Maria Ney (August 6, 1890, in Kiel – April 7, 1959, or April 6, 1961[1][2][3] in West Berlin) was a German cabaret artist, film actress and accordionist.

Biography

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Ney was born in Kiel in northern Germany in 1890.[2][1] Her father was a physician.[4] She first studied singing at the Kiel Conservatory.[4]

In 1933, she was reported to live in Zurich.[5] She returned to Nazi Germany by 1936, when she was in a film.[6]

She is buried in the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf in Berlin.[4]

Career

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Cabaret

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In 1923, Ney made her debut at the Café Gößenwahn on Kürfurstendamm in Berlin.[4] By the late 1920s, Ney was performing regularly in the "Cabaret of Comics" (Kabarett der Komiker [de]), the longest-running German-language cabaret.[7][4][3][8] She was famous enough to receive reviews in the American magazine Variety and was one of the most famous German women singers in the 1920s and 1930s.[9][10]

She often performed in a sailor suit, perhaps emphasizing her nautical background from the port town of Kiel, and played the accordion.[4] In the 1920s "A Sailor in Marseille" at the Cabaret of Comics, Ney performed with ten backup accordionists.[9] Her performance "Give It" (Gib ihn) with Heinrich Giesen included a scene in a gondola rowed by two masked characters who seem to be in blackface.[11]

Films

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Ney served as the master of ceremonies in several short sound films that consisted of several different acts or scenes. Terra-Melophon Magazine, No. 1 (1930), which was called a "magazine film," included the reading aloud of passages from a novel, an explanation of how a telephone call between Berlin and New York worked, a demonstration of how to make a martini, and a series of exercises led by a famous physical educator.[12]

Cabaret Program No. 6 (1931), Ufa-Cabaret Program (4th Part) (1931), Aafa Potpourri II (1932) consisted of mixtures of different cabaret acts and film studio events.[13][14] The Ufa-Cabaret was produced for the film company Universum Film AG (Ufa), while the Aafa Potpourri was about Aafa-Film.[14] These films attempted to replicate cabaret performances and atmosphere.[15]

During the Third Reich, Ney was in two feature films: The New Cabin Boy (1936), in which she played the accordion, and Shots in Cabin 7 (1937–38).[6] Shots in Cabin 7 was a mystery film set on board a cruise ship traveling from Cape Town to Amsterdam, in which a pair of detectives uncover a diamond smuggling ring.[16] Ney portrayed the wife of one of the detectives, who was played by Aribert Grimmer.[17]

Radio

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Starting in 1948, Ney presented "Coffee Table" and other light programs on Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor (RIAS, Radio in the American Sector), the United States-sponsored radio station in Berlin.[3][4]

Filmography

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Short Sound films

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  • 1926: Der sprechende Film (The Speaking Film) — as herself; documentary about sound films ("talkies")[18]
  • 1930: Terra-Melophon-Magazin Nr. 1 (Terra-Melophon Magazine, No. 1) — as master of ceremonies or narrator; directed by Rudolf Biebrach[19][12]
  • 1931: Ufa-Kabarett-Programm (4. Teil) (Ufa-Cabaret Program [4th Part]) — as master of ceremonies; directed by Kurt Gerron[20]
  • 1931: Kabarett-Programm Nr. 6 (Cabaret Program No. 6) — as master of ceremonies; directed by Kurt Gerron[13][21]
  • 1932: Aafa-Kunterbunt II (Aafa Potpourri II) — as master of ceremonies; about Aafa-Film[14]

Feature films

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  • 1930: Stürmisch die Nacht (The Stormy Night) — a German and Austrian film about rum-running; directed by Kurt Blachy[22][23]
  • 1936: Der neue Schiffsjunge (The New Cabin Boy) — credited as "with her accordion;" directed by Hans Morschel[6][21]
  • 1937–1938: Schüsse in Kabine 7 (Shots in Cabin 7) — detective's wife; directed by Carl Boese[16][21]

Made-for-TV Films

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  • 1954: Mit Musik geht alles besser (Everything is Better with Music) — as herself; documentary[21]

Discography

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  • circa 1980, included in Meister des Humors: das ist doch mal was anderes, a historical recording of humorists and cabaret performances[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Maria Ney". Film Portal (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021. [birth] 06.05.1890 Kiel [death] 06.04.1961 Berlin
  2. ^ a b "Maria Ney". Deutschen Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved May 16, 2021. Lebensdaten: 1890–1961
  3. ^ a b c "Obituaries: Maria Ney". Variety. 222 (9): 215. April 26, 1961 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Berlinische Monatsschrift (1999). "Lexikon Berliner Biographien (N)". Berlin Geschichte (in German). p. 95. ISSN 0944-5560. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Foreign Film News: WHO'S WHO OF NAZI EXILES". Variety. 111 (2): 19. June 20, 1933 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ a b c Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Der neue Schiffsjunge". Film Portal. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Lareau, Alan (September 1, 2011). "Kabarett der Komiker: Berlin 1924–1950 by Klaus Volker (2010)". Monatshefte. 103 (3): 469–471. doi:10.1353/mon.2011.0087. ISSN 0026-9271. S2CID 219197984. Retrieved May 16, 2021 – via Project MUSE.
  8. ^ Thumser, Regina; Klösch, Christian (December 31, 2003), "Exil-Kabarett in New York", USA, De Gruyter, pp. 375–415, doi:10.1515/9783110964103-017, ISBN 978-3-11-096410-3, retrieved May 16, 2021
  9. ^ a b "Legitimate: OUT-OF-TOWN REVIEWS – CABARET OF COMICS". Variety. 100 (7): 70. August 27, 1930 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ Ganeva, Mila (March 7, 2019). "Diseusen in der Weimarer Republik: Imagekonstruktionen im Kabarett am Beispiel von Margo Lion und Blandine Ebinger". German History. 37 (2): 253–255. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghz011. ISSN 0266-3554.
  11. ^ "Kabarett der Komiker: "Gib ihm"; Gondel mit Maria Ney und Heinrich Giesen / Bild 1". Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (in German). 1923. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Terra-Melophon-Magazin Nr. 1 (Detailansicht Film)". Murnau Stiftung (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Kabarett-Programm Nr. 6". Film Portal. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Aafa-Kunterbunt II". Film Portal (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  15. ^ Ganeva, Mila (2021). "Chapter 4 – Jewish Comedians beyond Lubitsch: Siegfried Arno in Film and Cabaret". Rethinking Jewishness in Weimar cinema. Barbara Hales, Valerie Weinstein. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-78920-872-6. OCLC 1203133060.
  16. ^ a b Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Schüsse in Kabine 7". Film Portal. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  17. ^ "Schüsse in Kabine 7: Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database.
  18. ^ Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Der sprechende Film". Film Portal (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Terra-Melophon-Magazin Nr. 1". Film Portal (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "Ufa-Kabarett-Programm (4. Teil) (Detailansicht Film)". Murnau Stiftung (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c d "Maria Ney". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  22. ^ Deutsches Filminstitut und Filmmuseum. "Stürmisch die Nacht". Film Portal (in German). Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Foreign Film News: Germany Showing Own Rum-Runners in Film". Variety. 100 (2): 7. July 23, 1930 – via ProQuest.
  24. ^ Meister des Humors: das ist doch mal was anderes. Köln: EMI-Electrola. 1980. OCLC 916509385.