Extra Extra! Listen hear all about it! This week Janet, John, (and Pen) dive into the life of the zeitgeist of zeitgeists, the legendary, revolutionary, groundbreaking, funny force of nature who sang like a blue angel, our logo….Marlene Dietrich! Born on December 27, 1901 at Leberstraße 65 in the neighborhood of Rote Insel in Schöneberg, now a district of Berlin, Dietrich became one of the most iconic figures in the entertainment industry, known for her distinctive voice, smoldering sex appeal, glamorous style, and androgynous allure. Originally planning to become a classical violnist, an injury turned our starlet to theater. After a failed audition for Max Reinhardt, Dietrich got her start as a chorus girl in his theaters, but never seemed to get her big break on the stage. She moved her career towards film, acting in So sind die Männer (1923) and The Tragedy of Love (1923), while still maintaining a career on the stage and in cabaret— embodying the "New Women" lifestyle. By 1930, She got her big break in the film Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) after film director, Josef Von Sternberg saw her performance in Zwei Krawatten (Two Ties). She would go on to act in Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil Is a Woman (1935), A Foreign Affair (1948), Stage Fright (1950), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Touch of Evil (1958), and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). She was also nominated for a best actress cast in 1932 for Morocco, Golden Globe and a Laurel Award in 1958 for WItness for the Prosecution.
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