Mimi Pollak
Encyclopedia
Maria Helena "Mimi" Pollak (9 April 1903 – 11 August 1999) was a Swedish actress and theatre director.
, Värmland
to Austria
n-Jewish parents and was trained in the performing arts at the prestigious Dramatens elevskola
(the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school) in Stockholm
1922-24.
Pollak worked in the 1920s and 1930s as a film acctress and as stage actress mainly on Helsingborg City Theatre
and The Blanche Theatre, Stockholm
, but she returned as an actress to Royal Dramatic Theatre (aka Dramaten) 1942.
Pollak became in 1948 the first contracted female director at the Dramaten with the production of Jean Genet
's Jungfruleken (Les Bonnes/The Maids
), starring Anita Björk
and Maj-Britt Nilsson
in the leads. Pollak became a very successful director at Dramaten and staged altogether 60 plays at the national stage over the years.
She appeared since her 1922 debut in the film Amatörfilmen in about 30 film and TV productions. Notable film roles are her supporting parts in Schamyl Bauman
's film comedy Skolka skolan (1949), in Vilgot Sjöman
's Klänningen (aka The Dress, 1964), in Ingmar Bergman
's Autumn Sonata
(starring Ingrid Bergman
) as the piano teacher, in Flight of the Eagle
(1982), starring Max von Sydow
and directed by Jan Troell and in the very popular Swedish TV mystery Agnes Cecilia - en sällsam historia (1991), adapted from the successful books by Maria Gripe
.
She retired in 1975, but made a stage comeback in 1991, age 87, in Anton Chekhov's
Uncle Vanya
.
Sometimes credited as Mimmi Pollak, Mimi Pollack or Mimmi Pollack.
school in Stockholm, Sweden with fellow actress Greta Garbo
from 1922 to 1924. .Garbo moved to the US in 1925 and as Pollak married in 1927 and later had children, although they did maintain contact for over 60 years. Garbo would become involved with several other Hollywood actresses, though keeping her bisexuality
a secret. As recorded in the personal writings of Garbo, released in Sweden
in 2005,.
Their relationship and letters are portrayed (published in parts) in the Swedish book Djävla älskade unge! (Bloody Beloved Kid), written by Po Tin Andersén Axell (2005).
Pollak was married 1927-1938 to Swedish actor Nils Lundell (1889–1943).
Mini biography
Maria Helena Pollak was born in HammaröHammarö Municipality
Hammarö Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Skoghall....
, Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-Jewish parents and was trained in the performing arts at the prestigious Dramatens elevskola
Dramatens elevskola
Dramatens elevskola, i.e. Kungliga Dramatiska Teaterns Elevskola, or in Eng: The Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school, was the acting school of Sweden's national stage, The Royal Dramatic Theatre, and for many years seen as the foremost theatre school and drama education for Swedish stage actors...
(the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school) in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
1922-24.
Pollak worked in the 1920s and 1930s as a film acctress and as stage actress mainly on Helsingborg City Theatre
Helsingborg City Theatre
Helsingborg City Theatre is the city theatre of Helsingborg in south of Sweden. It's one of the most well-known city theatres in Sweden....
and The Blanche Theatre, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, but she returned as an actress to Royal Dramatic Theatre (aka Dramaten) 1942.
Pollak became in 1948 the first contracted female director at the Dramaten with the production of Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
's Jungfruleken (Les Bonnes/The Maids
The Maids
The Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
), starring Anita Björk
Anita Björk
Anita Björk is a Swedish actress.Born in Tällberg, Dalarna, Anita Björk attended Dramatens elevskola in 1942-45....
and Maj-Britt Nilsson
Maj-Britt Nilsson
Maj-Britt Nilsson was a Swedish movie actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Nilsson was born in Stockholm and trained at the drama school of the Royal Dramatic Theater there...
in the leads. Pollak became a very successful director at Dramaten and staged altogether 60 plays at the national stage over the years.
She appeared since her 1922 debut in the film Amatörfilmen in about 30 film and TV productions. Notable film roles are her supporting parts in Schamyl Bauman
Schamyl Bauman
Magnus Schamyl Bauman was a Swedish film director .Born in Vimmerby, Småland. First studied law and modern languages at Uppsala University. In 1917 he began to work with translating text lines for international silent films , which he did successful throughout the 1920s...
's film comedy Skolka skolan (1949), in Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjöman
David Harald Vilgot Sjöman was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally-tortured characters of Ingmar Bergman with the avant garde style of the French New Wave...
