Rosel Zech
Encyclopedia
Rosalie Helga Lina Zech (7 July 1942 – 31 August 2011), known as Rosel Zech, was a German theater and film actress, especially with the "Autorenkino" ("Author's Cinema") movement, which began in the 1970s.
. Her performing led her, at the age of 20, to Lower Bavaria, where in 1962 her first theatrical engagement was in the South Bavarian City Theater (now the Lower Bavarian State Theatre) in Landshut
.
This was followed by other roles at various other theaters, such as in 1964 at the Städtebundtheater in Biel and at the summer theater in Winterthur
. Two years later she played at the Schauspielhaus Wuppertal. From 1970 to 1972, she appeared on stage at the Staatstheater Stuttgart
then at the Schauspielhaus Bochum
.
During the season 1978-1979 Rosel Zech was active in Hamburg
at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus
and then returned to her native city of Berlin, where she acted on the Volksbühne
. In 1981 she was hired by the Bayerischen Staatsschauspiel in Munich
. Four years later she was seen again at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. 2009 she worked with in the Luisenburg Festival in the play Mother Courage as Anna Fierlinger.
with Kurt Raab
and Margit Carstensen
. On the set she met Rainer Werner Fassbinder
, who produced the film. She and Fassbinder began an extended collaboration. The same year, Peter Zadek cast the actress in his film version of Kleiner Mann – was nun? ("Little man - what now?" with Heinrich Giskes and Hannelore Hoger
.
Other films and TV movies followed, among which were a film version of Anton Chekhov
's The Seagull
, and Henrik Ibsen
's Hedda Gabler
. In the children's film The Crocodiles
from 1977, she played Mrs. Wolferman, the mother of one of "crocodiles'". She appeared in Peter Fleischmann
's 1979 science fiction
film Die Hamburger Krankheit.
In 1981, she was cast by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
in the film Lola (1981) in a supporting role as the wife of Mario Adorf
. Fassbinder immediately chose her for his next project, Veronika Voss, and cast her in the lead. This second Fassbinder film was inspired by the life of the UFA actress Sybille Schmitz
, and Rosel Zech's convincing portrayal of the morphine-addicted actress turned Zech into a star overnight. The film was awarded in 1982 in the Berlin International Film Festival
with a Golden Bear
. In the following years, Zech focused mainly on work in television and appeared in numerous television series and television films, as well as in regular theater productions in Berlin, where she lived during her last years.
Following a cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2011, Zech had not been able to resume her regular role as a nun in the German TV series Um Himmels Willen (For Heaven's Sake).
Theater
Rosel Zech was born in Berlin; her father was a inland waterway boatman and her mother a dressmaker; they were unmarried. She was raised in Hoya, GermanyHoya, Germany
Hoya is a town in the District of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the left and right bank of the Weser, approx. 20 km north of Nienburg, and 15 km southwest of Verden....
. Her performing led her, at the age of 20, to Lower Bavaria, where in 1962 her first theatrical engagement was in the South Bavarian City Theater (now the Lower Bavarian State Theatre) in Landshut
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...
.
This was followed by other roles at various other theaters, such as in 1964 at the Städtebundtheater in Biel and at the summer theater in Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
. Two years later she played at the Schauspielhaus Wuppertal. From 1970 to 1972, she appeared on stage at the Staatstheater Stuttgart
Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Staatstheater Stuttgart ' is an opera house in Stuttgart, Germany. It is also known locally as the Grosses Haus, having been the larger of two theatres of the former Königliche Hoftheater....
then at the Schauspielhaus Bochum
Schauspielhaus Bochum
The Schauspielhaus Bochum is one of the largest and most notable theatres in Germany. It is located in the city of Bochum....
.
During the season 1978-1979 Rosel Zech was active in 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...
at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. With a capacity for 1192 spectators, it places it as Germany's largest theatre...
and then returned to her native city of Berlin, where she acted on the Volksbühne
Volksbühne
The Volksbühne is a theater in Berlin, Germany. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in what was the GDR's capital....
