| Lilian Harvey | |
|---|---|
 Lilian Harvey c. 1926, by Alexander Binder |
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| Born | Lilian Helen Muriel Pape January 19, 1906 Hornsey, North London, England |
| Died | July 27, 1968 (aged 62) Juan-les-Pins, France |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1924-1940 |
| Spouse(s) | Willy Fritsch Hartvig Valeur-Larsen (1953-1957) |
Lilian Harvey (born Lilian Helen Muriel Pape January 19, 1906 – July 27, 1968) was a British-born German actress and singer.
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Lilian Harvey was born in Hornsey, North London. Her mother was English and her father was a German businessman. At the beginning of World War I they were living in Magdeburg and were unable to return to England, so Harvey was sent to live with an aunt at Solothurn in Switzerland.
After her graduation from school in 1923, she began her career by attending the dance and voice school of the Berlin State Opera.
In 1924, Lilian Harvey received her first role as the young Jewish girl "Ruth" in the film Der Fluch directed by Robert Land. Subsequently, she starred in many silent films. In 1925, she was cast in her first leading role in the film Leidenschaft.
Because of her training as a singer, Harvey was able to pursue a successful acting career during the initial talkie era of the early 1930s. Her first movie with Willy Fritsch was Die keusche Susanne in 1926. Harvey and Fritsch became the "dream couple" of German movies in the early 1930's with the romantic love story Liebeswalzer. They starred in a total of 11 movies together, and Harvey was called the "sweetest girl in the world" by the press.
In 1931, Harvey starred in the film Der Kongreß tanzt; her song "Das gibt's nur einmal" was popular. Her subsequent movies were filmed in English and French versions, so Harvey became known outside of Germany. She was invited to Hollywood and made four movies for The Fox Film Corporation, but these were not as successful as her German films.
She eventually abandoned a musical that Fox cast her in, George White's 1935 Scandals. Her departure led excutives to cast Alice Faye in the part, and Faye became an overnight sensation.
In 1935, Lilian Harvey returned to Germany. However, because she was still in touch with her Jewish colleagues, she was placed under close observation by the Gestapo. Nevertheless, until 1939, she made some successful movies for the UFA, such as Glückskinder (1936), Sieben Ohrfeigen, and Fanny Eisler (1937), Capriccio; and Frau am Steuer (1939).
Harvey helped the choreographer Jens Keith escape to Switzerland; this led to her interrogation by the Gestapo. Afterwards, she decided to leave Germany, one reason being the loss of her real-estate fortune, which was confiscated by the Nazis. She settled in Juan-les-Pins in France. There, she made two movies in 1940 - Serenade and Miquette. After the occupation of southern France, she emigrated to Hollywood again. Because she performed for French troops, the Nazi regime withdrew her German citizenship in 1943.
After the second World War, Harvey returned to Paris. In the following years, she travelled as a singer through Scandinavia and Egypt. In 1949, she returned to Germany and performed on stage. From 1953 to 1957, she was married to Danish theatre agent Hartvig Valeur-Larsen.
Lilian Harvey died of liver failure on July 27, 1968 in Juan-les-Pins, France. She was buried at the Robiac Cemetery in Antibes.
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