's Klänningen (aka The Dress, 1964), in Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's Autumn Sonata
Autumn Sonata
Autumn Sonata is a 1978 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman. It tells the story of a celebrated classical pianist who is confronted by her neglected daughter...
(starring Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
) as the piano teacher, in Flight of the Eagle
Flight of the Eagle
Flight of the Eagle is a 1982 Swedish biographical drama film directed by Jan Troell, based on Per Olof Sundman's novelization of the true story of S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897, an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. The film...
(1982), starring Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
and directed by Jan Troell and in the very popular Swedish TV mystery Agnes Cecilia - en sällsam historia (1991), adapted from the successful books by Maria Gripe
Maria Gripe
Maria Gripe, born Maja Stina Walter , was a Swedish author of books for children and young people, often written in a magical and mystical tone.-Biography:...
.
She retired in 1975, but made a stage comeback in 1991, age 87, in Anton Chekhov's
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
.
Sometimes credited as Mimmi Pollak, Mimi Pollack or Mimmi Pollack.
Personal life
Pollak attended the Royal Dramatic TheatreRoyal Dramatic Theatre
The Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....
school in Stockholm, Sweden with fellow actress Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
from 1922 to 1924. .Garbo moved to the US in 1925 and as Pollak married in 1927 and later had children, although they did maintain contact for over 60 years. Garbo would become involved with several other Hollywood actresses, though keeping her bisexuality
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
a secret. As recorded in the personal writings of Garbo, released in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 2005,.
Their relationship and letters are portrayed (published in parts) in the Swedish book Djävla älskade unge! (Bloody Beloved Kid), written by Po Tin Andersén Axell (2005).
Pollak was married 1927-1938 to Swedish actor Nils Lundell (1889–1943).
Selected filmography
- 1991 – Agnes Cecilia - en sällsam historia
- 1986 – AmorosaAmorosaAmorosa is a 1986 Swedish film starring Stina Ekblad and Erland Josephson and directed by Mai Zetterling. The story, an adaptation of the life of writer Agnes Von Krusenstjarna , details her sexually charged and often turbulent relationship with the bisexual Joseph Sprengel ....
- 1985 - August Strindberg ett liv (TV)
- 1982 – The Flight of the Eagle (Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd)
- 1978 – Autumn SonataAutumn SonataAutumn Sonata is a 1978 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman. It tells the story of a celebrated classical pianist who is confronted by her neglected daughter...
(Höstsonaten) - 1979 – I frid och värdighet
- 1979 - Christopher's HouseChristopher's HouseChristopher's House is a 1979 Swedish drama film directed by Lars Lennart Forsberg. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Thommy Berggren - Kristoffer* Agneta Eckemyr - Hanna* Börje Ahlstedt - Börje...
- 1971 – Emil i LönnebergaEmil i Lönneberga (film)Emil i Lönneberga is a 1971 Swedish film, the first of three films based on the Emil i Lönneberga books written by Astrid Lindgren.-Cast:*Jan Ohlsson as Emil Svensson*Lena Wisborg as Ida Svensson*Allan Edwall as Anton Svensson...
- 1965 – Nattmara
- 1955 – Mord, lilla vän
- 1951 – SommarlekSummer Interlude-Synopsis:Marie is a successful but emotionally distant prima ballerina in her late twenties. During a problem-filled dress rehearsal day for a production of the ballet Swan Lake she is unexpectedly sent the diary of her first love; a college-boy called Henrik whom she met and fell in love with...
- 1949 – Skolka skolan (aka Playing Truant)
- 1949 – Bara en morOnly a Mother- Cast :*Eva Dahlbeck as Maria, aka Rya-Rya*Ragnar Falck as Henrik, Rya-Rya's husband*Ulf Palme as Hammar*Hugo Björne as Eniel*Åke Fridell as Inspector*Mona Geijer-Falkner as Emili*Max von Sydow as Nils*Margaretha Krook as Berta*Mimi Pollak as Erika Rost...
(aka Only A Mother) - 1949 – Gatan
- 1947 – Den långa vägen
- 1947 – Supé för två
- 1942 – Lågor i dunklet
- 1942 – Vi hemslavinnor
- 1941 – Spökreportern
- 1940 – Med dej i mina armar
- 1940 – En, men ett lejon!
- 1926 – Sven Klingas levnadsöde
- 1923 – Andersson, Pettersson och Lundström
- 1922 – Amatörfilmen