The Oasis of Culture
Arriving in New York and staying with her father, who lived there, little promising happened at first: more than once she recited for other opera singers and directors, who always told her that she still needed to work on her voice.
Maria soon suspected that she would have little chance of launching a career in New York.
By the end of 1956, Greek-American opera soprano Maria Meneghini Callas had several offers on her desk from well-known publishing houses, all competing to publish her memoirs. She turned down all the offers.
Now she was faced with the problem that many inaccuracies or, much worse, untruths about her person and her career were spreading.
After Marlene had said goodbye to Jean, she returned to Hollywood, feeling lonely without her lover, whom she hadserved French cuisine almost daily. In the past, she had toured to sell war bonds – the “USO“ had recently been founded, an Organization whose mission was to keep up the morale of front-line troops through entertainment.
How did Marlene Dietrich and Jean Gabin, such very different people, fall in love? What did the Second World War have to do with it?
In 1975 Dagmar Koller, the most photographed woman in Austria, appeared on stage together with Zarah Leander in “Das Lächeln einer Sommernacht“ (The smile of a summer’s night). The world premiere of the musical, which was originally a movie with Ingrid Bergman in 1955, marked the end of Zarah Leander’s career, while Dagmar Koller’s career was just beginning to take off.