Mady Rahl (3 January 1915 – 29 August 2009) was a German stage and film actress. Born Edith Gertrud Meta Raschke in

Neukölln Neukölln (), officially abbreviated Neuk, is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located south-east of Berlin's center and stretches from the inner city southward to the border with Brandenburg, encompassing the eponymous quarter of Neu ...

(now part of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

), Rahl trained as an actress and dancer. In 1935, she made her stage debut in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

under the direction of

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war f ...

and started her film career in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

with the movie '' The Mysterious Mister X''. With her role in the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

drama ''

Truxa ''Truxa'' is a 1937 German drama film directed by Hans H. Zerlett and starring La Jana, Hannes Stelzer, and Ernst Fritz Fürbringer. It is a Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may inclu ...

'' (

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

), Rahl became known to a wider audience. After the war, she sang with her friend Elfreide Datzig for the USO. She ultimately appeared in approximately 90 movies, several of them for UFA. In later years, she appeared frequently on television, while also pursuing her career in the theatre. She was occasionally active in German

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

, lending her voice to

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

, Ma Gorg on the puppet series ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...

'', and others. Rahl's first marriage was to financier

Theodor Reimers Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Bluege ...

, her second was to producer Wilhem Sperber, and her third was to architect Werner Bürkle. All three marriages ended in divorce, and she had no children. Late in life she painted in the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

style. In her last years, Rahl was almost blind and suffering from

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

. She lived in a retirement home in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where her minder was Thomas Speyerer, and died of cancer in 2009."Ufa-Star Mady Rahl stirbt mit 94 an Krebs"
''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'' 29 August 2009 Her grave is in the Nordfriedhof Cemetery in Munich (plot 178-U-66), where her sister Ellen had been buried in 1995.

Selected filmography

* '' The Mysterious Mister X'' (1936) * ''

'' (1937) * '' The Irresistible Man'' (1937) * ''Zweimal zwei im Himmelbett'' (

) (alongside

Georg Alexander Georg Alexander (born Werner Ludwig Georg Lüddeckens; 3 April 1888 – 30 October 1945) was a German film actor who was a prolific presence in German cinema. He also directed a number of films during the silent era. Personal life He was married ...

Paul Henckels Paul Henckels (9 September 1885 – 27 May 1967) was a German film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1921 and 1965. Paul Henckels had started his acting career on the stage in the 1900s. He was well known for his eccen ...

and

Carola Höhn Carola Höhn (30 January 1910 – 8 November 2005) was a German actress. Selected filmography Film * '' The Weekend Bride'' (1928) * '' Don Juan in a Girls' School'' (1928) * '' From a Bachelor's Diary'' (1929) * '' Youthful Indiscretion'' (1929 ...

) * ''

To New Shores ''To New Shores'' () is a 1937 Cinema of Germany, German drama film directed by Douglas Sirk, Detlef Sierck (later known as Douglas Sirk) and starring Zarah Leander, Willy Birgel and Viktor Staal. It was Leander's first film for the German studio ...

'' (

) (

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Sweden, Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned UFA GmbH, Universum Film AG (UFA). Althou ...

, Willy Birgel) * ''Eine Nacht im Mai'' (

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

) (

Marika Rökk Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in Cinema of Germany, German films in the Nazism and cinema, Nazi era. She res ...

Viktor Staal Viktor Staal (17 February 1909 – 4 June 1982) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * '' Everything for the Company'' (1935) * '' Eva, the Factory Girl'' (1935) * '' Das Einmaleins der Liebe'' (1935) * '' The World's in Love'' (1935 ...

, Oskar Sima) * '' Hello Janine!'' (

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

) (Marika Rökk,

Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the conce ...

) * '' My Wife Theresa'' (

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

) ( Elfie Mayerhofer, Hans Söhnker) * ''

Beloved World ''Beloved World'' () is a 1942 German romantic comedy film directed by Emil Burri and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Fritsch, and Paul Dahlke.Hake p. 195 It was made at the Bavaria Studios in Munich Munich is the capital and most ...

'' (1942) * '' Love Me'' (1942) * '' Tonelli'' (1943) * ''Sieben Briefe'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

) (

O. W. Fischer Otto Wilhelm Fischer (, ; 1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of West German cinema during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' era of the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He was born in Klosterneuburg nea ...

) * ''

Somewhere in Berlin ''Somewhere in Berlin'' () is a film produced in the Soviet occupation zone of Allied-occupied Germany, the area that later became East Germany. It was released in 1946, and was the third DEFA film. It sold 4,179,651 tickets. It was part of the gr ...

