Curt Goetz
Encyclopedia
Curt Goetz born Kurt Walter Götz, was a Swiss-German writer, actor and film director. Curt Goetz was regarded as one of the most brilliant comedy writers of his time in the German-speaking world. Together with his wife Valérie von Martens
he acted in his own plays and also filmed them. He was a distant relative of the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw
, with whom he was often compared.
, Germany
as the son of the Swiss wine examiner Bernhard Götz, and his German wife of Italian and French descent, Selma (born Rocco). His father died in 1890. His mother then went with the two-year-old Curt to Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
, where she managed a private clinic.
In 1906 he completed the City High School in Halle, where he had played Franz Moor in The Robbers by Schiller.
His mother remarried, and his stepfather encouraged and financed his first steps in the theatre. He studied acting under the Berlin actor Emanuel Reicher
, and in 1907 he made his stage debut at the Stadttheater in Rostock
. In Rostock, he also wrote his first sketches for the stage. He then played at theatres in Nuremberg
and then went to Berlin
. In 1912 he played the lead in the silent movie Black Blood, directed by Harry Piel
.
In 1914 he married Erna Nitter, whom he divorced in 1917. Curt continued acting in silent movies, mainly thrillers, for example, Ich möchte kein Mann sein (I Don't Want To Be A Mann), directed by Ernst Lubitsch
in 1918. One of his colleagues from that time was the actor Max Landa.
In 1923 he married Valérie von Martens
, whom he had got to know while acting in Vienna
, in Berlin. He started going on tour with Valérie, acting with her in his own productions.
In 1939 he went to Hollywood to study film-making, and decided to remain there, along with Valérie, when war broke out. He worked with the director Reinhold Schunzel, among others, and several of his comedies were turned into films. Curt obtained a contract with MGM
and worked on a number of film scripts. After the success of the Greta Garbo movie Two-Faced Woman
he was offered a 5-year contract. However, he refused this, saying he had had enough experience with the American film-industry. He and Valérie bought a chicken-farm in Van Nuys, California and proceeded (successfully) to breed chickens.
In California Curt drafted his tale Tatjana and a new version of his Hokuspokus. He also re-worked an older play into The House in Montevideo, which he successfully produced in the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway in 1945.
They returned to Europe in 1945, living in Switzerland by Lake Thun
(Curt had Swiss nationality from birth), where Curt wrote some successful novels. The couple later moved to Liechtenstein
. He died in Grabs
, St. Gallen
, in 1960.
Valerie von Martens
Valérie von Martens , born Valérie Pajér Edle von Mayersperg, was a German-Austrian actress.Valérie von Martens was born in Lienz, Tirol, daughter of the Austrian admiral Rudolf Pajér Edler von Mayersperg. She was an actress in Vienna when she had a relationship with the cabaret artist Karl...
he acted in his own plays and also filmed them. He was a distant relative of the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, with whom he was often compared.
Life and work
Kurt Walter Götz was born in MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as the son of the Swiss wine examiner Bernhard Götz, and his German wife of Italian and French descent, Selma (born Rocco). His father died in 1890. His mother then went with the two-year-old Curt to Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, where she managed a private clinic.
In 1906 he completed the City High School in Halle, where he had played Franz Moor in The Robbers by Schiller.
Emanuel Reicher
Emanuel Reicher was a German actor. He was father to actor Frank Reicher and actress Hedwiga Reicher.After his successful acting debut in Munich in 1873 he obtained a contract with the Residenz Theater in Berlin, where he became known as one of the best German Shakespearean actors. He then took...
, and in 1907 he made his stage debut at the Stadttheater in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. In Rostock, he also wrote his first sketches for the stage. He then played at theatres in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and then went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In 1912 he played the lead in the silent movie Black Blood, directed by Harry Piel
Harry Piel
Born Hubert August Piel, Harry Piel in Munich, Germany was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer who was involved in over 150 films....
.
