Germaine Damar (born August 31, 1929) is a Luxembourgish actress and dancer. Sometimes she used the stage name Ria Poncelet. She started her career as an acrobat and played in nearly 30 German films, including three films in which she was the partner of Peter Alexander.
Germaine Damar in June 2011 (Photograph: François Besch)
She was born as Germaine Haeck in Pétange. She was the third of four daughters of metallurgical worker Dominique Haeck and his wife Barbara Poncelet. At the gymnastics club of Nidderkuer (Niederkorn) in Luxembourg, the 5-year-old Damar laid the foundations for her future career. With her sister Geny and two gym teachers she formed the acrobatic quartet Los Habaneros. On 10 May 1940, after the invasion of Luxembourg by the German troops, she fled with her parents and siblings to Paris. There, the 12-year-old continued to develop her talents and she performed with her sister Geny and her former gym teacher Atilio Bariviera as Trio Deluxe at the Alhambra and the Bobino. She also took dance classes and was trained in acting and ballet. After World War II, she started a solo career and toured through Europe. She travelled to North Africa and the Orient to perform there with her sister Sylvie and Sylvie's husband as Trio Vialine. In Cairo, they even performed for King Farouk. She used as her stage name Ria Poncelet. In Cairo she also met the actress Zarah Leander, who mediated a screen-test for her in Hamburg in 1952 at Herzog Filmverleih. Although director Robert A. Stemmle was not satisfied with the test, she soon landed her first film role. Director Géza von Cziffra sought a talented dancer to replace the ill Maria Litto in his revue film Tanzende Sterne (Dancing Stars, 1952). He watched the screen-test and gave her the lead part opposite Georg Thomalla. She changed her name from Germaine Haeck into Germaine Damar and the press concluded for some time that she was a French dancer.
Tanzende Sterne (Dancing Stars, 1952) became Damar's breakthrough. Herzog Filmverleih offered her a 5-year contract and she went on to play in a total of 28 films. She appeared in such light entertainment fare as Südliche Nächte (Southern Nights, 1953, Robert A. Stemmle), Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Filling Station, 1955, Hans Wolff) with Walter Giller, and Symphonie in Gold (Symphony in Gold, 1956, Franz Antel) opposite Joachim Fuchsberger. Her best known musical was Die Beine von Dolores (The legs of Dolores, 1957, Géza von Cziffra) with Claus Biederstaedt. In France she made the western musical Sérénade au Texas (Serenade of Texas, 1958, Richard Pottier) with Bourvil and Luis Mariano. In three films she was the partner of Peter Alexander. These were the comedies So ein Millionär hat's schwer (It's so hard to be a millionaire, 1958, Géza von Cziffra), Peter schießt den Vogel ab (Peter shoots the bird, 1959, Géza von Cziffra) and Salem Aleikum (1959, Géza von Cziffra). In the early 1960s Damar made two films in Spain, the comedies Cariño mío (Darling, 1961, Rafael Gil) and Escala en Hi-Fi (Scale in Hi-Fi, 1963, Isidoro M. Ferry). Her film Die Beine von Dolores was such a big hit in Argentina, that Damar moved for three years to South America. There she became a popular star with her own TV show. In Germany, Damar had dated with actor Georg Thomalla and producer Andreas C. Schuller, who had ruined her with his flop Glück und Liebe in Monaco (Love and Happiness in Monaco, 1959, Hermann Leitner). In Argentina, she met the American manager Roman G. Toporow and married him.
Late yearsedit
In 1964, Damar retired and two years later her son Roman Martin Toporow was born. Her husband died in 1993, and Damar has since then lived with her son in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In June 2011 the documentary Germaine Damar – Der tanzende Stern (Germaine Damar, the dancing star) by Michael Wenk was presented at the Luxembourg cinema Ciné Utopia. The former dancing star herself was present and even sang one of her old songs. The audience gave her a standing ovation.
Germaine Damar – Der tanzende Stern (Documentary, 2011)
Bibliographyedit
Thill, Viviane / Lesch, Paul. Germaine Damar: Ein Luxemburger Star im deutschen Film der 50er Jahre. Centre nationale de l'audiovisuel, Dudelange 1995.
