Ines Torelli (née Ines Stierli; 14 June 1931 – 21 August 2019) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

comedian, radio personality, and stage, voice and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions.

Early life and education

Born and raised in St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland to Walter Stierli, Ines Torelli worked as a domestic helper in 1948/50, the so-called ''Welschlandjahr'' which at that time usually teenage women absolved in western Switzerland (''Welschland'') to improve the knowledge of the French language. As an autodidact Torelli got a first chance in the "Cabaret Rüeblisaft" those member she became between 1954 and 1956. Subsequently, she was engaged by the Cabaret Federal in Zürich, followed by various tours along with Schaggi Streuli, among others in "Sie und de Chef". On Theater am Hechtplatz Torelli embodied the title roles in various musicals, so in 1965 in "Bibi Balù", in 1967 in "Golden Girl", in 1968 "Pfui Martina" and in 1972 in "Viva Banana". In 1968 she starred alongside Ruedi Walter and

Margrit Rainer Margrit Rainer born as Margrit Rosa Sandmeier (9 February 1914 – 10 February 1982) was a Switzerland, Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage product ...

as ''Olly Moreen'' in '' Die kleine Niederdorf-Oper'' at the Corso Theater in Zürich.

Theater, cabaret, voice acting, television and film

Ines Torelli played in various farces at Bernhard Theater Zürich, as partner of

Jörg Schneider Jörg Schneider may refer to: * Jörg Schneider (actor) (1935–2015), Swiss actor * Jörg Schneider (politician) Jörg Schneider (born 14 May 1964) is a German politician for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and since 2017 member of the Bunde ...

and

Paul Bühlmann Paul Bühlmann (12 February 1927 – 15 July 2000) was a Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage and film actor starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions. Life and work Born in Zürich, Canton of ...

, so among other things in 1968 in "Mademoiselle Pepsi", "Der keusche Lebemann" in 1972, in 1974 in "Die Schwindelfiliale" and in 1976 in "Der fidele Casimir". Unsatisfied by these roles, in 1977 she starred, with artistic but not a commercial success, in the solo program "Torelli total". Nevertheless, she continued to play in comedies like "Potz Millione", with Rainer and Walter and directed by Inigo Gallo, on Bernhard-Theater in 1979/80 that also became a big tour success, and in 1982 in Yves Jamiaque's "Acapulco, Madame" in the dialect version of Schneider and directed by Gallo at the Theater am Hechtplatz. Torelli had also great success and was very popular as a chanson singer, so with "De Gigi vo Arosa" and as ''Iduna'' in Burkhard's "Der schwarze Hecht" at the ''Corso Theater'' in 1981. From 1986 to 1994 she was the head of the Zürcher Märchenbühne, and besides of her own dialect version of ''

The Robber Hotzenplotz The Robber Hotzenplotz ( ) is a character created by German author Otfried Preußler for his children's book series of the same name. There are three tales about Hotzenplotz: * ''The Robber Hotzenplotz'' (1962) * ''News from the Robber Hotzenplo ...

'' and

's 1994 fairytale edition of "Das brave kleine Schneiderlein", Torelli staged among others again with Schneider in numerous musicals with children. She also became popular by numerous radio appearances and roles in Swiss and German films, among them in ''Oberstadtgass'' in 1956 and in one episode of '' Fascht e Familie''. Beside the stage and television and film, again with Jörg Schneider and Paul Bühlmann, Ines Torelli became also very popular in the German speaking area by fairytale-radio plays records. In 1993 she emigrated with her husband to Canada to reside on the Lunenburg peninsula on the east coast of Canada. In 1996 they acquired an empty factory and rebuilt it into the ''Starlight Theatre'' to house up to 500 spectator seats. End of 1998 the financially unsuccessful private theater had to close.

Personal life

Ines Torelli was a citizen of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Wettswil am Albis Wettswil am Albis is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Affoltern (district), Affoltern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Wettswil am Albis (sometimes writte ...

in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

and of Aristau in the

Canton of Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by th ...

. In 1991 she married Edi Baur, a Swiss theatre director and actor, who died on 14 October 2009. Although lived in Canada since 1996, the friendship with

survived until his death in 2015. Torelli died on 21 August 2019 at her home in Rose Bay, Nova Scotia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the age of 88.

Filmography

* 1995: '' Fascht e Familie'' (Television series, 1 episode) * 1981: ''Potz Millione'' (stage, broadcast on Swiss television) * 1975: ''De grotzepuur'' * 1971: ''Professor Sound und die Pille - Die unwahrscheinliche Geschichte einer Erfindung'' (Television film) * 1969: ''Pfarrer Iseli'' * 1968: ''Die sechs Kummerbuben'' * 1961: ' * 1959: ''Café Odeon'' * 1957: ''Bäckerei Zürrer'' * 1956: ''Oberstadtgass''

References

External links

* *
Ines Torelli on the website of the Swiss national television SRF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torelli, Ines 1931 births Swiss stage actresses Swiss film actresses 20th-century Swiss actresses People from St. Gallen (city) Kabarettists Swiss radio actresses Swiss women comedians Swiss musical theatre actresses Swiss television actresses Swiss voice actresses 2019 deaths 20th-century Swiss women singers People from Affoltern District Artists from Nova Scotia Swiss emigrants to Canada People from Muri District Swiss theatre directors Swiss women theatre directors German-language singers of Switzerland