Lingen, Theo

ACTOR (GERMANY)
BORN 10 Jun 1903, Hannover, Niedersachsen - DIED 10 Nov 1978, Wien
BIRTH NAME Schmitz, Franz Theodor
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, Simmering (Gruppe 32 C, Nummer 46)

Theo Lingen was the son of a lawyer. Without having had any acting lessons, he made his stage debut in his native Hanover when he was 18 years old. In 1930 Anatol Litvak gave him the part of Conny Coon in "Dolly macht carrière" and soon he was among the most popular comical actors of the country. He also appeared in the classic "M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder". In total he made more than 200 movies.

Because of his marriage to Marianne Zoff, the half-Jewish ex-wife of Berthold Brecht, he was only allowed to work during the war with a special permit by Joseph Goebbels, who liked his acting. In 1944 he moved to Austria en became an Austrian citizen. From 1948 until shortly before his death he was engaged at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

Family
• Wife: Zoff, Marianne (1928-1978)

Related persons
• was a friend of Moser, Hans

Images

The grave of Theo Lingen and Marianne Zoff at the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2007)

 

Sources
• Budig, Robert S. et al, Ehrengräber am Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Compress Verlag Wien, Wien
Zentralfriedhof Wien, Wien, 1995
Theo Lingen – Wikipedia


Linhard, Thea

Published: 14 Sep 2008
Last update: 18 Aug 2022