was announced; Jessica Schwarz will play the title role.[13]

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Biography (French). pipole.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “Romy témoignant par la suite de l’intérêt malsain qu’il lui portait.”
  2. ^ Biography and career (Dutch). SeniorPlaza.nl. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “waarvan Romy later aangaf dat hij een ongezonde belangstelling voor haar had”
  3. ^ Surkus, Andrea. Auch das noch - Alice Schwarzer entdeckt Romy Schneider als Frauensymbol (German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “und will mit ihr schlafen”
  4. ^ Gretter, Susanne. Biography (German & French). FemBio Frauen-Biographieforschung e.V.. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “Il a clairement proposé de coucher avec moi.”
  5. ^ Leinkauf, Thomas (19 September 1998). Der Liebling der Machos (German). Berliner Zeitung. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “Blatzheim in ihrer Jugend mit ihr schlafen wollte.”
  6. ^ Talkshow-Skandale (German). Stern Magazin. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  7. ^ Beier, Lars-Olav (23 May 2007). Die Berührbare (German). Der Spiegel. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  8. ^ Romy Schneider - ihre Filme, ihr Leben (German). Südwestrundfunk. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  9. ^ Romy Schneider – Bilder einer Ikone (German). Compress VerlagsgesmbH & Co KG. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. “Sissi pappt an mir wie Griesbrei”
  10. ^ Delon, Alain (11 June 1982). "Adieu ma puppelé" (in French). Paris Match (#1724). (German) Lay summary – Romy Schneider Archiv. 
  11. ^ Sander, Daniel (12 February 2008). Ein Soap-Sternchen gibt den Weltstar (German). Der Spiegel. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  12. ^ Ich hatte eine Gänsehaut. Süddeutsche Zeitung (12 February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  13. ^ Meza, Ed (27 March 2008). Schneider a magnet for filmmakers. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.

[edit] External links

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NAME Schneider, Romy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albach-Retty, Rosemarie Magdalena
SHORT DESCRIPTION Austrian-German actress
DATE OF BIRTH 1938-9-23
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH 1982-5-29
PLACE OF DEATH Paris