Mosheim, Greta

Grete Mosheim was born on 8 January 1905 in Berlin, Germany. She was educated at the Viktoria Lyzeum, and in the school of the Deutschen Theaters from 1922 to 1931. Although her first attempts on the stage were not very well received, she established a connection with Max Reinhardt. In 1922 Reinhardt gave Mosheim -- who at that time was seventeen - the chance to substitute in the American play "The speaking ape" when the female lead became ill. Within twenty-four hours Mosheim learned the difficult role from Albert Bassermann and became literally over night a superstar -- "die Mosheim". Until 1933 she ruled the Berlin theatre scene appearing in widely varied roles; she was equally at home in drama and comedy. She married her costar Oscar Homolka; they divorced in 1933. In 1924 Mosheim for the first time played in a film - "Michael". The next nine years brought her interesting roles in important films like "Dreyfus" (1930) and "Yorck" (1931). Mosheim emigrated to London in 1933. After overcoming the language barrier with intensive study of English, she found a role in London in 1934 in "Two Share a Dwelling" with Alice Campbell. It became a special success for Mosheim, because she met the American railroad king Howard Gould, who had financed the performance, and who became in 1937 her second husband. Mosheim accompanied Gould to New York in 1938. Acceding to Gould's desire she spend more time with him, she retired from acting for a few years, but in 1941 she returned to the stage and was one of the founders of the German-speaking ensemble "The Players from Abroad". Mosheim and Gould divorced in 1947. She appeared in Germany for the first time after the war in 1952, and visited many cities playing leading roles in pieces by modern American dramatists such as Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, and John van Druten. She did not appear in films, however, other than a few individual television appearances. Grete Mosheim died on 29 December 1986.

From the description of Grete Mosheim papers, 1929-1986. (San Leandro Community Library). WorldCat record id: 700955415

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