One hundred and nine years ago yesterday, Fraulein Marlene Dietrich was born.
There is little I can add to the praise and admiration that millions of people have given this remarkable woman - a lucky escapee from Germany before WWII, she famously spoke out against the Nazis, yet her torch song Lili Marleen was a favourite of soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Named "the ninth greatest female star of all time" by the American Film Institute, her career was indeed impressive. From The Blue Angel in 1930, through Shanghai Express, The Devil is a Woman, The Scarlet Empress, Destry Rides Again, Witness for the Prosecution to Just a Gigolo, she continually re-invented herself as androgyne, mysterious romantic, vamp and Ruritanian aristocrat. Her years as a concert performer were immensely popular, not least her lauded return to Berlin in 1960, and her Tony-winning Broadway appearances.
Her songs became anthems, including the magnificent Falling in Love Again (her signature tune), The Boys in the Backroom (a gay anthem), and her rendition of the anti-war song Where Have All the Flowers Gone - as well as her camp kitschy collaborations with the likes of Rosemary Clooney and even Noel Coward!
We at Dolores Delargo Towers salute a magnificent style icon! RIP.
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