Lee Parry

Lee Parry (born Mathilde Charlotte Benz,[2][3] 14 January 1901 – 24 January 1977) was a German film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1919 and 1939.

Not to be confused with Lee "Scratch" Perry.

Lee Parry
Parry, c. 1920
Born
Mathilde Charlotte Benz

(1901-01-14)14 January 1901
Munich, German Empire
Died24 January 1977(1977-01-24) (aged 75)
Bad Tölz, Bavaria, Germany
OccupationActress
Years active1919–1939
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1919; div. 1925)​
[1]
Siegmund Breslauer

Biography

Lee Parry was born Mathilde Charlotte Benz on 14 January 1901, daughter of the stage actor, opera tenor, and variety director Josef Friedrich Benz (1863–1928), who was popularly known as "Papa Benz", and the singer Mathilde Benz (1880–1967).

Parry was discovered by director Richard Eichberg in 1919, who she subsequently married. She made her film debut in Jettatore, followed by Sins of the Parents and Nonne und Tänzerin (all 1919),[4] all of which were directed by Eichberg.

Parry was at the pinnacle of her career when she starred in the historical drama Monna Vanna (1922) opposite Paul Wegener and Hans Stürm. She co-starred in several films with Bela Lugosi during the period in which he lived in Germany, including Hypnosis and The Curse of Man.

In addition to acting in films, Parry also acted on the stage and starred in several Viennese operettas. She also embarked on a successful music career, recording popular songs such as "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt".[5] Her final screen appearance was in Adieu Vienne (1939).

In 1956, Parry moved to Buenos Aires with her second husband, Siegmund Breslauer, who was a director at the German exile theater Freie Deutsche Bühne. Following a theatrical comeback in the play Manon, she continued to perform for several more years on various stages across South America.[6]

Parry died on 24 January 1977 in Bad Tölz.

Filmography

References
  1. "Richard Eichberg • Biografie • Person • Film-Zeit". 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  2. Bock, Hans-Michael; Bergfelder, Tim, eds. (1 September 2009). The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books. ISBN 9780857455659 – via Google Books.
  3. Schneidereit, Wolfgang (1 February 2019). Discographie der Gesangsinterpreten der leichten Muse von 1925 bis 1945 im deutschsprachigen Raum: Eine Discographie mit biographischen Angaben in 3 Bänden Band 2: Kirsten Heiberg bis Ethel Reschke. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 9783752828412 – via Google Books.
  4. "Nonne und Tänzerin (1919) - IMDbPHP". tvdb.cz.
  5. Volker Kühn: Begleittext zu der CD: Schlager im Spiegel der Zeit 1932, Bear Family, Hambergen 2010.
  6. Gelegentlich kam sie auch zu Besuchen in ihre Heimatstadt München.
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