Stephanie Glaser (22 February 1920 – 14 January 2011) was one of Switzerland's most prominent stage, TV and film actresses, popular for her portrayal of down-to-earth, sympathetic characters.
Early life and education
Glaser was born 22 February 1920 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland to Willy Albert Glaser (1891–1949), a
hotelier
A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to: management of hotel staff, b ...
and
restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...
, and Alice Glaser (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Aeberli), originally from
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...
. Her father operated several hotels during his career most notably the ''Hotel Terminus'' in
Spiez
Spiez is a town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland region of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Nied ...
and the ''Hotel de la Poste'' in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. Her mother was the first woman in Bern to drive an
automobile
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
and she formed a women's automobile club.
Her paternal family immigrated to Switzerland from Germany in the 1840s and became citizens of
Niederhünigen
Niederhünigen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland.
History
Nieder ...
in 1855. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Georg Glaser–Schmid, a
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
was the general director of the Psychiatric Hospital in
Münsterlingen
Münsterlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
History
In 1994 the municipality was created from Landschlacht and Scherzingen.Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna.
Career
Glaser then performed at various theatres in Switzerland and Germany. She was a member of the '' Bäretatze'', '' Floigefänger'' and '' Fédéral'' comedy troupes, and became, alongside
Walter Roderer
Walter Roderer (3 July 1920 – 8 May 2012) was a Swiss actor and screenwriter. He played several leading film roles including the 1959 comedy '' The Model Husband''.Goble p.228
Selected filmography
Actor
* '' The Venus of Tivoli'' (1953)
* ...
, one of Switzerland's noted popular actresses as well as a leading figure of the 1950s Swiss comedy scene.
She became known to the general public for her roles in the Gotthelf film adaptations '' Uli der Knecht'' and '' Ueli, der Pächter'', and notably for starring as "Aunt Elise" in the TV show '' Teleboy'' by Kurt Felix between 1974 and 1981. Later she was also cast in the TV series ''Motel'' and ''Die Direktorin''.
A great success was "Stan und Ollie in der Schweiz", starring
Ursula Schaeppi
Ursula Schaeppi or Ursula Schäppi (born 22 June 1940) is a Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage, voice and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language stage productions and as voice actress in children's literature.
Early lif ...
Ollie
Ollie is a given name and a nickname, often as a shortened form of Oliver (given name), Oliver, Olive (given name), Olive, Olympia, Olga (name), Olga or Olivia (given name), Olivia. Variants include Olie, Oli, Oly (disambiguation), Oly and Olly (di ...
'' in 1987.
In the 1980s she returned to film work and in 2006, at the age of 86, she was cast in her first title role in the critically and commercially successful movie '' Late Bloomers'' (''Die Herbstzeitlosen''). Stephanie Glaser continued working as an actress in her old age. A few months before she died on 14 January 2011, aged 90, she had been shooting scenes for the TV movie '' Mord hinterm Vorhang''.
Personal life
In 1954, Glaser married Oscar Düby (1904-1982), who was a movie producer. They did not have children, something that Glaser regretted later in life.
Motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
Leo Sonnyboy
''Leo Sonnyboy'' is a 1989 in film, 1989 Switzerland, Swiss film directed by Rolf Lyssy. The comedy was filmed in Zürich and at various locations in Switzerland, and produced in Switzerland.
Plot
Leo (Mathias Gnädinger) is about 40-year-old m ...
Locarno International Film Festival
The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...
for ''Late Bloomers''
* 2006: SwissAward in the culture category for ''Late Bloomers''
* 2006:
Prix Walo
The Prix Walo is a Swiss award given for showbusiness.
Awards since 1994 Honorable - Walo - awards
* 1983: Charly Fritsche
* 1991: Eynar Grabowsky
* 1992: Willi Schmidt, First Harmonic Brass Band
* 1993: Caterina Valente, Ettore Cella
* 1994: ...
Bibliography
* «Stephanie Glaser». In: Susanna Schwager. ''Das volle Leben: Frauen über achtzig erzählen.'' Wörterseh Verlag, Gockhausen b. Zürich, 2007, p. 45–67.