One of the most iconic stars in Hollywood died penniless after falling on hard times – and was forced into performing “degrading” acts when she was at her lowest. Born in 1901, Marlene Dietrich made her name in everything from Shanghai Express to Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, along with Orson Welles’ flick Touch of Evil and Billy Wilder’s Witness for the Prosecution.
She entertained the troops during World War 2, and in 1999 she was named the ninth greatest female screen legend of classic cinema by the American Film Institute. But despite an incredible career, Marlene sadly fell into obscurity, and by the time she died in 1992 she was penniless.
In her later years, she would have a phone call from a fan every day. She would croon him songs down the phone, only to hear panting in return as he derived sexual gratification from the “degrading” act.
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Late Vanity Fair editor Leo Lerman recounted the “endless telephone exchanges”, originally told to him by Marlene’s only child Maria Riva.
The telephone exchanges led to the man – a doctor – becoming “enslaved”, after Marlene originally got in contact with him after receiving a fan letter. When she suddenly severed all contact with him, he turned to a psychiatrist, paying $90 an hour, five times a week, for sessions to help with the abandonment.
When Marlene got back in touch, she told him: “Why don't you give me that money? I'll sing to you five times a week.” She was finally sent a cheque for $5,000 – worth considerably more in today’s money.
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By her 40s, roles as leading ladies had sadly dried up for Marlene, and she became a singer instead, making up to £30,000 a night singing in Paris. But a series of on-stage falls sadly lay waste to that career as well.
In 1972, she fell at London’s Queen’s Theatre, leaving her with a permanent limp. She broke her hip falling into the orchestra pit during a concert in Washington, and went on to break a leg during a different performance which led her to retire altogether.
In her later years, Marlene refused to go out in public, staying in her French apartment and installing security screens to avoid anyone looking in on her. She sadly became an alcoholic, racking up phone bills of £5,000 a month due to her increasing social isolation.
Writer David Bret, who Marlene trusted with her story, said: “Her last years were isolated and very lonely. One Christmas she rang and said she hadn't spoken to a soul all day.”
Despite her lonely final years, more than 1,700 people attended Marlene’s funeral.
