Christl Mardayn

Christl Mardayn née Anna Christina Mardayn, sometimes Christiane Mardayne (born December 8 1896 in Vienna, Austria - died July 24th 1971 ) was an Austrian actress and singer .

Life

Anna Christina Maria Mardayn was the daughter of savings bank official Oskar Maria Mardayn and his wife Henriette 'nee' Fusek. After graduation she studied piano, dance and song at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna.

In 1920 she made her stage debut in the role of a diseased soubrette in 'The Dead Eyes' by Eugen d'Albert. As Christl Mardayn she subsequently received a firm contract to the Vienna Volksoper . She sang Cherubino in 'Le nozze di Figaro', Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, Sieglinde in Die Walküre and she starred in the title role of Franz von Suppe's operetta Die schöne Galathee about 100 times.

In 1921, the soubrette moved to the [[Raimund Theater and in 1922 went to the Charles Theatre where she sang in premiere performances of operettas such as 'Die Bajadere' by Emmerich Kálmán, The Dragonfly Dance by Franz Lehár and The Lady in Ermine by Jean Gilbert. She toured to the Art Theatre in Berlin, the Corso Theatre, Zurich and the State Theatre in Hanover . She played the role of Madame Sans-Gêne by Victorien Sardou and Mirandolina by Bohuslav Martinu Other guest appearances have taken her to Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Sweden.

In the 1930s, Christl Madayn gradually transformed into a theater actress, increasingly in speaking roles. In 1932 she received an engagement at the Theater in der Josefstadt in 1934 and joined the German People's Theatre. She played mainly comedies by George Bernard Shaw and Molière and boulevard plays .

Christl Mardayn married the actor Hans Thimig in 1929, and appeared with him in film roles. In the film operetta The White Horse Inn (1936) she played the hostess, and in the French production 'Le drame de Shanghai' with director Georg Wilhelm Pabst (1938)the actress got a major role as a chorus singer Kay Murphy. The "Anschluss" in the same year all but ended their hopes of an international film career.

From 1939 to 1943 she was an ensemble member at the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Playing there even after the war. but Mardayn Christl, now married to businessman Paul Mühlbacher, played mainly in Vienna's theaters. She only rarely appeared in German-Austrian cinema of the 1950s .

On 18 May 1957 she was awarded the Golden Medal for Merit by the Republic of Austria^[1], On 21 March 1962, she was given the title of Professor. She taught at the Vienna Conservatory, and until her retirement at the Vienna Music Academy. Christl Mardayn died on 24 July 1971 from heart failure.

She received an honorary grave dedicated to her at the Vienna's Central Cemetery (Group 40, Number 28)^[2].

Filmography

• 1931: Der Stolz der 3. Kompagnie
• 1934: Der junge Baron Neuhaus
• 1935: … nur ein Komödiant
• 1935: Im weißen Rößl
• 1936: Romanze / Die Frau des anderen
• 1938: Le drame de Shanghai
• 1939: Der Florentiner Hut
• 1939: Menschen vom Varieté
• 1940: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
• 1943: Gabriele Dambrone
• 1943: Romantische Brautfahrt
• 1944: Es fing so harmlos an
• 1945: Umwege zu Dir
• 1945: Wie ein Dieb in der Nacht
• 1950: Erzherzog Johanns große Liebe
• 1950: Rausch einer Nacht
• 1951: Das seltsame Leben des Herrn Bruggs
• 1952: Frühlingsstimmen
• 1952: Praterherzen / Tingeltangel
• 1953: Der letzte Walzer
• 1954: Der Komödiant von Wien
• 1954: Mädchenjahre einer Königin
• 1955: Ehesanatorium / Ja, so ist das mit der Liebe
• 1955: Bel Ami
• 1957: Immer wenn der Tag beginnt

References

1. ^ http://www.wien.gv.at/rk/historisch/1957/mai.html
2. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6933654

Christl Mardayn at the Internet Movie Database