BORN: December 27, 1901
DIED: May 6, 1992
AGED: 90 yrs-Old age-bedridden(she placed herself there no other reason really)
MARRIED: Once-poor guy
AFFAIRS: Holy Sex Queen Batman! She swung both ways-Joseph Von Sternberg, Maurice Chevalier, Mercedes D'Acosta(she got around), Jean Gabin, George S Patton, The U.S. Army, Edith Piaf, Yul Brenner etc...
Image was all! Famous for her legs and wearing pants! Controlling and narcissistic. John Gilbert, a famous silent film actor, actually died in her bed while they were...you know.... but to make sure there was no bad press, she called the studio who removed him from her bed and brought his body to his own place. She was a morale booster during WW2 and Hitler denounced her. She often played her musical saw for the troops. Major Cabaret chanteuse in the 1950's and 60's. Famous for her "nude" sparkly gowns. When she fell off the stage in the late 70's she went into hiding in her Paris apartment and would make calls to many people over the years. The last few years she decided not to leave her bed at all...ever! "Bring the jar of pee to the bathroom dearie" (shudder). Sad end to an amazing life really.
FILMS: The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express, Destry Rides Again, Witness for the Prosecution.
Excellent Bio written by her daughter Maria Riva
I remember seeing The Blue Angel when I took a films class. Had forgotten all about that! But it was such a dark movie and so different than the majority of movies at that time I thought. What a story about John Gilbert, I'd never heard that before.
ReplyDeleteyes poor John Gilbert. I had read this in her daughter's book as well as a couple of others. Knowing the studios and what they did to cover things up, I could see this happen and it is, well Marlene
DeleteYay, one I've heard of. I wonder what happened after she fell off the stage that prompted her to go into hiding? Was she severely disfigured?
ReplyDeleteNope, from the information I read she could no longer maintain her imageas a non aging goddess so she literally retreated to her Paris Apt. She would call people to the tune of $7,500 month phone bills but very few could see her. In the last few years her daughter would come and her mom had bottles lined up in the bedroom because Marlene decided to no longer get out of bed so those bottles held her, um, excrement and i am not kidding. Her daughter and later a maid would clean these up. She could walk if she wanted to but she refused so eventually her legs withered
DeleteHow gross! I guess people who have received so much adulation begin to think they have the right to demand any service of others, literally here cleaning up their sh*t.
ReplyDeleteMarlene is quite fascinating but a true narcissist. Her daughter's book is riveting
DeleteMy parents raised me on old movies but I've never heard of Marlene before. Her having her dead lover removed from her bed made me think of Downton Abbey. Our blog (Dauntless Authors) is doing book covers that start wight he letter of the alphabet. It's so fun to see the different A-Z challenges!
ReplyDeletethat was quite a funny moment in Downton . She was very famous for decades and her legs were insured for 1 million dollars
DeleteSomeone out to make a movie out of her life. The details about John Gilbert and playing saws before the troops would be great scenes....I wonder who you'll do for E. Can't think of any E's offhand. See ya tomorrow. :-)
ReplyDeleteThey were thinking of making a movie when she was still alive and Madonna showed interest and Marlene was aghast! She basically said Kvatch(BullS&^%) she is nothing but a whore. There is a great documetary done called Marlene and you hear her talking on it(she refused to be photographed). It was done by Maximillian Schell-wonder if it's on Youtube??
DeleteYeah, I'd say the same thing, if I was Marlene and heard Madonna wanted to play me. Yuck! I can see Meryl Streep or Kate Winslett playing Marlene.
DeleteVery sad end for such an impressive lady! I guess she became quite the eccentric.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting UR today!
River Fairchild – A to Z April Challenge
Untethered Realms
I love old movies. Look forward to seeing who you feature this month. I'm travelling in Germany and Switzerland for A to Z. msdeniseh553.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteLove your blog:) Thanks for looking and I , of course, love old movies too:)
DeleteI've learned a few things about Dietrich. Imagine having a man die on you like that! I suppose she was eccentric but such a vamp. A lot of people adored her at the time, though.
ReplyDeleteOh so many still do and yes wild way to die but I guess he had a smile on his face
DeleteO she was so beautiful. I remember seeing her in Witness for the Prosecution. Didn't know much about her, so it was especially nice to read some of the info here!
ReplyDeleteWhat a class act!
ReplyDeletehttp://laurenrandallsart.wordpress.com/
No printable adjectives to describe this lady! LOL. What a life!
ReplyDeletehugs,Asha
Holy sex queen is right! I've always loved her. What a voice - what a talent - and what a life!
ReplyDeleteyes she loved sex with just about anyone
DeleteForget Clara Bow, back in the precode days of Hollywood, Marlene was the real It Girl. Her entrance and semi-strip tease in the gorilla suit at the beginning of Blonde Venus is still one of the sexiest things I have ever seen on or off film.
ReplyDeleteMarlene had many lovers (Jimmy Stewart, Greta Garbo, John Wayne, Orson Welles, Jack Kennedy, Joan Crawford, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, just to rattle off a few not mentioned above) but there were two she did not have. Accoprding to stories, Mae West had turned down the bisexual actress's advances, while Marlene herself (supposedly) turned down the advances of one Adolph Hitler - for obvious reasons.
If you ever have the chance to check out Fritz Lang's Rancho Notorious - do it!!
Have fun AtoZing. See ya 'round the web. All Things Kevyn
I had also heard that, contrary to popular views, John Wayne was not one of her conquests. Even though she pointed to him in the commissary and said I want that(Basically), She never got to have him. This is according to her daughter so later on Marlene would talk of John Wayne disapprovingly. Yes she never could get Mae West but they appeared to be friends when on the lot (never off it though). Rancho Notorious is on my wish list to see:)
DeleteI never knew this about her! I love to watch her in old movies so now I have someting extra to consider when I watch her next. This kinda makes me want to find a movie of hers I haven't seen yet.
ReplyDeleteYes she is always a thrill in movies and off screen of course
ReplyDelete