Mathijs, Ernest. The Cinema of the Low Countries. Wallflower Press, 2004.
germaine, damar, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, t. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Germaine Damar news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Germaine Damar born August 31 1929 is a Luxembourgish actress and dancer Sometimes she used the stage name Ria Poncelet She started her career as an acrobat and played in nearly 30 German films including three films in which she was the partner of Peter Alexander Germaine Damar in June 2011 Photograph Francois Besch Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Late years 3 Filmography 4 Bibliography 5 External linksEarly life and career editShe was born as Germaine Haeck in Petange She was the third of four daughters of metallurgical worker Dominique Haeck and his wife Barbara Poncelet At the gymnastics club of Nidderkuer Niederkorn in Luxembourg the 5 year old Damar laid the foundations for her future career With her sister Geny and two gym teachers she formed the acrobatic quartet Los Habaneros On 10 May 1940 after the invasion of Luxembourg by the German troops she fled with her parents and siblings to Paris There the 12 year old continued to develop her talents and she performed with her sister Geny and her former gym teacher Atilio Bariviera as Trio Deluxe at the Alhambra and the Bobino She also took dance classes and was trained in acting and ballet After World War II she started a solo career and toured through Europe She travelled to North Africa and the Orient to perform there with her sister Sylvie and Sylvie s husband as Trio Vialine In Cairo they even performed for King Farouk She used as her stage name Ria Poncelet In Cairo she also met the actress Zarah Leander who mediated a screen test for her in Hamburg in 1952 at Herzog Filmverleih Although director Robert A Stemmle was not satisfied with the test she soon landed her first film role Director Geza von Cziffra sought a talented dancer to replace the ill Maria Litto in his revue film Tanzende Sterne Dancing Stars 1952 He watched the screen test and gave her the lead part opposite Georg Thomalla She changed her name from Germaine Haeck into Germaine Damar and the press concluded for some time that she was a French dancer Tanzende Sterne Dancing Stars 1952 became Damar s breakthrough Herzog Filmverleih offered her a 5 year contract and she went on to play in a total of 28 films She appeared in such light entertainment fare as Sudliche Nachte Southern Nights 1953 Robert A Stemmle Die Drei von der Tankstelle The Three from the Filling Station 1955 Hans Wolff with Walter Giller and Symphonie in Gold Symphony in Gold 1956 Franz Antel opposite Joachim Fuchsberger Her best known musical was Die Beine von Dolores The legs of Dolores 1957 Geza von Cziffra with Claus Biederstaedt In France she made the western musical Serenade au Texas Serenade of Texas 1958 Richard Pottier with Bourvil and Luis Mariano In three films she was the partner of Peter Alexander These were the comedies So ein Millionar hat s schwer It s so hard to be a millionaire 1958 Geza von Cziffra Peter schiesst den Vogel ab Peter shoots the bird 1959 Geza von Cziffra and Salem Aleikum 1959 Geza von Cziffra In the early 1960s Damar made two films in Spain the comedies Carino mio Darling 1961 Rafael Gil and Escala en Hi Fi Scale in Hi Fi 1963 Isidoro M Ferry Her film Die Beine von Dolores was such a big hit in Argentina that Damar moved for three years to South America There she became a popular star with her own TV show In Germany Damar had dated with actor Georg Thomalla and producer Andreas C Schuller who had ruined her with his flop Gluck und Liebe in Monaco Love and Happiness in Monaco 1959 Hermann Leitner In Argentina she met the American manager Roman G Toporow and married him Late years editIn 1964 Damar retired and two years later her son Roman Martin Toporow was born Her husband died in 1993 and Damar has since then lived with her son in Fort Lauderdale Florida In June 2011 the documentary Germaine Damar Der tanzende Stern Germaine Damar the dancing star by Michael Wenk was presented at the Luxembourg cinema Cine Utopia The former dancing star herself was present and even sang one of her old songs The audience gave her a standing ovation Filmography editTanzende Sterne 1952 Southern Nights 1953 Hit Parade 1953 Konig der Manege 1954 Ten on Every Finger 1954 Request Concert 1955 The Three from the Filling Station 1955 Symphonie in Gold 1955 56 Madchen mit schwachem Gedachtnis 1956 Zu Befehl Frau Feldwebel 1956 Der schrage Otto 1956 Siebenmal in der Woche 1957 Weisser Holunder 1957 The Count of Luxemburg 1957 The Legs of Dolores 1957 Der Kaiser und das Waschermadel 1957 Tabarin 1958 Bimbo the Great de 1958 Serenade of Texas 1958 So ein Millionar hat s schwer 1958 Scala total verruckt 1958 Peter Shoots Down the Bird 1959 A Thousand Stars Aglitter 1959 Salem Aleikum 1959 Gluck und Liebe in Monaco 1959 Gauner Serenade de 1960 Darling 1961 Escala en Hi Fi 1963 Germaine Damar Der tanzende Stern Documentary 2011 Bibliography editThill Viviane Lesch Paul Germaine Damar Ein Luxemburger Star im deutschen Film der 50er Jahre Centre nationale de l audiovisuel Dudelange 1995 Mathijs Ernest The Cinema of the Low Countries Wallflower Press 2004 External links editGermaine Damar at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Germaine Damar amp oldid 1220668698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
