Charlotte Chandler - Marlene

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Simon & Schuster
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Copyright 2011 by Charlotte Chandler

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition March 2011

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Designed by Joy OMeara

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chandler, Charlotte.
Marlene: Marlene Dietrich, a personal biography / Charlotte Chandler.1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.
p. cm.

Includes index.

1. Dietrich, Marlene. 2. EntertainersGermanyBiography. 3. Motion picture actors and actressesGermanyBiography. I. Title.

PN2658.D5C53 2011

791.43028092dc22

[B] 2010036893

ISBN 978-1-4391-8835-4
ISBN 978-1-4391-8844-6 (ebook)

With Special Appreciation

Bob Bender, Burt Bacharach, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, Mary Meerson, Paul Morrissey, David Riva, David Rosenthal, and Joshua Sinclair.

With Appreciation

Michael Accordino, Marcella Berger, Charles William Bush, Jack Cardiff, Fred Chase, Ren Clair, Wilkie Cooper, Tony Curtis, Gypsy da Silva, Bette Davis, Mitch Douglas, Jean-Louis Dumas, James Ehrhard, Mark Ekman, Vera Fairbanks, Marie Florio, Joe Franklin, Bob Gazzale, Cary Grant, Dolly Haas, Alfred Hitchcock, Patricia Hitchcock, Peter Johnson, Daniel Kaplan, Edward Kennedy, Alexander Kordonsky, Karen Kramer, Ted Landry, Fritz Lang, Robert Lantz, Johanna Li, Joshua Logan, Jamie MacMurray, Sue Main, Tim Malachosky, Ray Milland, Sheridan Morley, Dieter Mueller, Jeremiah Newton, Arthur Novell, Dale Olson, Joy OMeara, Marvin Paige, Tom Pierson, Otto Preminger, Felipe Propper, Leni Riefenstahl, Robert Rosen, Isabella Rossellini, Roberto Rossellini, Maximilian Schell, John Springer, June Springer, Jeff Stafford, James Stewart, Richard Todd, Brian Ulicky, Herman G. Weinberg, Mae West, Audrey Wilder, Billy Wilder, Will Willoughby, Jelko Yuresha, and Fred Zinnemann.

The American Film Institute, the British Film Institute, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Cinmathque Franaise, the Mitch Douglas Archives, the Herms Museum, the Tim Malachosky Archives, the Paley Center for Media, the Potsdam Film Museum, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the David Riva Archives, and the UCLA Department of Theater, Film, and Television.

TO MARLENE

Marlene

M arlene Dietrich was on her farewell tour and she was going to be at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles for two weeks, in 1968, publicist Dale Olson told me. I received a call from the Ahmanson, and they were worried. They had heard that she would be a terror, that she would be unreasonably demanding, and they wouldnt be able to work with her. They said they wanted to hire me for the two weeks because they knew I had a good relationship with her, and they wanted me to look after her. I think what they really meant was they wanted me to look after them.

I said yes.

When she arrived, I told her what they had said, that they were afraid of her.

She laughed. They are right, she said. They are right to be afraid of me. She was laughing as she spoke.

She said there was one thing she wanted. She had to have an extremely large refrigerator for her dressing room. I said they had one which was large enough for champagne bottles, smoked salmon, and caviar, which doesnt take up much room, the usual for the dressing room of a star.

She said, No. That isnt what I want. I want the largest refrigerator.

So I went back with her request. They didnt understand and werent pleased. They wanted to know why she wanted such a large refrigerator. I certainly didnt know. I wondered if she was going to cook her famous goulash for everyone. She loved to cook for people, and her goulash was delicious, but I didnt think that was likely. Anyway, she got her huge refrigerator.

On opening night, I was in the dressing room. When she went out, I couldnt resist. I was curious about what she had in the refrigerator. I opened the door and looked in.

She had removed the shelves. It was completely empty.

She was wonderfully received. After her opening night performance, there was tremendous applause, a standing ovation, and people in the aisles with bouquets of flowers, and single flowers, rushing up to throw their flowers on the stage.

After absolutely everyone had left the theater, she went out on the stage, all by herself. She had changed from stiletto-heeled shoes to perfectly flat ballerina-type slippers. She began picking up the bouquets. She brought them back to her dressing room. She didnt stop until she had picked up the last single rose and carried it back to her dressing room. Then, she began carefully arranging them in the refrigerator.

We hadnt seen the last of those flowers. The next night, the ushers had them ready for the end of her performance. The flowers were all thrown on the stage. The next night the same. And so on.

At the end of the two weeks, on the night of the last performance, there they were. The flowers were performing for the last time. They were pretty wilted, but the audience didnt know. From where they were sitting, the flowers looked fine.

She was quite a showman.

I dont mind meeting you because you didnt know me before, when I was young and very beautiful. These were Marlene Dietrichs first words to me when I saw her in Paris in 1977.

She had agreed to speak with me for that very reason, because I would not be comparing her to her younger self, and even more important, because my introduction was from Mary Meerson of the Cinmathque Franaise in Paris.