Wolf, Gusti (1912-2007)

Wolf, Gusti

ACTOR (AUSTRIA)

BORN 11 Apr 1912, Wien - DIED 5 May 2007, Wien
BIRTH NAME Wolf, Augusta Hermine
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, Simmering (Gruppe 33 G, Nummer 38 (Ehrengrab))

Gusti Wolf came from a working-class family. Her mother died when she was young and her father expected her to become a housewife. After meeting the expressionist painter Felix Albrecht Harta (1884-1967), she was taken into his family. She befriended his children and she became one of his models. For a while she also wanted to become a painter, but after meeting an actor during a train journey she decided to become an actress. She probably took only a few acting lessons with Karl Forest (1877-1944) and on 25 October 1933 she debuted at the Deutsche Schaubühne in Krumau. As soon as 1934, she played Prince York in "Richard III" at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

She also possessed comical talent and Karl Farkas (1893-1971) and Fritz Grünbaum (1880-1941) wrote two revues for her that she performed at Stella Kadmon's cabaret "Zum lieben Augustin". To be able to work in Germany, she entered into a marriage of convenience with the actor Dolf Zenzen (1909-2003). From 1936 to 1940 she worked at the Münchner Kammerspiele under Otto Falckenberg, who was her mentor. She made her first movie appearance in 1937 with a small part in "Die Unentschuldigte Stunde". In 1939 she continued her theatre career at the Volkbühne in Berlin until the theatres closed because of the Second World War in 1944.

In 1946 she became a member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater and she performed there for decades. In 1987 she became an honorary member of the Burgtheater. She acted in both classical and modern plays. In the 1950s she appeared in many movies alongside stars like Theo Lingen (1903-1978) and Hans Moser (1880-1964). In 1961 she was in Géza von Radványi's (1907-1986) "Das Riesenrad" with Maria Schell (1926-2005) and O.W. Fischer (1915-2004).

From the 1960s she appeared mostly in television productions. From 1976 to 1983 she was Kottan's mother in "Kottan ermittelt". She won many prizes, including the Burgtheaterring in 1972 and the Nestroy Ring in 1992. She made her last film appearance in 1998. In 2000 she was made a professor. Stage designer Teo Otto (1904-1968) was her partner for thirteen years and she managed his legacy after his death. Gusti Wolf died in 2007 in Vienna.

Related persons
• had a love affair with Caspar, Horst
• had as mentor Falckenberg, Otto
• cooperated with Farkas, Karl

Images
The grave of Gusti Wolf at the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna. Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2007)	The grave of Gusti Wolf at the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna. Picture by Androom (21 Aug 2012)	Gusti Wolf. (1941-1944) Picture by Star-Foto-Atelier