Charlotte Susa
Encyclopedia
Biography
Susa was born Charlotta Wegmüller near MemelKlaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and first appeared at a stage in 1915 at Tilsit. She chose her mothers maiden name "Susa" as her stage name and began a successful career as a singer and actress at different German Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and Operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
stages, e.g. at Brandenburg, Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and later on at the Admiralspalast
Admiralspalast
The Admiralspalast is a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, located on Friedrichstraße No. 101. Opened in 1910, it is one of the few preserved variety venues of the pre-World War II era in the city....
in Berlin.
Susa gave her debut as a film actress in the German Silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
Der Prinz und die Tänzerin in 1926 and became popular for her roles as a Femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
. In 1932 she signed a contract with MGM and moved to the United States to start an international career.
Elizabeth Yeaman wrote in her newspaper column on August 15, 1932:
- Lilian HarveyLilian HarveyLilian Harvey was a British-born actress and singer, long-based in Germany, where she is best known for her role as Christel Weinzinger in Erik Charell's 1931 film Der Kongress tanzt.-Life:...
, Henry Garat, Anna StenAnna StenAnna Sten was a Ukrainian-born Russian silent film actress and later a Hollywood film star. She began her career in stage plays and films in Russia before travelling to Germany, where she starred in several films...
, and now Charlotte Susa, comprise a quartet of important foreign talent that soon will be seen in Hollywood pictures. (...) Miss Susa has arrived in New York and soon will reach these shores with an MGM contract. She was born in Lithuania of German parents and has won great fame in Germany. She first went on the stage as a singer, then as a dramatic actress, and three years ago she took up screen work. Who knows, she may be the actress who will take Garbo's place, provided Garbo never returns.
However, Susa did not succeed in Hollywood, returned to Germany soon and canceled the MGM contract in 1934. Her last role in a movie was a minor one in the 1941 comedy Der Gasmann next to Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
and Anny Ondra
Anny Ondra
Anny Ondra was a Czech film actress. She was born Anna Sophie Ondráková in Tarnów, Galicia, Austria–Hungary, now Poland, and died in Hollenstedt near Harburg, Germany.-Life:...
. After that she returned to theater stages.
Susa was married to Paul Cablin, Fritz Malkowsky and after 1939 to Andrews Engelmann. Susa died at Basel in Switzerland in the age of 78.
Filmography
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Zwei Menschen Zwei Menschen is a novel by Richard Voß. It has been filmed in Germany twice, in 1930 by Erich Waschneck, and in 1952 by Paul May.- Plot :... Unter falscher Flagge Unter falscher Flagge is the second album of the German punk band Die Toten Hosen.-Track listing:... |