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Inge Meysel

Weitere Namen
Ingeborg Charlotte Meysel (Geburtsname)
Date of Birth
05/30/1910 - 12:00
Geburtsort
Berlin
Sterbedatum
07/10/2004 - 12:00
Sterbeort
Bullenhausen bei Hamburg
Biography

Inge Meysel was born as Ingeborg Charlotte Hansen in Berlin on May 30th 1910. The daughter of protestant Dane Margarete Dagmar Antonie Luise Hansen and Jewish tobacco trader Julius Meysel left school before graduation to study acting under Ilka Grüning. Following her first auditions, she debuted in 1930 at the Stadttheater in Zwickau.

Following several theatre engagements, she made her first screen appearance in 1932 in "Großstadtnacht". The same year, she played the lead in the staging of Ludwig Fulda's "Fräulein Frau" at the Renaissance-Theater in Berlin, and later performed at the Schauspielhaus Leipzig in "Rauhnacht" and – alongside her then life partner Helmut Rudolph – in Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors".

Since she was considered a "Half-Jew" according to the Nazi race laws, Inge Meysel received a stage ban in August 1933, which was followed by a complete occupational ban in August 1935. Together with Rudolph, she first worked in the Free City of Danzig, before the couple relocated via Dresden to Hamburg in 1936. In 1942, the Gestapo ordered Meysel and Rudolph to end their cohabitation. She got jobs as a switchboard operator, design draftsman and in a parachute factory. After the war, Meysel –whose father survived the Holocaust in a hideout provided by his former secretary – and Rudolph got married, but the couple divorced again in 1947.

In September 1945, Meysel's appearance in a staging of Hofmannsthal's "Jedermann" at the St. Johannis church in Hamburg marked her comeback as an actress after a forced 12 year-long hiatus. In April 1946, she performed in Molières "Tartüff" at the Thalia in Hamburg. She remained an ensemble member of the renowned theatre until 1970, excelling in numerous celebrated stagings, including Hauptmann's "Die Ratten". Meysel also often guested at other theatres, especially in Berlin.

A role in "Liebe 1947" brought her back to the cinema. This was followed by screen performances in "Taxi-Kitty", "Kommen sie am Ersten" und "Wunschkonzert". She was equally convincing in dramatic and comic parts, proven by her roles in "Dr. Crippen lebt", "Als geheilt entlassen" and "Rosen für den Staatsanwalt". Moreover, she starred in movie adaptations of her stage successes "Im sechsten Stock" and "Ihr schönster Tag".

 

From 1953 on, Inge Meysel also appeared regularly in television – which led to her immense popularity –, and at first mainly in TV plays based on her theatre work. These were often directed by John Olden, to whom Meysel was also married from 1957 up to Olden"s death in 1965. Apart from comedies, she also brilliantly mastered the tragic roles in the TV adaptations of "Der Biberpelz" and "Die Ratten".

The attribute "TV Mother of the Nation", which was to follow her for the rest of her career, came with the role of feisty matriarch Käthe Scholz in the seven-part series "Die Unverbesserlichen". Later, she deliberately tried to subvert this dominant image with controversial mother roles in productions like "Eine geschiedene Frau" and "Mütter". Another significant character was the resolute cleaning lady Mrs. Harris, whom Meysel played in several TV plays from 1969 on. In 1971, she left the Thalia for the Renaissance-Theater in Berlin, and this was followed by numerous guest performances and tours, for instance alongside Helmut Käutner in the staging of "Ehekarussell".

The 1980 production "Der rote Strumpf" marked her last return to the big screen, and Meysel from then on exclusively worked for TV and in the theatre. In "Die kluge Witwe" (1981), she convincingly embodied a woman who confronts the social and personal effects of age. She repeated her new role as the confident and rebellious senior citizen in "Frau Juliane Winkler", "Kein pflegeleichter Fall" and "Großmutters Courage". Among her other memorable TV performances are the clever granny she played in several episodes of "Polizeiruf 110", and her moving portrayal of an elderly woman who is locked away in an asylum in "Das vergessene Leben".

In 1995, Meysel ended her theatre career with a performance of "Teures Glück" at the Bernhard-Theater in Zurich.

Apart from her work as an artist, Inge Meyel often participated actively in political debates and frequently campaigned for feminist and social causes. Over the years, the argumentative actress received numerous prestigious prizes, both for her body of work and her personal engagement. Notably, she refused to accept the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1981, pointing out that her Jewish father was deprived of his Iron Cross by the Nazis in 1933.

Inge Meysel passed away in Hamburg on July 10th 2004.