In 1914 he married Erna Nitter, whom he divorced in 1917. Curt continued acting in silent movies, mainly thrillers, for example, Ich möchte kein Mann sein (I Don't Want To Be A Mann), directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
in 1918. One of his colleagues from that time was the actor Max Landa.
In 1923 he married Valérie von Martens
Valerie von Martens
Valérie von Martens , born Valérie Pajér Edle von Mayersperg, was a German-Austrian actress.Valérie von Martens was born in Lienz, Tirol, daughter of the Austrian admiral Rudolf Pajér Edler von Mayersperg. She was an actress in Vienna when she had a relationship with the cabaret artist Karl...
, whom he had got to know while acting in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, in Berlin. He started going on tour with Valérie, acting with her in his own productions.
In 1939 he went to Hollywood to study film-making, and decided to remain there, along with Valérie, when war broke out. He worked with the director Reinhold Schunzel, among others, and several of his comedies were turned into films. Curt obtained a contract with MGM
and worked on a number of film scripts. After the success of the Greta Garbo movie Two-Faced Woman
Two-Faced Woman
Two-Faced Woman is a romantic comedy made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Greta Garbo, in her final film role, and Melvyn Douglas, with Constance Bennett, Roland Young and Ruth Gordon...
he was offered a 5-year contract. However, he refused this, saying he had had enough experience with the American film-industry. He and Valérie bought a chicken-farm in Van Nuys, California and proceeded (successfully) to breed chickens.
In California Curt drafted his tale Tatjana and a new version of his Hokuspokus. He also re-worked an older play into The House in Montevideo, which he successfully produced in the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway in 1945.
They returned to Europe in 1945, living in Switzerland by Lake Thun
Lake Thun
Lake Thun is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. It took its name from the city of Thun, on its northern shore.Lake Thun's approximately 2,500 km² large catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls...
(Curt had Swiss nationality from birth), where Curt wrote some successful novels. The couple later moved to Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
. He died in Grabs
Grabs
Grabs is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Grabs is first mentioned in 841 as Quaravedes. In 979 it was mentioned as Quadravedes, then in 1235 as Grabdis and in 1253 as Graps.-Geography:Grabs has an area, , of...
, St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
, in 1960.
Pieces for the Theatre
- Der Lampenschirm (1911)
- Nachtbeleuchtung (1918, v. 1919) 5 Einakter: Nachtbeleuchtung, Lohengrin, Tobby, Minna Magdalena, Der fliegende Geheimrat
- Menagerie (1919) 4 Einakter: Der Spatz vom Dache, Die Taube in der Hand, Der Hund im Hirn, Der Hahn im Korb
- Ingeborg (1922)
- Die tote Tante und andere Begebenheiten (1924) 3 Einakter: Der Mörder, Das Märchen, Die tote Tante
- Hokuspokus (Original) (1926)
- Der Lügner und die Nonne (1928)
- Frauenarzt Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius (Original) (1934)
- Das Haus in Montevideo (1945)
- Hokuspokus (Neufassung) (1953)
- Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius (Neufassung) (1953)
- Nichts Neues in Hollywood (1956)
- Miniaturen (1958) 3 Einakter: Die Rache, Herbst, Die Kommode
- Seifenblasen (1962) 3 Einakter: Ausbruch des Weltfriedens, Die Bacarole, Die Bärengeschichte
Autobiography
- Die Memoiren des Peterhans von Binningen (Memoirs Vol. 1, 1960)
- Die Verwandlung des Peterhans von Binningen (Memoirs Vol. 2)
- Wir wandern, wir wandern ... (Memoirs Vol. 3, Reminiscences of Valérie von Martens, 1963)
Plays
- Gesammelte Werke (1958)
- Viel Spaß mit Curt Goetz (1964) - Fritz Fröhling
- Das große Curt-Goetz-Album, Bilder eines Lebens (1968)
- Curt's Geschichten
- Ergoetzliches (1974)
- Curt Goetz - In deinem Sinne (1982)
- Sämtliche Bühnenwerke (1987)