Salka Viertel

Infobox actor
name = Salka Viertel


imagesize = 150px
caption =
birthname = Salomea Steuermann
birthdate = birth date|1889|06|15
birthplace = Sambir (Sambor), Ukraine
deathdate = death date and age|1978|10|20|1889|06|15
deathplace = Klosters, Switzerland
occupation = Actress, Screenwriter
spouse = Berthold Viertel

Salka Viertel (born Salomea "Salka" Steuermann on 15 June, 1889, Sambir (Sambor), Ukraine - died 20 October 1978, Klosters, Switzerland) was an actress and screenwriter.

Career

She co-wrote the scripts for many movies, particularly those starring her close friend Greta Garbo, with whom she also co-starred in MGM's German version of "Anna Christie".

Personal life

Much has been discussed of Viertel's relationships and friendships with actresses Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, as well as writer Mercedes de Acosta. Although many rumours have suggested these relationships as lesbian, the nature of her close ties with both Garbo and Dietrich have never fully been disclosed.cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/film_actors_lesbian.html |title=Film Actors: Lesbian |work=glbtq.com |accessdate=2007-04-07] She was involved in an affair with writer de Acosta, whom she introduced to Garbo at her home in 1931. Garbo and de Acosta shortly thereafter became involved in a long and often stormy relationship that would last for several years.

Viertel was married to Berthold Viertel and they had three sons, one of whom, Peter Viertel, who was an accomplished writer and screenwriter, married to actress Deborah Kerr until his death in 2007. Salka Viertel wrote a memoir "The Kindness of Strangers" (1969), a title later used by Donald Spoto for his 1985 biography of Tennessee Williams. She died in Klosters, Switzerland, on October 20 1978.

Filmography

*"Anna Christie" (German version)" (1931) - actress
*"Queen Christina" (1933)
*"The Painted Veil" (1934)
*"Anna Karenina" (1935)
*"Conquest" (1937)
*"Two-Faced Woman" (1941)
*"Deep Valley" (1947)
*"L'Amante di Paride" (1954)
*"I Battellieri del Volga" (1958)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Prager, Katharina.(2007) "Ich bin nicht gone Hollywood!" Salka Viertel - Ein Leben in Theater und Film", ISBN 9783700315926, Wien:Braumüller Verlag.
* Viertel, Salka. (1969) "The Kindness of Strangers", Montreal:Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada.

External links

*imdb name | id=0826554 | name=Salka Viertel
* A webpage about [http://eeweems.com/peter_viertel/salka.html Salka Viertel] with images