Published in 1984
183 pages
Marlene Dietrich was a German-born actress and singer.
Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalised on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1937; during World War II, she was a high-profile frontline entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer. She died in Paris, aged 90 years.
In 1999 the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth greatest female star of all time.
What is this book about?
The career of Marlene Dietrich has spanned more than half a century to include films, recordings and radio, stage and television performances throughout the world. The public figure whose first or last name alone can conjure up instant recognition is a status attained by very few. That it should be accompanied by respect, admiration and even adoration is rarer still. In this edition Marlene offers her unique blend of wit, a sometimes mordant humor, sensitivity and acute observations of the world as she has known and, to some extent, shaped it. By blending the absolutely practical, (see EATING, MILK, MATERNITY BLUES), with her whimsical, poetic and sometimes moving observations, (see HEMINGWAY, RICHARD BURTON, JUDY GARLAND, THE CAMERA), Dietrich creates in yet another field that special magic with which she has held the world enthralled for decades.
