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 The mausoleum in which Max Reinhardt was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson. Picture by Androom (13 Apr 2010) |
Reinhardt, Max |
| PRODUCER, DIRECTOR (AUSTRIA) |
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BORN 8 Sep 1873, Baden, Niederösterreich (near Wien) - DIED 31 Oct 1943, New York City, New York: Hotel Gladstone BIRTH NAME Goldmann, Maximilian GRAVE LOCATION Hastings-on-Hudson, New York: Westchester Hills Cemetery, 400 Saw Mill River Road |
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Max Reinhardt was the son of Wlhelm and Rosa Goldman (In 1904 the name of the entire family was changed to Reinhardt). He was educated for banking, but he took private acting lessons and in 1890 he debuted at a private stage in Vienna. In 1901 he was among the founders of "Schall und Rauch", a small theatre in Berlin. It was renamed to "Kleines Theater" in 1902 and he was the manager from 1903 to 1905. He also became the manager of the "Neue Theater", later renamed to the "Theater am Schiffbauerdamm". In 1905 he founded the acting school "Schauspielschule Berlin" and from 1905 to 1930 he was the manager of the Deutsches Theater. In 1910 he married the actress Else Heims. They had two sons. Together with Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Richard Strauss, Alfred Roller and Franz Schalk he started the Salzburger Festspiele in 1920. The Festspiele of 1920 opened with Hofmannsthal's "Jedermann" on 22 Aug 1920 at the Domplatz. In 1924 he took over the Theater in de Josefstadt in Vienna and he was its manager until 1933. In 1929 the Max Reinhardt Seminar was founded in Vienna. He tried to divorce Else, but this wasn't possible in Germany. In 1931 he obtained it in Latvia, but only in 1935 it was finalized. When the nazis came to power he moved to Austria, but in 1935 he left the Theater in der Josefstadt to prepare for emigration. During the same year he married Helene Thimig during a tour in the USA. The last play he directed at the Salzburger Festspiele was Goethe's "Faust" in 1937. In 1937 he emigrated with Helene to the USA. He opened the "Max Reinhardt Workshop for Stage, Screen and Radio" in Hollywood and worked there both. After they shut it down in 1941 they moved to New York. Helene was working in California when Reinhardt fell seriously ill. He was attended by Eleonore von Mendelssohn, who was still or again in love with him (many years earlier they had an affair in Berlin). Reinhardt was close to dying when Elisabeth Bergner, a close friend of Eleonore Mendelssohn, sent an anonymous cable to Helene Thimig that told her to 'come at once'. Thimig hurried to New York and reached Reinhardt's bedside before he died on 31 Oct 1943. Family • Wife: Thimig, Helene (1935-1943, Reno, Nevada) Related persons • has a connection with Albers, Hans • knew Amsel, Lena • was a friend of Bahr, Hermann • directed Bergner, Elisabeth • was teacher of Bienert, Gerhard • cooperated with Dagover, Lil • has a connection with George, Heinrich • employed Haeussermann, Ernst • was teacher of Hartung, Gustav • employed Hilpert, Heinz • cooperated with Höflich, Lucie • cooperated with Hofmannsthal, Hugo von • employed Hollaender, Felix • was teacher of Hoppe, Marianne • cooperated with Humperdinck, Engelbert • was written about by Jacobsohn, Siegfried • cooperated with Kayssler, Friedrich • employed Ley-Piscator, Maria • has a connection with Mardayn, Christl • directed Moissi, Alexander • employed Moser, Hans • directed Pallenberg, Max • cooperated with Roller, Alfred • cooperated with Sandrock, Adele • cooperated with Steinrück, Albert • has a connection with Thimig, Hermann • cooperated with Vollmoeller, Karl • cooperated with Wedekind, Frank • employed Wedekind, Kadidja • was teacher of Weyher, Ruth • cooperated with Wiesenthal, Grete Events |
| 20/11/1906 | Premiere of "Frühlings Erwachen" by Frank Wedekind at the Berliner Kammerspiele. It was directed by Max Reinhardt and (uncredited) Hermann Bahr. [Bahr, Hermann][Eysoldt, Gertrud][Moissi, Alexander][Steinrück, Albert][Wedekind, Frank] |
| 22/8/1920 | First performance of Hofmannsthal's "Jedermann" at the Festspiele in Salzburg. It was performed in Berlin in 1911 by Max Reinhardt and this time Reinhardt staged the play on the square before the Dom of Salzburg. Reinhardt was the director, Alexander Moissi was Jedermann and Johanna Terwin was Buhlschaft. Hugo von Hoffmansthal concluded that the play seemed to have found its natural place. [Hofmannsthal, Hugo von][Moissi, Alexander][Terwin, Johanna] |
| 25/4/1923 | Premiere of "Wie es euch gefällt" ("As you like it") with Elisabeth Bergner at the Lessing Theatre in Berlin [Bergner, Elisabeth] |
| 16/2/1932 | Premiere of Max Reinhardt's adaption of Hauptmann's "Vor Sonnenuntergang" at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. It was directed by Max Reinhardt. The scenery was designed by Ernst Schütte. The cast included Werner Krauss, Mathias Wieman, Hans Brausewetter, Eleonora von Mendelsson, Käthe Haack, Oskar Sima, Maria Koppenhöfer, Eduard von Winsterstein, Paul Henckels, Helene Fehdmer, Paul Otto, Paul Biensfeldt, Max Gülstorff, Ludwig Stössel and Helene Thimig. [Brausewetter, Hans][Fehdmer-Kayssler, Helene][Haack, Käthe][Koppenhöfer, Maria][Krauss, Werner][Thimig, Helene][Winterstein, Eduard von] |
| Images |
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The mausoleum in which Max Reinhardt was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson. Picture by Androom (13 Apr 2010) |
Sources • Blubacher, Thomas, Gibt es etwas Schöneres als Sehnsucht?, Die Geschwister Eleonora und Francesco von Mendelssohn, Henschel Verlag, Leipzig, 2008 • Max Reinhardt – Wikipedia • LeMO Max Reinhardt • Frühlings Erwachen – Wikipedia • Jedermann – Wikipedia |
