Vera Zorina (January 2, 1917 â€" April 9, 2003), born Eva Brigitta
Hartwig, was a Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and
choreographer. Today, she is chiefly remembered for her films
choreographed by her then-husband George Balanchine. They include the
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue sequence from On Your Toes, The Goldwyn
Follies, I Was an Adventuress with Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre,
Louisiana Purchase with Bob Hope, and dancing to "That Old Black
Magic" in Paramount Pictures' Star Spangled Rhythm.Zorina was born in
Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz Hartwig was a German lapsed Roman
Catholic, and her mother Abigail Johanne Wimpelmann (known as Billie
Hartwig) was Norwegian and Lutheran. Both were professional singers.
Young Eva was brought up in a small coastal town between Trondheim and
Bergen, called Kristiansund North, where she debuted as a dancer at
the Festiviteten, the oldest opera house in Norway. She received her
education at the Lyceum for Girls in Berlin and was trained in dance
by Olga Preobrajenska and Nicholas Legat.At age 12, she was presented
to Max Reinhardt, who cast her in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1929) and
Tales of Hoffman (1931). A performance at London's Gaiety Theatre won
her an invitation to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1933, at
which time she adopted the stage name of Vera Zorina. The company only
wanted Russian names and she was given a list of 20 and chose the last
name because she could pronounce it. A few years later, she attained a
lead role in the London production of On Your Toes (1937) and was seen
by American film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who signed her to a
seven-year film contract. She appeared in seven Hollywood movies
between 1938 and 1946.When she lost the role of Maria in For Whom the
Bell Tolls after only two weeks shooting, her film career came to a
halt. The Hollywood axe fell on her when co-star Gary Cooper, director
Sam Wood, and Ernest Hemingway all preferred Ingrid Bergman.
Hartwig, was a Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and
choreographer. Today, she is chiefly remembered for her films
choreographed by her then-husband George Balanchine. They include the
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue sequence from On Your Toes, The Goldwyn
Follies, I Was an Adventuress with Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre,
Louisiana Purchase with Bob Hope, and dancing to "That Old Black
Magic" in Paramount Pictures' Star Spangled Rhythm.Zorina was born in
Berlin, Germany. Her father Fritz Hartwig was a German lapsed Roman
Catholic, and her mother Abigail Johanne Wimpelmann (known as Billie
Hartwig) was Norwegian and Lutheran. Both were professional singers.
Young Eva was brought up in a small coastal town between Trondheim and
Bergen, called Kristiansund North, where she debuted as a dancer at
the Festiviteten, the oldest opera house in Norway. She received her
education at the Lyceum for Girls in Berlin and was trained in dance
by Olga Preobrajenska and Nicholas Legat.At age 12, she was presented
to Max Reinhardt, who cast her in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1929) and
Tales of Hoffman (1931). A performance at London's Gaiety Theatre won
her an invitation to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1933, at
which time she adopted the stage name of Vera Zorina. The company only
wanted Russian names and she was given a list of 20 and chose the last
name because she could pronounce it. A few years later, she attained a
lead role in the London production of On Your Toes (1937) and was seen
by American film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who signed her to a
seven-year film contract. She appeared in seven Hollywood movies
between 1938 and 1946.When she lost the role of Maria in For Whom the
Bell Tolls after only two weeks shooting, her film career came to a
halt. The Hollywood axe fell on her when co-star Gary Cooper, director
Sam Wood, and Ernest Hemingway all preferred Ingrid Bergman.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.