Maria Ney (August 6, 1890, in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

– April 7, 1959, or April 6, 1961 in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

) was a German

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

artist, film actress and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ist.

Biography

Ney was born in Kiel in northern Germany in 1890. Her father was a physician. She first studied singing at the Kiel Conservatory. In 1933, she was reported to live in Zurich. She returned to

Nazi Germany 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 ...

by 1936, when she was in a film. She is buried in the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf in Berlin.

Career

Cabaret

In 1923, Ney made her debut at the Café Gößenwahn on Kürfurstendamm in Berlin. By the late 1920s, Ney was performing regularly in the "Cabaret of Comics" (), the longest-running German-language cabaret. She was famous enough to receive reviews in the American magazine '' Variety'' and was one of the most famous German women singers in the 1920s and 1930s''.'' She often performed in a

sailor suit A sailor suit is a uniform traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in a navy or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as dress clothes. Origins and history In the Royal Navy, the ...

, perhaps emphasizing her nautical background from the port town of Kiel, and played the

. In the 1920s "A Sailor in Marseille" at the Cabaret of Comics, Ney performed with ten backup accordionists. Her performance "Give It" (Gib ihn) with Heinrich Giesen included a scene in a gondola rowed by two masked chacters who seem to be in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

Films

Ney served as the master of ceremonies in several short sound films that consisted of several different acts or scenes. ''Terra-Melophon Magazine, No. 1'' (1930), which was called a "magazine film," included the reading aloud of passages from a novel, an explanation of how a

telephone call A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network A telephone network is a telecommunications network that connects telephones, which allows telephone calls between two or more parties, as well as newer features such as fax and interne ...

between Berlin and New York worked, a demonstration of how to make a martini, and a series of exercises led by a famous physical educator. ''Cabaret Program No. 6'' (1931), ''Ufa-Cabaret Program (4th Part)'' (1931), ''Aafa Potpourri II'' (1932) consisted of mixtures of different cabaret acts and film studio events. The Ufa-Cabaret was produced for the film company Universum Film AG (Ufa), while the ''Aafa Potpourri'' was about

Aafa-Film Aafa Film or Aafa-Film was a German film production and distribution company which operated during the 1920s and 1930s. Established in 1920 as Radio-Film the company was controlled by the producer Gabriel Levy and the director Rudolf Dworsky. The ...

. These films attempted to replicate cabaret performances and atmosphere. During the Third Reich, Ney was in two feature films: ''The New Cabin Boy'' (1936), in which she played the accordion, and ''Shots in Cabin 7'' (1937–38). ''Shots in Cabin 7'' was a mystery film set on board a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

traveling from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, in which a pair of detectives uncover a diamond

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

ring. Ney portrayed the wife of one of the detectives, who was played by Aribert Grimmer.

Radio

Starting in 1948, Ney presented "Coffee Table" and other light programs on ''

Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor RIAS (german: Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor; en, ''Radio in the American Sector'') was a radio and television station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. It was founded by the US occupational authorities after World War I ...

'' (RIAS, Radio in the American Sector), the United States-sponsored radio station in Berlin.

Filmography

Short Sound films

* 1926: ''Der sprechende Film'' (''The Speaking Film'') — as herself; documentary about sound films ("talkies") * 1930: ''Terra-Melophon-Magazin Nr. 1'' (''Terra-Melophon Magazine, No. 1'') — as master of ceremonies or narrator; directed by

Rudolf Biebrach Rudolf Biebrach (24 November 1866 – 5 September 1938) was a German actor and film director. He directed over 70 films between 1909 and 1930; and he appeared as an actor in nearly 110 films between 1909 and 1938. In his youth, Biebrach had worke ...

*1931: ''Ufa-Kabarett-Programm (4. Teil)'' (''Ufa-Cabaret Program th Part'' — as master of ceremonies; directed by Kurt Gerron * 1931: ''Kabarett-Programm Nr. 6'' (''Cabaret Program No. 6'') — as master of ceremonies; directed by Kurt Gerron * 1932: ''Aafa-Kunterbunt II'' (''Aafa Potpourri II'') — as master of ceremonies; about

Feature films

* 1930: ''Stürmisch die Nacht'' (''The Stormy Night'') — a German and Austrian film about

rum-running Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...

; directed by

Kurt Blachy Kurt Blachy (1897–1980) was a German actor and film director.Kasten p. 327 Selected filmography * ''Bismarck 1862–1898'' (1927) * ''What a Woman Dreams of in Springtime ''What a Woman Dreams of in Springtime'' (German: ''Was eine Frau im ...

* 1936: ''Der neue Schiffsjunge'' (''The New Cabin Boy'') — credited as "with her accordion;" directed by Hans Morschel * 1937–1938: ''Schüsse in Kabine 7'' (''Shots in Cabin 7'') — detective's wife; directed by Carl Boese

Made-for-TV Films

* 1954: ''Mit Musik geht alles besser'' (''Everything is Better with Music'') — as herself; documentary

Discography

* circa 1980, included in ''Meister des Humors: das ist doch mal was anderes'', a historical recording of humorists and cabaret performances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Maria 1890 births German actresses German cabaret performers Actors from Kiel Year of death uncertain