Ally Kolberg

Actress Ally Kolberg or Ally Kay (1894-1971) had a brief career in German silent cinema. During the late 1910s and early 1920s, she appeared in 16 German films and one Swedish production.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, Berlin, no. 119/1. Photo: Becker & Maass.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, Berlin, no. 119/2. Photo: Becker & Maass.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, Berlin, no. 119/3. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.

Bubi-comedies

Little is known about Ally Kolberg. She was born as Alma Ida Kolberg in Charlottenburg in 1894. She was the daughter of the worker Friedrich Kolberg and his wife Ida, née Kremmin.

During the First World War, Ally joined the German cinema and appeared in 17 films, often directed by female director Hanna Henning.

Her first film appearance was in the short comedy Bubi ist eifersüchtig/Bubi is jealous (Hanna Henning, 1916) with Joseph Römer in his popular role as Bubi.

Next, she appeared in another episode of the Bubi-series, Einer für drei/One for Three (Hanna Henning, 1916).

This was followed up with roles in short films like Mutter/Mother (Hanna Henning, 1917) with Olga Engl, Arme kleine Helga/Poor little Helga (Hanna Henning, 1918) opposite Kurt Vespermann, Und hätte der Liebe nicht/And have not charity (Gertrud Scholz, 1918) with Johannes Riemann, and another Bubi-comedy, Weil ich dich liebe/Because I love you (Hanna Hening, 1918).


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, Berlin, no. 119/5. Photo: Becker & Maass. Collection: Didier Hanson.


German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, Berlin, no. 119/6. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2954. Photo: Ernst Schneider.

Fröken Ally?

Ally Kolberg was also credited as Ally Kay in films. In 1919, she married the journalist Felix Bing, with whom she founded the short-lived Ally Kay Film Company. In 1919 they produced the film Das Medaillon der Lady Sington/The Medallion of Lady Sington, in which Ally Kay acted as the leading actress.

In 1920, Ally Kolberg played in Die Augen der Maske/The eyes of the mask (Karl Gerhardt, 1920) opposite Lil Dagover, the Austrian-German production Das vierte Gebot/The Fourth Commandment (Richard Oswald, 1920), and Das Zeichen des Malayen/The Mark of the Malays (Carl Heinz Boese, 1920).

Her later film roles were in Wem nie durch Liebe Leid geschah/Who never came through heartache (Heinz Schall, 1922) with Margit Barnay, and Die Spitzen der Gesellschaft/The leaders of society (Paul Heidemann, 1923).

In the Swedish production Fröken Fob/Miss Fob (Elis Ellis, 1923), she was credited as Ally Kay-Bing. The film, starring Renée Björling, was shot in Berlin studios, rented for this production.

She was married to the journalist Felix Bing. After Ally Kay's retirement from the film business in 1923, her trace was lost for several decades. In 1972 she married Eric Ericus Norton, who was born in Hamburg, in San Francisco. Norton passed away in 1977 in Switzerland but when and where Kolberg died is unknown.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 251. Photo: Ernst Schneider.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 253. Photo: Ernst Schneider.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 255. Photo: Ernst Schneider.

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 3 July 2021.