German film and television actress Vera Tschechowa (1940-2024) passed away on 3 April in Berlin. Her grandfather was the Russian Oscar-nominated actor Michael Chekhov who was the nephew of author Anton Chekhov. Her grandmother was legendary film star Olga Tschechowa. The elegant, green-eyed actress appeared in over 50 films since 1957. She was 83.
German postcard by Ufa (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. CK-233. Retail price: 30 Pfg. Photo: Klaus Collignon / Ufa.
Austrian postcard by Kellner-Filmkarten, Wien., no 1151. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek. Vera Tschechowa and Peter Parak in Noch minderjährig/Unter 18/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957).
German postcard by Ufa (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. CK-234. Retail price: 30 Pfg. Photo: Joe Niczky / Ufa.
West German postcard by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin-Tempelhof, WP no. 34. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Ufa.
German postcard by ISV, no. H - 13.
Vera Tschechowa - also written as Vera Cecova and Vera Tschechova - was bornVera Wilhelmowna Rust in Berlin, Germany in 1940. Her father was Dr. Wilhelm Rust, and her mother was actress and agent Ada Tschechowa. She later adopted her mother's maiden name.
Young Vera was brought up in Germany by her Russian-German grandmother Olga Tschechowa. Her early childhood was affected by the Second World War. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she spent much time with her grandfather, Michael Chekhov in California, and she also travelled in the United States. She studied at the Berlin University of Arts to become a scenic designer, then she attended acting lessons at the Munich Drama School.
Eventually, she followed in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and became an actress. Her film debut was as one of the daughters of Heinz Erhardt in the comedy Witwer mit funf Tochtern/Widower with 5 Daughters (Erich Engels, 1956). It was followed by a co-starring role in the drama Noch minderjährig/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957) opposite Paula Wessely.
Soon followed roles in the war drama Der Arzt von Stalingrad/The Doctor of Stalingrad (Géza von Radványi, 1958) featuring O.E. Hasse, the romance Meine 99 Bräute/My 99 Brides (Alfred Vohrer, 1958) with Claus Wilcke, and the Italian fantasy Ballerina e Buon Dio/Angel in a Taxi (Antonio Leonviola, 1958) with Gabriele Ferzetti. The next year she appeared in the comedy Und das am Montagmorgen/And That on Monday Morning (Luigi Comencini, 1959) starring O.W. Fischer, and the Freddy Quinn musical Freddy unter fremden Sternen/Freddy under foreign stars(Wolfgang Schleif, 1959).
In 1959, when Elvis Presley was stationed as a soldier in Europe he dated Vera a few times. She was widely known as Elvis Presley's companion, particularly in connection with his Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine (OPV) public booster-advocacy which they both undertook during Presley's first year in Germany with the U.S. Army. In 1959 she also made her stage debut at the Berlin Theater. Later she worked on stage at Deutsche Schauspielhaus Hamburg, and also at Dusseldorfer Schauspielhaus and Theater Basel.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H, Minden/Westf., no. 917. Photo: Weidenbaum.
West German postcard by Kolibrti-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden/Westf, no. 2757.
German postcard by IRMA-Verlag, Stuttgart W., no. 1321. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek. Publicity still for Noch minderjährig/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957) with Peter Parak.
West German Irma postcard by Bartoschek-Verlag, Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt, no. 1450. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 4376. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Grimm / Ufa.
In 1962 Vera Tschechowa received the Filmband in Gold, the German national film award, for her work in Das Brot der Fruhen Jahre/The Bread of Those Early Years (Herbert Vesely, 1962) with Christian Doermer. Since then she has been enjoying a formidable film career, including such diverse films as L'amour à vingt ans/Love at Twenty (François Truffaut a.o., 1962), the Edgar Wallace Krimi Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloß/Curse of the Hidden Vault (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1964), and the romance Liebe und so weiter/Love and So On (George Moorse, 1968), with Vadim Glowna, whom she had married in 1967.
On 6 June 1971, Vera appeared with 27 women under the banner 'We've had abortions!'('Wir haben abgetrieben!') on the cover page of the West German magazine Stern. In that issue, 374 women publicly stated that they had had pregnancies terminated, which at that time was illegal.