. In 1981 she was hired by the Bayerischen Staatsschauspiel in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Four years later she was seen again at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. 2009 she worked with in the Luisenburg Festival in the play Mother Courage as Anna Fierlinger.
Film and Television
She made her 1970 television debut in The Pot. In 1973 she appeared in a small role in The Tenderness of WolvesThe Tenderness of Wolves (film)
The Tenderness of Wolves, is a 1973 West German film, produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, directed by Ulli Lommel and based on the crimes of German serial killer and cannibal Fritz Haarmann...
with Kurt Raab
Kurt Raab
Kurt Raab was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with cult German film director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder with whom he collaborated on 31 film projects.-Biography:Raab was born in Bergreichenstein, Sudetenland, what is...
and Margit Carstensen
Margit Carstensen
Margit Carstensen is a German theatre and film actress, best known outside Germany for roles in the works of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.-Theater career:...
. On the set she met Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
, who produced the film. She and Fassbinder began an extended collaboration. The same year, Peter Zadek cast the actress in his film version of Kleiner Mann – was nun? ("Little man - what now?" with Heinrich Giskes and Hannelore Hoger
Hannelore Hoger
Hannelore Hoger is a German actress and director.- External links :...
.
Other films and TV movies followed, among which were a film version of Anton Chekhov
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...
's The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
, and Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
. In the children's film The Crocodiles
The Crocodiles
The Crocodiles was a New Zealand pop band formed in 1979 with lead singer Jenny Morris, who went on to commercial success as a solo artist in Australia; and later included drummer Barton Price who subsequently joined Sardine v and then Models...
from 1977, she played Mrs. Wolferman, the mother of one of "crocodiles'". She appeared in Peter Fleischmann
Peter Fleischmann
Peter Fleischmann is a German film director.- Biography :Peter Fleischmann was born in Zweibrücken. He studied at the German Institute of Film and Television in München and Institut des hautes études cinématographiques in Paris...
's 1979 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Die Hamburger Krankheit.
In 1981, she was cast by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
in the film Lola (1981) in a supporting role as the wife of Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf is a German film and stage actor, best known for his lead role in the 1978 film The Tin Drum.-Biography:...
. Fassbinder immediately chose her for his next project, Veronika Voss, and cast her in the lead. This second Fassbinder film was inspired by the life of the UFA actress Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz
Sybille Schmitz was a German actress.-Biography:Schmitz attended an acting school in Cologne and got her first engagement at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1927. Only one year later, she made her film debut with Freie Fahrt , which attracted her first attention from the critics...
, and Rosel Zech's convincing portrayal of the morphine-addicted actress turned Zech into a star overnight. The film was awarded in 1982 in the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
with a Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
. In the following years, Zech focused mainly on work in television and appeared in numerous television series and television films, as well as in regular theater productions in Berlin, where she lived during her last years.
Death
She died of bone cancer in Berlin on 31 August 2011, aged 69.Following a cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2011, Zech had not been able to resume her regular role as a nun in the German TV series Um Himmels Willen (For Heaven's Sake).
Awards
- 1968: Förderpreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
- 1976: Schauspielerin des Jahres der Zeitschrift Theater heute für Hedda Gabler
- 1982: Goldener Bär der Berlinale für Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss
- 1983: Deutscher Darstellerpreis für Mascha
- 1990: Kainz-Medaille der Stadt Wien für Eines langen Tages Reise in die Nacht
- 1991: 1. Preis des World Film Festival in Montreal für Salmonberries
- 1992: Bayerischer FilmpreisBayerischer FilmpreisThe Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the State Government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the most highly regarded awards for filmmaking achievement in Germany.The Bavarian Film...
(Beste Darstellerin) für Salmonberries - 1999: Bayerischer Verdienstorden
- 2001: Merkur-Theaterpreis der Zeitung Münchner Merkur für Afterplay
Filmography
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