Eleonore "Loni" Arnault ( Nest, 4 August 1915 – 2 October 1990), known professionally by her maiden name of Loni Nest, was a German actress. Born in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
, she was a child star of German
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...
s in the 1920s. She was filmed for the first time at the age of four weeks.
Life and film career
After more than 40 movies, she ended her movie career in 1928 at the age of 13. In 1933 she played in one last movie in France.
Her whereabouts after 1933 remained unknown for several decades, but it was eventually discovered that she died at the age of 75 on 2 October 1990 in the French town
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
.
In 2014, the website Forever Missed published an obituary that ostensibly revealed that Nest had died in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
in 2014 at the age of 98. It also described details of Nest's life after she left Germany and moved to America. Various websites including the
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
quickly adopted this information. It was soon discovered, however, that both the time and location of her death as well as the details about her later life were a hoax. According to the German newspaper ''
Die Welt
''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE.
''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...
'', German film historian Toni Schieck had discovered years before that Nest's sister Ursula had moved to the United States and died in Florida in 2007. Through her family, Schieck discovered that Nest had married and taken the last name Arnault. She moved to France where she died at the age of 75 in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
.
Filmography
*1918: ''
The Story of Dida Ibsen''
*1919: ''Die Ehe der Frau Mary''
*1919: ''Opium''
*1919: ''Harakiri''
*1920: ''Kämpfende Gewalten oder Welt ohne Krieg''
*1920: ''Der Reigen – Ein Werdegang''
*1920: ''
Patience
(or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when face ...
''
*1920: ''Johannes Goth''
*1920: ''
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam''
*1920: ''
The Guilt of Lavinia Morland''
** ''
The Wandering Image'' (1920)
*1921: ''
Man Overboard''
*1921: ''
Ein Erpressertrick
''A Blackmailer's Trick'' (german: Ein Erpressertrick) is a 1921 German silent mystery film directed by Erich Schönfelder and starring Ferdinand von Alten, Willi Schaeffers and Loni Nest. It features the popular detective hero Joe Deebs.
Cast ...
''
*1921: ''
Schloß Vogelöd
''The Haunted Castle'' ( ger, Schloß Vogelöd, lit=Castle Vogelöd) is a silent mystery film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.
Plot summary
A company of men meet for a hunt lasting several days at Castle Vogelöd, being hosted by Lord ...
''
*1921: ''
Violet''
*1921: ''Die Minderjährige – Zu jung fürs Leben''
*1921: ''
Parisian Women
''Parisian Women'' (German: ''Pariserinnen'') is a 1921 German silent film directed by Léo Lasko and starring Ressel Orla, Xenia Desni and Ralph Arthur Roberts.Krautz p.314 The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Herlth and Wal ...
''
*1921: ''
The Convict of Cayenne''
*1921: ''
The Pearl of the Orient''
*1921: ''Sturmflut des Lebens''
*1922: ''
Alone in the Jungle''
*1922: ''
Sunken Worlds
''Sunken Worlds'' (German: ''Versunkene Welten'') is a 1922 German silent film directed by Siegfried Philippi and starring Victor Varconi, Ria Jende and Hans Albers.Bock & Bergfelder p.8
Cast
* Victor Varconi
* Ria Jende
* Max Devrient
* Han ...
''
*1922: ''
Tabitha, Stand Up''
*1922: ''
A Dying Nation
''A Dying Nation'' or ''Dying Peoples'' (german: Sterbende Völker) is a 1922 German silent historical drama film directed by Robert Reinert and starring Paul Wegener, Otto Gebühr, and Fritz Kortner. It was released in two parts ''Heimat in ...
'' (2 parts)
*1922: ''Aus den Erinnerungen eines Frauenarztes'' (2 parts)
*1923: ''Quarantäne''
*1923: ''
Tragedy of Love''
*1923: ''
Fräulein Raffke
''Fräulein Raffke'' is a 1923 German silent film directed by Richard Eichberg and starring Werner Krauss, Lydia Potechina and Lee Parry.Bock & Bergfelder p.8 A "Raffke" was Weimar era slang for a money accumulator.
The film's sets were designe ...
''
*1923: ''
The Little Napoleon
''The Little Napoleon'' (german: Der kleine Napoleon) is a 1923 German silent historical comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Egon von Hagen, Paul Heidemann and Harry Liedtke. It depicts the life and amorous adventures of Jérôme ...
''
*1923: ''
Black Earth''
*1924: ''
Two Children
''Two Children'' (german: Zwei Kinder) is a 1924 German silent film directed by Richard Clement Hilber and starring Alexander Murski, Olga Belajeff and Suzanne Marwille.Bock & Bergfelder p. 74
The film's sets were designed by the art director K ...
''
*1924: ''
Mother and Child''
*1924: ''
The Evangelist''
*1925: ''
Fire of Love''
*1925: ''
Die Prinzessin und der Geiger''
*1925: ''
Die freudlose Gasse
''Joyless Street'' (german: Die freudlose Gasse), also titled ''The Street of Sorrow'' or ''The Joyless Street'', is a 1925 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst starring Greta Garbo and Asta Nielsen. It is based on a novel by Hugo ...
''
*1925: ''
A Song from Days of Youth
''A Song from Days of Youth'' (german: Aus der Jugendzeit klingt ein Lied) is a 1925 German silent film directed by Franz Osten and starring Maria Mindzenty, John Mylong and Ferdinand Martini.Holmstrom p. 428
The film's sets were designed by the ...
''
*1928: ''
The Saint and Her Fool''
*1928: ''
The Story of a Little Parisian''
*1933: ''
L'Épervier''
References
External links
*
1915 births
1990 deaths
German film actresses
German silent film actresses
Actresses from Berlin
German child actresses
20th-century German actresses
German emigrants to France
{{Germany-film-actor-stub