Dagover, Lil |
| ACTOR (DUTCH EAST INDIA) |
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BORN 30 Sep 1887, Madioen, Java - DIED 24 Jan 1980, Grünwald, Bayern: Bavaria-Filmgelände, Geiselgasteig BIRTH NAME Seubert, Martha Marie Antonia Siegelinde GRAVE LOCATION Grünwald, Bayern: Waldfriedhof, Tölzer Strasse (VII-32a) |
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Lil Dagover was born on Java as Matha Seubert. She was the daughter of a forest ranger in Dutch service. From 1897 until 1903 she lived in France, England and Switserland and after her mother's death in Tübingen. In 1913 she married the actor Fritz Daghofer, who was 25 years her senior. They had a daughter, Eva, in 1919 but divorced during the same year. In 1916 she started performing Indian dances for the camera. Director Robert Wiene used these recordings to introduce her to movie producers and directors. Without ever having visited a drama school she made her film debut in "Harakiri", directed by Fritz Lang. She found herself famous and worked in Germany, France and Hollywood. In 1926 she married film producer Georg Witt. the marriage lasted until his death in 1972. In 1931 her Hollywood production "The Woman from Monte Carlo" failed and she returned to Germany. She stayed in Germany after the nazis came to power. She took no part in political life, but Joseph Goebbels made her 'Staatsschauspielerin' ('actress of the state') in 1937. She dined with Hitler, but she played in unpolitical movies and when the nazis took more control she concentrated on the theatre. During the war she performed for the German troops at the Eastern Front in 1943 and she was awarded a medal for it (The Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse). In 1947 she was back on the stage in Berlin and in 1948 she returned to the movies. In 1961 she first performed in "Die seltsame Gräfin" by Giraudoux. She played this part successfully for the rest of her career. In 1964 she received the German film prize Bambi. Her last film part was in "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald" (1979). In 1979 she published her autobiography "Ich war die Dame" ("I was the Lady"). In 1980 she died in her house on the Bavarian cinema grounds. She was buried not far from there at Grünwald next to her husband. Only after her death it became clear that she was born in 1887 instead of 1897. Movies: "Das Cabinet des Doktor Caligari" (1920); "Phantom" (1923); "Tartüff" (1925); "Kreutzersonate" (1937). Related persons • was a friend of Koppenhöfer, Maria • cooperated with Reinhardt, Max |
| Images | ||
 The grave of Lil Dagover at the Waldfriedhof, Grünwald. Picture by Androom (31 Aug 2005) |
 The grave of Lil Dagover at the Waldfriedhof, Grünwald. Picture by Androom (31 Aug 2005) |
 Lil Dagover. |
 Lil Dagover. (1932-1933) |
 Lil Dagover. (1931-1932) |
 Lil Dagover. (1931-1932) |
 Lil Dagover. (1931-1932) |
 Lil Dagover. (1935-1936) |
 Lil Dagover. (1931-1932) |
 Lil Dagover. (1941-1944) |
 Lil Dagover. (1941-1944) |
 Lil Dagover. |
 Lil Dagover. |
 Lil Dagover. (1941-1944) Picture by Star Foto Atelier |
 Lil Dagover. (1941-1944) Picture by Foto Heanchen |
Sources • Dagover, Lil, Ich war Die Dame, Franz Schneekluth, München, 1979 • Internet Movie Database • Wie is Wie in de Film |