She made numerous appearances on television in several European countries. In 1977 she received the Goldene Camera Award for her role in the TV production Zeit der Empfindsamkeit/Age of Sensitivity (Wilma Kottusch, 1977). In 1980 she founded together with Glowna the film production company Atossa. The company produced Desperado City (Vadim Glowna, 1980), which won the 1981 Camera d'Or for Best Debut Film at the Cannes Film Festival. She was also directed by Glowna in Dies rigorose Leben/Nothing Left to Loose (Vadim Glowna, 1983) with Angela Molina, and in the documentary Tschechow in meinem Leben/Chekhov in My Life (Vadim Glowna, 1984) about the Chekhov dynasty. Petra Haffter cast her in her last role in front of the camera alongside Peter Sattmann in the television film Schuldig auf Verdacht/Guilty on Suspicion (Petra Haffter, 1996).
In the 1990s and 2000s, Vera Tschechowa became known as a writer/director/producer of film portraits. First, she worked for TV on portraits of the actors Klaus Maria Brandauer (1994), Anthony Quinn (1997), and Robert Redford. IMDb credits Der Filmemacher Ang Lee/Filmmaker Ang Lee (Vera Tschechowa, 2003) as her first film as a director. In 2006 she presented her film Salam Cinema: Die iranische Familie Makhmalbaf und ihre Filme/Salaam Cinema - Iran's Makhmalbaf Family and Their Films (Vera Tschechowa, 2006) at the Münchner Filmfest. Her last film was Michael Ballhaus - Eine Reise durch mein Leben/Michael Ballhaus - A Journey through My Life (Vera Tschechowa, 2008) about the famous German cinematographer.
After she divorced Vadim Glowna, Tschechowa married manager Peter Paschek, who produced her two latest documentaries. She had a son from a relationship with actor Hartmut Reck, film composer Nikolaus Glowna (1961). In 2022, Chekhova appeared as a contemporary witness in the docudrama Rex Gildo - Der letzte Tanz/Rex Gildo -The Last Dance by Rosa von Praunheim. Her autobiography 'Überwiegend heiter: Mein ziemlich bewegtes Leben' (Mostly Cheerful: My Rather Eventful Life) was published in 2022. Vera Tschechowa died in her hometown Berlin on 3 April 2024, at the age of 83.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne Eickel, no. 531. Photo: Bavaria / Astra.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. D 95.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no 339. Photo: Kolibri / Enzwieser.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no 2786.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2850.
West German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 563. Photo: Karl Bayer.
German postcard. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.
Vintage autograph card.
Sources: Steve Shelokhonov (IMDb), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
German postcard by Ufa (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. CK-233. Retail price: 30 Pfg. Photo: Klaus Collignon / Ufa.
Austrian postcard by Kellner-Filmkarten, Wien., no 1151. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek. Vera Tschechowa and Peter Parak in Noch minderjährig/Unter 18/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957).
German postcard by Ufa (Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. CK-234. Retail price: 30 Pfg. Photo: Joe Niczky / Ufa.
West German postcard by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin-Tempelhof, WP no. 34. Photo: Arthur Grimm / Ufa.
German postcard by ISV, no. H - 13.
Dating with Elvis
Vera Tschechowa - also written as Vera Cecova and Vera Tschechova - was bornVera Wilhelmowna Rust in Berlin, Germany in 1940. Her father was Dr. Wilhelm Rust, and her mother was actress and agent Ada Tschechowa. She later adopted her mother's maiden name.
Young Vera was brought up in Germany by her Russian-German grandmother Olga Tschechowa. Her early childhood was affected by the Second World War. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she spent much time with her grandfather, Michael Chekhov in California, and she also travelled in the United States. She studied at the Berlin University of Arts to become a scenic designer, then she attended acting lessons at the Munich Drama School.
Eventually, she followed in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and became an actress. Her film debut was as one of the daughters of Heinz Erhardt in the comedy Witwer mit funf Tochtern/Widower with 5 Daughters (Erich Engels, 1956). It was followed by a co-starring role in the drama Noch minderjährig/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957) opposite Paula Wessely.
Soon followed roles in the war drama Der Arzt von Stalingrad/The Doctor of Stalingrad (Géza von Radványi, 1958) featuring O.E. Hasse, the romance Meine 99 Bräute/My 99 Brides (Alfred Vohrer, 1958) with Claus Wilcke, and the Italian fantasy Ballerina e Buon Dio/Angel in a Taxi (Antonio Leonviola, 1958) with Gabriele Ferzetti. The next year she appeared in the comedy Und das am Montagmorgen/And That on Monday Morning (Luigi Comencini, 1959) starring O.W. Fischer, and the Freddy Quinn musical Freddy unter fremden Sternen/Freddy under foreign stars(Wolfgang Schleif, 1959).
