Byk, Maria

ACTOR (GERMANY)
BORN 12 Feb 1904, München, Bayern - DIED 22 Apr 1949, München, Bayern
BIRTH NAME Böck, Annemarie Albertine
CAUSE OF DEATH suicide by drowning
GRAVE LOCATION München, Bayern: Nordfriedhof, Ungererstrasse 130 (097-U-399)

Maria Byk was engaged at the Münchener Kammerspiele from 1925 to 1938. She also appeared in several movies during the 1930s, among them "Der Sündige Hof" (1933) and "Er weiß was er will" (1935). In 1925 she married the Jewish actor and director Julius Gellner. On 26 February 1926 they had a daughter, Johanna, who called herself Joan Gellner in later years.

In 1927 she divorced Gellner and in 1929 she married the actor Ferdinand Marian. After the nazis came to power they protected Gellner by hiding him at their home. Marian died during a car crash in 1946 under unclear circumstances. During the trial of Veit Harlan, the director of "Jud Süss" (in which Ferdinand Marian had been forced by the nazis to play the title part), she gave evidence in favour of Harlan. She was found drowned not long afterwards. In a letter to friends she complained of the situation that artists were in after the war. She was buried next to her husband.

Family
• Husband: Marian, Ferdinand (1936-1946)

Images

The grave of Ferdinand Marian at the Nordfriedhof, Munich.
Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2003)

 

Sources
Julius Gellner – Wikipedia
Maria Byk – Wikipedia


Byron, Ada, Lady Lovelace

Published: 10 Aug 2008
Last update: 01 Jan 2023