Marlene Dietrich

Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich (December 27, 1901-May 6, 1992) also known as Maria Magdalena Dietrich was a German actress, entertainer and singer.

Final Years

Her show business career largely ended in 1974, when she broke her leg during a stage performance. She appeared briefly in the video, Just a Gigolo, in 1979, and wrote and contributed several books during the 1980s. She spent her last decade mostly bed-ridden, in her apartment on the avenue Montaigne in Paris, during which time she was not seen in public but was a prolific letter-writer and phone-caller. Maximilian Schell persuaded Dietrich to be interviewed for his 1984 documentary Marlene, but she did not appear on screen. She was somewhat estranged from her daughter, but got on well with her grandson, Peter Riva. Her own husband, Rudolf Sieber, had died of cancer on June 24, 1976.

Related Topics:
1974 - 1979 - Paris - Maximilian Schell - June 24 - 1976

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Dietrich died peacefully on May 6, 1992 at the age of 90 from natural causes in Paris, France. A service was conducted at La Madeline in Paris before 3,500 mourners and a crowd of well-wishers outside. Her body, covered with an American flag, was then returned to Berlin where she was interred in her birthplace at the Städtischen Friedhof III, Berlin-Schöneberg, Stubenrauchstraße 43-45, in Friedenau Cemetery.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 1992 - Paris, France - Berlin - Städtischen Friedhof III - Friedenau

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In 1994 her memorabilia were sold to the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (after US institutions showed no interest) where it became the core of the (see ) at the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany.

Related Topics:
1994 - Potsdamer Platz - Berlin, Germany

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