West German postcard by F.B.Z. (Film Bild Zentrale). Photo: Gaza Studio.
German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3965/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Star-Foto-Atelier / Tobis.
West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 169. Photo: Filmarchiv-Foto.
A two-year love affair with Willy Birgel
Lisa Lesco or Lia Lesco was born Lisa Körschner in 1915 in Berlin, Germany. She was already on stage at six in Berlin's ‘Neue Welt’ theatre.
Her talent was recognised in school performances. She took piano lessons and was trained in singing, acting and ballet. She made her film debut with a bit part in Der Herrscher/The Ruler (Veit Harlan, 1937) starring Emil Jannings.
After an engagement at the Deutsches Landestheater in Bucharest, she appeared at Berlin's Theater am Nollendorfplatz, in such Operettas as ‘Opernball’ and ‘Wiener Blut’. She was then engaged at the Metropol and Admiralspalast theatres. There she appeared more than 800 times on stage with Johannes Heesters in ‘Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies’, a play that also toured Germany.
While shooting the film Das Herz einer Königin/The Heart of a Queen (Carl Froelich, 1940) with Zarah Leander, Lisa Lesco met the actor Willy Birgel. They entered into a two-year love affair.
In 1943, Lisa Lesco appeared as a singer in the film Ein Mann mit Grundsätzen?/A Man with Principles (Géza von Bolváry, 1943) with Hans Söhnker and Elfie Mayerhofer.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3301/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Tobis.
German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. L-L-1. Photo: Horst Maack / Ufa.
German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. L-L-2. Photo: Ufa / Dührkoop.
King of Hearts
As a Schlager singer, Lisa Lesco sang songs such as ‘’s ist Frühling‘ (It's Spring), 'Schade, dass wir auseinander gehen' (It's a Pity We're Parting) and 'Ich lass meinen Peter nicht allein (I Won't Leave My Peter Alone).
After 1945, she performed in Berlin's Kabarett der Komiker and the Corso Theatre. Lisa Lesco appeared around 250 times in the comedy ‘Herzkönig’ (King of Hearts) with Rudolf Platte at the Schiffbauerdamm theatre. She played the female lead opposite Hans Nielsen in the film version, Herzkönig/King of Hearts (Helmut Weiss, 1947).
Later she appeared as a singer in the film Spion für Deutschland/Spy for Germany (Werner Klingler, 1956) with Martin Held and Nadja Tiller and played a role in Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht/How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business? (Will Tremper, 1970) with Barbi Benton.
In 1961, the actress emigrated to the USA. The Deutsche Operettentheater in New York City offered her a contract, which she later turned down. From then on, she performed in clubs and presented German-language radio programmes.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Lisa Lesco started a second career as the manager of a confectionery chain in Los Angeles. Lesco died in 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She found her final resting place on the ‘Green Lawn’ in Los Angeles.
German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Berlin, no. F 254.
German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Berlin, no. F 304.
German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Berlin, no. F 307. Lisa Lesco in Ein Mann mit Gründsätzen?/A Man with Principles (Géza von Bolváry, 1943).
German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Berlin, no. F-353. Lisa Lesco and Hans Nielsen in Herzkönig/King of Hearts (Helmut Weiss, 1947).
German postcard by Netter's Starverlag, Berlin, no. A 006. Photo: Baumann, Frankfurt.
German postcard by Netter's Star Verlag, Bad Münder, no. A 169.
German postcard by Netter's Star Verlag, Bad Münder, no. A 717.
West German postcard by F.B.Z. (Film Bild Zentrale). Photo: Gaza Studio.
Sources: Wikipedia (German), Rocknroll Schallplatten Forum (German) and IMDb.
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