Helene Ottilie Thimig (5 June 1889 – 7 November 1974) was an Austrian stage and film actress.

Personal life

Helene Thimig was the daughter of actor

Hugo Thimig Hugo August Thimig (16 June 1854 – 24 September 1944), although born in Germany, spent his working life in Austria as an actor, director, and director of the ''Burgtheater'' in Vienna. Biography Thimig was the founding father of one of Au ...

and the sister of actors Hermann and

Hans Thimig Hans Emil Thimig, pseudonym: Hans Werner (23 July 1900 in Vienna – 17 February 1991, also in Vienna) was an Austrian actor, film director, and stage director. Life The youngest son of the Burgtheater actor Hugo Thimig and Franziska "Fanny" Hu ...

. Thimig was married to the stage

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

from 1935 until his death in 1943. Thimig went into exile in the United States during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, but returned to Europe after World War II.

Professional life

Returning to Vienna from her American exile, she headed the

Max Reinhardt Seminar The Max Reinhardt Seminar (Reinhardt Seminar) is the School of Drama at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Palais Cumberland, Penzingerstraße 9, in Vienna's 14th district (). History A ''Lehr ...

, an acting school, from 1948 to 1954. Beginning in 1946, she directed the ''Jedermann'' productions during the Salzburg Festival. She had played the female lead (Faith) in that play for years under Reinhardt's direction and resumed the role from 1946 to 1951 and 1963 to 1965. She became an ensemble member at Vienna's

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...

in 1947; she moved to the Theater in the Josefsstadt (her preferred company) in 1954. She died in her native Vienna in 1974, aged 85, of heart failure. She was cremated at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened on ...

; her ashes are now buried in Neustifter Friedhof in Vienna.

Selected filmography

* '' Man Without a Name'' (1932) - Eva-Maria Sander * ''

The Gay Sisters ''The Gay Sisters'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Gig Young (who adopted his character's name as his screen name) and Nancy Coleman. The ...

'' (1942) - Saskia * ''

The Moon Is Down ''The Moon Is Down'' is a novel by American writer John Steinbeck. Fashioned for adaptation for the theatre and for which Steinbeck received the Norwegian King Haakon VII Freedom Cross, it was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story ...

'' (1943) - Annie (uncredited) * ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' (1943) - Mrs. Frida Malken (uncredited) * ''

The Hitler Gang ''The Hitler Gang'' is a 1944 American pseudo-documentary film directed by John Farrow, which traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler. Described as a "documentary-propaganda" film by its studio, Paramount Pictures, the historical drama is based ...

'' (1944) - Angela Raubal * ''

The Seventh Cross ''The Seventh Cross'' (german: Das siebte Kreuz) is a novel by Anna Seghers, one of the better-known examples of German literature circa World War II. It was first published in Mexico by ''El Libro Libre'' In 1942. The English translation came o ...

'' (1944) - Frau Anders (uncredited) * ''

Strangers in the Night "Strangers in the Night" is a song composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Kaempfert originally used it under the title "Beddy Bye" as part of the instrumental score for the movie ''A Man Could Get ...

'' (1944) - Mrs. Hilda Blake * '' The Master Race'' (1944) - Matalie Rudan - George's Mother (uncredited) * '' None But the Lonely Heart'' (1944) - Sister Nurse (uncredited) * '' Roughly Speaking'' (1945) - Olga - Maid (uncredited) * ''

Hotel Berlin ''Hotel Berlin'' is an American drama film set in Berlin near the close of World War II, made by Warner Bros. in late 1944 to early 1945. Directed by Peter Godfrey, it stars Faye Emerson, Helmut Dantine, Raymond Massey and Andrea King. It is b ...

'' (1945) - Frau Sarah Baruch * '' Isle of the Dead'' (1945) - Madame Kyra * ''

This Love of Ours ''This Love of Ours'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Merle Oberon, Claude Rains, Charles Korvin and Carl Esmond. The film's composer, Hans J. Salter, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original ...

'' (1945) - Mrs. Tucker * ''

Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common in the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Overview In " Th ...

'' (1946) - Katerin Lodor * ''

The Locket The Locket may refer to: *The Locket (1946 film) ''The Locket'' is a 1946 American psychological thriller with noirish undertones directed by John Brahm, starring Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Raymond, and released by RKO ...

'' (1946) - Mrs. Monks * ''

High Conquest ''High Conquest'' is a 1947 American drama film directed by Irving Allen and starring Anna Lee, Gilbert Roland, and Warren Douglas. It was adapted from the 1941 book of the same title by James Ramsey Ullman. It was distributed by Monogram Pictures ...

'' (1947) - Frau Oberwalder * '' Cry Wolf'' (1947) - Marta * ''

The Immortal Face ''The Immortal Face'' (german: Das unsterbliche Antlitz) is a 1947 Austrian historical drama film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Marianne Schönauer, O.W. Fischer and Helene Thimig.Fritsche p. 85 The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1947) - Henriette Feuerbach * '' Escape Me Never'' (1947) - The Landlady * ''Gottes Engel sind überall'' (1948) - Eine Dame in Grau * '' The Angel with the Trumpet'' (1948) - Gretel Paskiewicz, geb. Alt * ''Die Stimme Österreichs'' (1949) - Herself * ''

Decision Before Dawn ''Decision Before Dawn'' is a 1951 American war film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner, and Hans Christian Blech. It tells the story of the American Army using potentially unreliable German prisoners of war to g ...

'' (1951) - Fräulein Paula Schneider * ''Undine'' (1955, TV movie) * ''Das Mädchen vom Pfarrhof'' (1955) - Gerber-Leni, Sepps Mutter * '' Winter in the Woods'' (1956) - Baronin Henny * ''Die Magd von Heiligenblut'' (1956) - Kraeuter-Vetti * ''Funken in der Asche'' (1962, TV movie) - Helene Langer * ''Johann Wolfgang'' (1969, TV movie)

References

Bibliography

* Sutter Fichtner, Paula. ''Historical Dictionary of Austria''. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

* 1889 births 1974 deaths Austrian stage actresses Austrian film actresses Actresses from Vienna People who emigrated to escape Nazism 20th-century Austrian actresses Austrian exiles Austrian expatriates in the United States Expatriate actresses in the United States {{Austria-actor-stub