| Romy Schneider | |
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 Romy Schneider in the late 1950s |
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| Birth name | Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty |
| Born | September 23 1938 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | May 29 1982 (aged 43) Paris, France |
| Spouse(s) | Harry Meyen (1966-1975) 1 child Daniel Biasini (1975-1981) 1 child |
| Children | David-Christopher (d. 1981) Sarah Biasini (b. 1977) |
Romy Schneider (born September 23, 1938 in Vienna, died May 29, 1982 in Paris, aged 43) was a German actress.
Contents |
Early life
She 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]
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 Le vieux fusil, Max et les ferrailleurs and the crowd pleasers Les choses de la vie and César et Rosalie. The harsh L'important c'est d'aimer garnered her first César Award (France's equivalent of the Oscar).
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.[6] She also acted in Le Trio infernal (1974) with Michel Piccoli, and in Garde à vue with Michel Serrault and Lino Ventura (1981). 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). 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.
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. Alain Delon arranged soon after for her son David to be buried in the same grave.[7]
Selected Filmography
- 1953 : Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) by Hans Deppe
- 1954 : Mädchenjahre einer Königin (The Story of Vicky) by Ernst Marischka
- 1955 : Sissi by Ernst Marischka
- 1956 : Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin (Sissi - The Young Empress) by Ernst Marischka
- 1957 : Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (Sissi - Fateful Years of an Empress) by Ernst Marischka
- 1957 : Robinson soll nicht sterben (The Legend of Robinson Crusoe) by Josef von Báky
- 1957 : Monpti by Helmut Käutner
- 1958 : Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) by Géza von Radványi
- 1961 : Boccaccio '70 by Luchino Visconti
- 1962 : The Trial by Orson Welles
- 1962 : The Victors by Carl Foreman
- 1963 : The Cardinal by Otto Preminger
- 1964 : Good Neighbor Sam by David Swift
- 1965 : What's New, Pussycat? by Clive Donner
- 1965 : 10:30 P.M. Summer by Jules Dassin
- 1966 : Triple Cross by Terence Young
- 1968 : Otley by Dick Clement
- 1968 : The Swimming Pool by Jacques Deray
- 1970 : Les Choses de la vie by Claude Sautet
- 1970 : My lover, my son by John Newland
- 1971 : Bloomfield by Richard Harris
- 1971 : The Assassination of Trotsky by Joseph Losey
- 1972 : César et Rosalie by Claude Sautet
- 1972 : Ludwig by Luchino Visconti
- 1973 : Le Train (The Train [UK] / The Last Train [US]) by Pierre Granier-Deferre
- 1974 : L'important c'est d'aimer by Andrzej Żuławski
- 1975 : Le Vieux Fusil by Robert Enrico
- 1978 : A Simple Story (Une histoire simple) by Claude Sautet
- 1979 : Bloodline by Terence Young
- 1979 : Clair de femme by Costa-Gavras
- 1979 : Death Watch (La Mort en direct) by Bertrand Tavernier
- 1981 : Garde à vue by Claude Miller
- 1982 : La Passante du Sans-Souci by Jacques Rouffio
References
- ^ Biography (French). pipole.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “Romy témoignant par la suite de l’intérêt malsain qu’il lui portait.”
- ^ Biography and career (Dutch). SeniorPlaza.nl. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “waarvan Romy later aangaf dat hij een ongezonde belangstelling voor haar had”
- ^ 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”
- ^ Gretter, Susanne. Biography (German & French). FemBio Frauen-Biographieforschung e.V.. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. “Il a clairement proposé de coucher avec moi.”
- ^ 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.”
- ^ Romy Schneider – Bilder einer Ikone (German). Compress VerlagsgesmbH & Co KG. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. “Sissi pappt an mir wie Griesbrei”
- ^ Delon, Alain (11 June 1982). "Adieu ma puppelé" (in French). Paris Match (#1724). (German) Lay summary – Romy Schneider Archiv.
