Tamara Desni (22 October 19137 February 2008) was a German-born British actress She appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Desni was born in Berlin as Tamara Brodsky,
''The Telegraph'' (15 February 2008). Retrieved 29 September 2010. the daughter of actress

Xenia Desni Xenia Desni ( Ukrainian: Ксенія Десні; 19 January 1894 – 27 May 1962) was a Ukrainian silent screen era actress who predominantly appeared in German films. Early life Densi was born Ksenia Desnytska in Kyiv, Ukraine. She and her fam ...

. Her mother was born in Kiev,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and emigrated to Germany some time before Desni's birth. She became a star of German cinema during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. She studied ballet as a child and appeared on stage and in several German films. She married a dentist while a teenager, although they divorced before Desni landed her first London acting role in 1931 in the musical ''

White Horse Inn ''The White Horse Inn'' (or ''White Horse Inn'') (German title: ''Im weißen Rößl'' ) is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salz ...

''. She followed this up with another leading role in the musical ''Casanova'', featuring music by Johann Strauss, Jr. Desni's film career took off in 1933 with '' Falling for You'', and continued through 1950. Other film credits include ''

Dick Barton at Bay ''Dick Barton at Bay'' is a 1950 British spy film about special agent Dick Barton. It was the second of three films that Hammer Film Productions made about the British agent, although it was the last released, following '' Dick Barton: Special Ag ...

'', ''The Torso Murder Mystery'', ''

Fire Over England ''Fire Over England'' is a 1937 London Film Productions film drama, notable for providing the first pairing of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. It was directed by William K. Howard and written by Clemence Dane from the 1936 novel ''Fire Over ...

'', and ''Hell's Cargo''.

Marriages

She met her second husband, actor

Bruce Seton Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet (29 May 1909 – 28 September 1969) was a British actor and soldier. He is best remembered for his eponymous lead role in ''Fabian of the Yard''. Early life Bruce Lovat Seton was born in Simla, British Ind ...

, on the set of '' Blue Smoke'' in 1934. They married in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

in March 1937, but divorced in 1940. She next married film producer Roland (Bill) Gillett, though that marriage was dissolved before the end of World War II. Her fourth marriage was to the Canadian-born actor

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian-born actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University, ...

in 1947, the two separating in 1951. Her stepdaughter during this short marriage was the actress

Simone Lovell Simone Lovell (born 19 February 1934) is a British actress known for her television appearances of the 1950s and 60s. She is the daughter of the Canadian-born actor Raymond Lovell and Margot Ruddock, whose relationship broke down when Ruddock be ...

. In France, she met Albert Lavagna, a builder. They built the popular inn 'L'Auberge Chez Tamara', marrying in 1956, shortly after Desni discovered she was pregnant for the first time. They had two daughters.

Death

Desni's health began declining while in her late eighties. She died, a widow, on 7 February 2008 in

Valence d'Agen Valence (; oc, Valença d'Agen), also known as Valence-d'Agen, is a Commune of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern Fra ...

, France, aged 94.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Tamara Desni obituary at telegraph.co.uk

Photographs of Tamara Desni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desni, Tamara 1913 births 2008 deaths British film actresses German expatriates in France German film actresses Actresses from Berlin 20th-century British actresses 20th-century German actresses German people of Ukrainian descent German emigrants to the United Kingdom