In 1959, when Elvis Presley was stationed as a soldier in Europe he dated Vera a few times. She was widely known as Elvis Presley's companion, particularly in connection with his Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine (OPV) public booster-advocacy which they both undertook during Presley's first year in Germany with the U.S. Army. In 1959 she also made her stage debut at the Berlin Theater. Later she worked on stage at Deutsche Schauspielhaus Hamburg, and also at Dusseldorfer Schauspielhaus and Theater Basel.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag G.m.b.H, Minden/Westf., no. 917. Photo: Weidenbaum.
West German postcard by Kolibrti-Verlag G.m.b.H., Minden/Westf, no. 2757.
German postcard by IRMA-Verlag, Stuttgart W., no. 1321. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek. Publicity still for Noch minderjährig/Under 18 (Georg Tressler, 1957) with Peter Parak.
West German Irma postcard by Bartoschek-Verlag, Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt, no. 1450. Photo: Wessely / Union / Hajek.
German postcard by Ufa, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 4376. Retail price: 25 Pfg. Photo: Grimm / Ufa.
A formidable film career
In 1962 Vera Tschechowa received the Filmband in Gold, the German national film award, for her work in Das Brot der Fruhen Jahre/The Bread of Those Early Years (Herbert Vesely, 1962) with Christian Doermer. Since then she has been enjoying a formidable film career, including such diverse films as L'amour à vingt ans/Love at Twenty (François Truffaut a.o., 1962), the Edgar Wallace Krimi Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloß/Curse of the Hidden Vault (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1964), and the romance Liebe und so weiter/Love and So On (George Moorse, 1968), with Vadim Glowna, whom she had married in 1967.
On 6 June 1971, Vera appeared with 27 women under the banner 'We've had abortions!'('Wir haben abgetrieben!') on the cover page of the West German magazine Stern. In that issue, 374 women publicly stated that they had had pregnancies terminated, which at that time was illegal.
She made numerous appearances on television in several European countries. In 1977 she received the Goldene Camera Award for her role in the TV production Zeit der Empfindsamkeit/Age of Sensitivity (Wilma Kottusch, 1977). In 1980 she founded together with Glowna the film production company Atossa. The company produced Desperado City (Vadim Glowna, 1980), which won the 1981 Camera d'Or for Best Debut Film at the Cannes Film Festival. She was also directed by Glowna in Dies rigorose Leben/Nothing Left to Loose (Vadim Glowna, 1983) with Angela Molina, and in the documentary Tschechow in meinem Leben/Chekhov in My Life (Vadim Glowna, 1984) about the Chekhov dynasty. Petra Haffter cast her in her last role in front of the camera alongside Peter Sattmann in the television film Schuldig auf Verdacht/Guilty on Suspicion (Petra Haffter, 1996).
In the 1990s and 2000s, Vera Tschechowa became known as a writer/director/producer of film portraits. First, she worked for TV on portraits of the actors Klaus Maria Brandauer (1994), Anthony Quinn (1997), and Robert Redford. IMDb credits Der Filmemacher Ang Lee/Filmmaker Ang Lee (Vera Tschechowa, 2003) as her first film as a director. In 2006 she presented her film Salam Cinema: Die iranische Familie Makhmalbaf und ihre Filme/Salaam Cinema - Iran's Makhmalbaf Family and Their Films (Vera Tschechowa, 2006) at the Münchner Filmfest. Her last film was Michael Ballhaus - Eine Reise durch mein Leben/Michael Ballhaus - A Journey through My Life (Vera Tschechowa, 2008) about the famous German cinematographer.
After she divorced Vadim Glowna, Tschechowa married manager Peter Paschek, who produced her two latest documentaries. She had a son from a relationship with actor Hartmut Reck, film composer Nikolaus Glowna (1961). In 2022, Chekhova appeared as a contemporary witness in the docudrama Rex Gildo - Der letzte Tanz/Rex Gildo -The Last Dance by Rosa von Praunheim. Her autobiography 'Überwiegend heiter: Mein ziemlich bewegtes Leben' (Mostly Cheerful: My Rather Eventful Life) was published in 2022. Vera Tschechowa died in her hometown Berlin on 3 April 2024, at the age of 83.
German postcard by WS-Druck, Wanne Eickel, no. 531. Photo: Bavaria / Astra.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. D 95.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no 339. Photo: Kolibri / Enzwieser.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no 2786.
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Minden/Westf., no. 2850.
West German postcard by Filmbilder-Vertrieb Ernst Freihoff, Essen, no. 563. Photo: Karl Bayer.
German postcard. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.
Vintage autograph card.
Sources: Steve Shelokhonov (IMDb), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
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