Marlene Dietrich is one of the most enduring of all gay icons – glamorous, outrageous, brave and entirely unconcerned with convention.
Her long career spanned just about the whole of the 20th century, and her legend continues even now, twenty years after her death.
She started out as a jobbing actress in the glory days of Weimar Berlin in the 1920s. Taking full advantage of the “divine decadence” of the time, she courted the girls and dressed in drag and made full use of the thriving gay scene.
After being starred in the film The Blue Angel she shot to Hollywood fame and became a screen legend second to none. With sixty films under her belt, she was still taking starring roles in the 1970s.
When Hitler came to power, Marlene ditched her German nationality and became an American citizen. From there she joined the allied war effort and gained a reputation for her determination and bravery. The Americans rewarded her with a Medal of Freedom – the highest honour a civilian can achieve, and the French gave her the Legion d’Honneur. The Germans never really forgave her.
Reinventing herself after the war as a first-rate cabaret artist, Marlene toured the world with Burt Bacharach, becoming one of the highest-paid entertainers of all time. Her show was a small work of theatrical genius that kept the crowds flocking.
It was a particular favourite among gay men who recognised an icon when they saw one and it appealed to gay women because they also knew that Marlene was one of their own. She made little secret of her love for other women and she spread her favours generously. Indeed, she was ‘outed’ as a lesbian by Confidential magazine in 1955, but she seems to have shrugged it off and been unaffected.
She also became – as all divas should be – a bit of a monster. When she appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in 1964 she demanded that thousands of programmes that had been printed should be pulped because she didn’t like the pictures they’d chosen. And that was only the beginning of her demands.
Lord Harwood, who was director of the festival, said having Marlene there was one of the most traumatic times of his life, but such was her success that they had to invite her again the following year.
Now veteran gay journalist Terry Sanderson is going to explore the life and career of this fascinating and complex woman in a show at the Marlborough Theatre in Brighton. He will look at her film career, using generous clips from her campest films and then explore her valiant anti-Nazi activities. Finally there will be a showing, on a big screen, of Marlene’s fabulous one-woman show. Recorded in Sweden in 1964, this is Dietrich at her peak.
Terry said:
“Marlene was definitely a woman ahead of her time – so far ahead, in fact, that I don’t think we’ve caught up with her yet. Her unconventional sexuality – was she gay, bisexual, straight or just Queer? – is fascinating. Her films are hypnotic, often only because she is in them, and her cabaret show is a wonder to behold. Once seen, never forgotten. Marlene has been described as a force of nature, and despite the 200 books written about her, we’ve yet to get to the bottom of her fascination.”
WHAT: Marlene Dietrich – an affectionate tribute
WHERE: Marlborough Theatre, 4 Princes Street, Brighton
WHEN: Saturday October 19 2013
TIME: at 3.30pm and 7.30pm.
TICKETS: £12,
TO BOOK, CLICK HERE:
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