Hagen, Uta, 1919-2004

Legendary actress, teacher, and author Uta Thyra Hagen was born on June 12, 1919 in Göttingen, Germany the second child of Oskar and Thyra Leisner Hagen.

Her father had begun the Handel Opera Festival in Göttingen and her mother was a Danish opera singer and teacher. In 1924, the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Oskar Hagen founded the art history department. However, the Hagens continued to travel to Europe in the summers. Hagen grew up in Madison and attended public schools there. Determined to be an actress from an early age, she performed in school plays and read the works of playwrights such as Shakespeare, Goethe, and Moliere. After her graduation from Wisconsin High School (of the University of Wisconsin) in 1936, Hagen attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for one semester. Also around this time, Hagen attended the University of Wisconsin (Madison) for one term. In 1937, Hagen wrote to Eva Le Gallienne requesting an audition, and won her first professional role as Ophelia in Le Gallienne's production of "Hamlet" at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. In 1938, Hagen played Nina in a Broadway revival of "The Sea Gull" starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The same year marked the death of Hagen's mother, as well as Hagen's marriage to actor and director José Ferrer on December 8, 1938. The two were married until 1948 and had one daughter Leticia ("Letty") in 1940. They appeared in several productions together, most notably the Theatre Guild production of "Othello" with Paul Robeson, on Broadway and on tour (1942-1945). Although courted by Hollywood studios, the couple declined to appear in films. (Hagen made her film debut in "The Other" in 1972.) In 1947, Hagen appeared in "The Whole World Over," directed by Harold Clurman. During this production, she met Herbert Berghof when he replaced the romantic lead. Hagen also began teaching acting at Berghof's studio that same year. Hagen originated the role of Georgie Elgin in "The Country Girl," written and directed by Clifford Odets (1950), winning her first Tony Award in 1951, although this award is not included in the papers. Later in 1951, Hagen returned to Broadway in the title role of the Theatre Guild's production of George Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan." Other productions during the 1950s included "Tovarich" at City Center with Herbert Berghof and Luther Adler (1952), "In Any Language," directed by George Abbott and featuring Walter Matthau and Eileen Heckart (1952), "The Magic and the Loss" with Robert Preston and Lee Bowman (1954), and "Island of Goats" with Laurence Harvey (1955). Hagen's liberal political views and activities caused her to be blacklisted from television for most of the 1950s and subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. However, she was spared from having to appear when her accuser was convicted of perjury. Having begun a personal relationship with Herbert Berghof, the two were married on January 25, 1957 and remained so until Berghof's death in 1990. During the 1950s, their professional activities became increasingly intertwined. The couple adapted, produced, and performed together works such as "Cyprienne" with Robert Culp (1955), "The Daily Life" by Rainer Maria Rilke (1955), and "The Queen and the Rebels" by Ugo Betti (1959). They also toured in stock with productions of "The Play's the Thing" (1952), "The Lady's Not for Burning" (1953), and "The Affairs of Anatol" (1957), all the while solidifying their international reputations as master teachers. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" marked Hagen's triumphant return to Broadway in 1962, earning her second Tony Award in 1963. She also performed in the London production in 1964. In celebration of her 80th birthday, Hagen recreated the role of Martha in benefit readings at the Majestic Theatre (1999) and at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles (2000). Her subsequent Broadway appearances included APA-Phoenix Repertory's production of "The Cherry Orchard," directed by Eva Le Gallienne (1968), "Charlotte" by Peter Hacks, translated by Herbert Berghof and Hagen and directed by Berghof (1980), and "You Never Can Tell" for Circle in the Square Theatre (1986). Hagen also appeared in the film "The Boys from Brazil" (1978) for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and in Reversal of Fortune (1990). Her television appearances include "One Life to Live" (1986) and ABC Afterschool Specials- "Seasonal Differences" (1987); she received Daytime Emmy Award nominations for both. "Respect for Acting," written with Haskel Frankel, Hagen's seminal text on acting, was published by Macmillan in 1973. Hagen's autobiographical work, "Sources" (Performing Arts Journal, 1983) was followed in 1991 by her definitive work on acting, "A Challenge for the Actor" (Scribner). After Berghof's death in 1990, Hagen became the head of HB Studio and HB Playwrights Foundation. She continued to perform throughout the 1990s and realized perhaps two of the most memorable roles of her later career in Nicholas Wright's "Mrs. Klein" (1995) and in Donald Margulies' "Collected Stories" (1998). Hagen won unanimous critical acclaim and awards and took both plays on tour. Hagen's last stage production was "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" by Richard Alfieri at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse, co-starring David Hyde-Pierce (2001). Around this time, Hagen suffered a stroke, but continued to teach until her last years. Among Hagen's numerous awards was her third Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999. She also received the National Medal of Arts in 2002. She died at her home at the age of 84 on January 14, 2004.

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