'' (1946) * '' Tell the Truth'' (1946) * '' Night of the Twelve'' (1949) * '' The Blue Straw Hat'' (1949) * '' Everything for the Company'' (1950) * '' One Night's Intoxication'' (1951) * '' Border Post 58'' (1951) * ''

Scandal at the Embassy ''Scandal at the Embassy'' () is a 1950 West German comedy film directed by Erik Ode and starring Viktor de Kowa, Jeanette Schultze and Michiko Tanaka.Bock & Bergfelder p. 33 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's sets were d ...

'' (1950) * '' Eyes of Love'' (1951) ( Käthe Gold,

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen (30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgish stage and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who port ...

) * '' The Lady in Black'' (

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

) ( Paul Hartmann, Rudolf Prack) * '' The Blue and White Lion'' (1952) * '' The Landlady of Maria Wörth'' (1952) * '' Prisoners of Love'' (

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

) (

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in ''Des Teufels Gener ...

, Bernhard Wicki) * '' Three from Variety'' (1954) * '' The Tour Guide of Lisbon'' (1956) * '' Imperial and Royal Field Marshal'' (1956) * '' War of the Maidens'' (

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

) ( Gerlinde Locker, Oskar Sima, Kurt Heintel) * '' The Heart of St. Pauli'' (

) (

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...

) * ' (

) ( Hans Moser,

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrians, Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the ...

) * '' The Copper'' (1958) * ' (

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

) (

Willy Fritsch Willy Fritsch (Wilhelm Egon Fritz, 27 January 1901 – 13 July 1973) was a German theatre and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s. Biography Early life He was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz ...

Karin Dor Karin Dor (; born Kätherose Derr; 22 February 1938 – 6 November 2017) was a German actress. She was famous to international audiences for her role as Bond girl Helga Brandt in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) and her appear ...

) * '' Stefanie'' (1958) * '' Arena of Fear'' (1959) * '' Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen'' (1960) * ''

The Forger of London ''The Forger of London'' () is a 1961 West German crime film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Karin Dor, Hellmut Lange and Siegfried Lowitz.Bergfelder p. 254 It is an adaptation of Edgar Wallace's 1927 novel '' The Forger'', and part of a ...

'' (

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

) (an Edgar Wallace movie) * ''Hochzeit am Neusiedler See'' (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

) ( Rolf Olsen, Gertraud Jesserer,

Udo Jürgens Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), generally known as Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, ...

, Rocco Granata) * '' The White Spider'' (1963) * ''

Holiday in St. Tropez ''Holiday in St. Tropez'' is a 1964 West German comedy film directed by Ernst Hofbauer and starring Vivi Bach, Ann Smyrner, and Rudolf Prack.Hobsch p. 27 Plot Carlos Fonti and his wife Marisa are in the midst of constructing their hotel, St. Tro ...

'' (1964) * ''

The Hound of Blackwood Castle ''The Hound of Blackwood Castle'' (German: ''Der Hund von Blackwood Castle'') is a 1968 West German crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Heinz Drache, Karin Baal and Horst Tappert.Bergfelder p.153 Based on a story by Edgar Wallace, i ...

'' (1968) * ''

Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his novels of travels and adventures, set in the American Old West, the Orient, the Middle East, Latin America, China and Germany. He als ...

'' (

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

) (

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

directed by

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (; born 8 December 1935) is a German film director, whose best known film is his lengthy feature ''Hitler: A Film from Germany''. Early life Born in Nossendorf, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania, the son of ...

) * ' (

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

) (video title ''Ibiza - Der Tod kommt nur bei blauem Himmel'') * ' (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

) (

Wolfgang Kieling Wolfgang Kieling (16 March 1924 – 7 October 1985) was a German actor. Biography In films since childhood in his native Germany, Kieling appeared in a few American films, notably in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Torn Curtain'' (1966), where he playe ...

Hannelore Elsner Hannelore Elsner (; born Hannelore Elstner; 26 July 1942 – 21 April 2019) was a German actress with a long career in television and film. She first performed on stage in Munich, and later starred in popular films and television series such as ' ...

; based on a novel by

Martin Walser Martin Johannes Walser (; 24 March 1927 – 26 July 2023) was a German writer, known especially as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for ''Süddeutscher Rundfunk'', where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was a member of Group 47 ...

) * '' Die Wicherts von nebenan'' (TV series) (1986) * '' Die glückliche Familie'' (TV series) (1987) * '' The Aggression'' (

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

) * ''

Polizeiruf 110 ''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series. The name refers to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic ...

'' (TV series): episode "Vater unser" (2004)

References

External links

*
Photographs of Mady Rahl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahl, Mady 1915 births 2009 deaths Deaths from cancer in Germany 20th-century German actresses German film actresses German television actresses Burials at the Nordfriedhof (Munich) Actresses from Berlin