Filmography
2001
Die Liebenden vom Alexanderplatz
  • Cast
2001
Bargeld lacht
  • Cast
1999/2000
Blaues Blut
  • Cast
1997
Das vergessene Leben
  • Cast
1998
Zwei süße Früchtchen
  • Cast
1998
Mach' mal Pause!, Herr Petermann
  • Cast
1998
Auf gute Nachbarschaft
  • Cast
1998
Glücksspiele
  • Cast
1997
Ungehörige Angehörige
  • Cast
1997
Guppies zum Tee
  • Cast
1997
Gänseblümchen
  • Cast
1997
Heimatgeschichten. Bericht von Dreharbeiten mit Inge Meysel.
  • Cast
1996
Kurzer Traum
  • Cast
1995/1996
Babuschka
  • Cast
1995
Roter Caviar
  • Cast
1995
Das wird schon werden
  • Cast
1995
Dank an eine Unverbesserliche
  • Cast
1995
Großmutters Courage
  • Cast
1994/1995
1 A Landeier
  • Cast
1994
Glück auf Kredit
  • Cast
1993
Schlussabrechnung
  • Cast
1993
Parlazzo
  • Cast
1992
Kein pflegeleichter Fall. II
  • Cast
1992
ZAK
  • Cast
1990
Mrs. Harris und der Heiratsschwindler
  • Cast
1991
Taxi nach Rathenow
  • Cast
1990
Kein pflegeleichter Fall
  • Cast
1990
Die Richterin
  • Cast
1989
In inniger Feindschaft / Champ clos
  • Cast
1989
Die Staatskanzlei
  • Cast
1989
Der Augenblick der Rache
  • Cast
1988/1989
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Monte Carlo
  • Cast
1988
Zum Geburtstag viel Glück. Willy Millowitsch wird 80. EP 3: Omelette Surprise
  • Cast
1988
Neapel sehen und erben
  • Cast
1987/1988
Spätes Glück nicht ausgeschlossen
  • Cast
1986
Blutrausch
  • Cast
1987
Die Erbschaft
  • Cast
1987
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Moskau
  • Cast
1985
Der geschmuggelte Henry
  • Cast
1986
Vertrauen gegen Vertrauen
  • Cast
1985
Suche Familie - zahle bar
  • Cast
1985
Schwester Hilde
  • Cast
1984/1985
Grenzenloses Himmelblau
  • Cast
1984/1985
Die Krimistunde [Folge 14]
  • Cast
1984
Freund mit Rolls Royce
  • Cast
1984
Das Geschenk
  • Cast
1984
Die Dame und die Unterwelt
  • Cast
1984
Selbstbedienung
  • Cast
1983
Frau Juliane Winkler
  • Cast
1982
Ein Kleid von Dior
  • Cast
1981
Die kluge Witwe
  • Cast
1980/1981
Der rote Strumpf
  • Cast
1980
Bühne frei für Kolowitz
  • Cast
1978/1979
Noch 'ne Oper. Ein musikalischer Spaß
  • Cast
1979
Ihr 106. Geburtstag
  • Cast
1976
... in allen Lebenslagen
  • Cast
1975
Hundert Mark. Sieben Geschichten um eine runde Summe.
  • Cast
1975/1976
Sonntags geöffnet
  • Cast
1974
Mütter
  • Cast
1973
Orpheus in der Unterwelt
  • Cast
1971
Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten [6]
  • Cast
1971
Die Unverbesserlichen und ihr Stolz
  • Cast
1970
Keiner erbt für sich allein
  • Cast
1970
Die Unverbesserlichen und die Liebe
  • Cast
1969
Weh' dem, der erbt
  • Cast
1969
Die Unverbesserlichen und ihre Menschenkenntnis
  • Cast
1968
Die Unverbesserlichen und ihre Sorgen
  • Cast
1968
Zwischenmahlzeit
  • Cast
1967
Die Unverbesserlichen und ihr Optimismus
  • Cast
1966
Die Unverbesserlichen - nichts dazugelernt
  • Cast
1965
Die eigenen vier Wände
  • Cast
1965
Die Unverbesserlichen
  • Cast
1964/1965
Tivoli
  • Cast
1964
Ein Frauenarzt klagt an
  • Cast
1964
Eines schönen Tages
  • Cast
1961/1962
Ihr schönster Tag
  • Cast
1961
Im 6. Stock
  • Cast
1961
Schau heimwärts, Engel
  • Cast
1961
Blond muß man sein auf Capri
  • Cast
1959/1960
Als geheilt entlassen
  • Cast
1959
Liebe verboten - Heiraten erlaubt
  • Cast
1959
Bobby Dodd greift ein
  • Cast
1959
Rosen für den Staatsanwalt
  • Cast
1958
Das Mädchen vom Moorhof
  • Cast
1958
Immer die Radfahrer
  • Cast
1958
Nasser Asphalt
  • Cast
1957/1958
Dr. Crippen lebt
  • Cast
1956
Ein Mann muß nicht immer schön sein
  • Cast
1956
Der Mustergatte
  • Cast
1956
Uns gefällt die Welt
  • Cast
1955
Die Heiratsvermittlerin
  • Cast
1954/1955
Des Teufels General
  • Cast
1955
Wunschkonzert
  • Cast
1954
Der Mann meines Lebens
  • Cast
1954
Mit und ohne Begleitung
  • Cast
1952
Tanzende Sterne
  • Cast
1951/1952
Die Stimme des Anderen
  • Cast
1951
Die Dubarry
  • Cast
1951
Sensation in San Remo
  • Cast
1951
Engel im Abendkleid
  • Cast
1951
Kommen Sie am Ersten...!
  • Cast
1949/1950
Meine Nichte Susanne
  • Cast
1950
Taxi-Kitty
  • Cast
1950
Der Fall Rabanser
  • Cast
1948/1949
Liebe 47
  • Cast
1949
Schatten der Nacht
  • Cast
1932
Großstadtnacht
  • Cast
Source-URL: https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/inge-meysel_ef764d2dc1562394e03053d50b371c7c