Loos, Lina

ACTOR, WRITER (AUSTRIA)
BORN 9 Oct 1882, Wien - DIED 6 Jun 1950, Wien: Wiener Allgemeine Krankenhaus
BIRTH NAME Obertimpfler, Carolina Catharina
CAUSE OF DEATH cancer
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Friedhof Sievering, Nottebohmstrasse 51 (Abteilung 02, Gruppe 12, Reihe 3, Nummer 15)

Karoline Obertimpfler was the daughter of the well known café owner Carl Obertimpfler whose café was located in the Mariahilferstrasse in Vienna. In the same building the fashion business of the Flöge sisters was located from 1904 to 1938.

Lina moved in artistic circles from an early age and her good looks attracted the attention of Peter Altenberg, Egon Friedell and Franz Theodor Csokor. In 1902 she met Adolf Loos at the Löwenbräu where Altenburg had his own table. Loos proposed marriage on the same evening and she accepted him. Their marriage failed soon afterwards. Her lover Heinz Lang committed suicide and in January, 1905 she fled to the USA to wait until the scandal was over. She returned in May and they were divorced in June, 1905.

From 1904 onwards she wrote for Austrian magazines and from 1907 she acted under the name of Lina Vetter at the Cabaret Fledermaus in Vienna. From 1910 ro 1913 she appeared at the Linden-Cabaret at the Passagentheater in Berlin where she worked with Claire Waldoff. She 1914 her fiancee Dr. Herbert Fries fell in the war. In that year she stayed in Davos for several months because of problems with her lungs.

In 1921 she was engaged at the Volkstheater in Vienna where her brother Karl Forest had worked as well. She also worked for the Scala Theater. Her play "Mutter" received favourable reviews, but she never staged another play. She had several further love affairs, with men as well as women. Her female lovers probably included Kerstin Strindberg (1894-1956), whom she met in 1931, and certainly Leopoldine Rüther. She played her only movie part in 1933 in "Wenn du jung bist, gehört mir die Welt".

After the nazis came to power in 1938 she mostly withdrew from public life. Although she suffered from cancer she survived the war in Wien-Sievering with the help of her lover Leopoldine Rüther. After the war she was active in Christian organisations and in the KPÖ. In 1947 she published "Das Buch ohne Titel. Erlebte Geschichten" with illustrations by Leopoldine. She joined the PEN-Club of Austria, that was presided by Csokor, who had returned to Vienna. She died in 1950 in Vienna. She was buried at the Friedhof Sievering in Vienna. In 1981 Leopoldine Rüther was buried beside her.

Family
• Husband: Loos, Adolf (1902-1905, Eisgrub (now: Lednice, Czech Republic)) (divorce or separation)

Related persons
• worked for Beer, Rudolf
• was a friend of Csokor, Franz Theodor
• has a connection with Lehár, Franz
• was the lover of Rüther, Leopoldine

Images

The grave of Lina Loos at the Friedhof Sievering, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (27 Aug 2016)

 

The grave of Leopoldine Rüther. She was buried with Lina Loos at the Friedhof Sievering, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (27 Aug 2016)

 

Sources
Lina Loos - Wikipedia (DE)


Loos, Theodor

Published: 18 Sep 2016
Last update: 03 Dec 2023