Fritzi Scheff

Fritzi Scheff
Fritzi Scheff in 1913
Born	(1879-08-30)August 30, 1879 Vienna, Austria
Died
Occupation	Stage, film, television actress
Spouse(s)	Baron Fritz von Bardeleben John Fox, Jr. George Anderson

Promoting Fifth Liberty Loan war bonds in New York City, 1919

Fritzi Scheff (August 30, 1879 – April 8, 1954) was an American actress and vocalist.

Biography

Born Friederike Scheff in Vienna, Austria to Dr. Gottfried Scheff and Anna Yeager, she studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and made her début in Munich in the title röle of Martha (1898). In 1901 she first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, singing rôles in La Bohème, Die Meistersinger, Die Walküre, and Don Giovanni. She sang in the Victor Herbert operetta Babette at Washington and New York (1903). Toward the end of the following year's season Scheff became ill and was replaced by her understudy Ida Hawley to close out the remaining performances of Babette. Scheff had immense success as Fifi in Mlle. Modiste (1905–1908 and 1913) and appeared also in The Prima Donna (1908), The Mikado (1910), The Duchess (1911), and The Love Wager (1912). From 1913 to 1918, she appeared principally in vaudeville, returning in the latter year to the musical opera stage in Glorianna.

Movies and television

In 1915 Scheff appeared in her first film, Pretty Mrs. Smith, based on a Broadway play she starred in. It was produced and directed by Hobart Bosworth. She made no other silent pictures. In the late 40s and early 50s Scheff ventured into sound movies and television. She appeared in night clubs and on talk shows such as Ralph Edwards This is Your Life shortly before her death.

Marriages

She married, first, Baron Fritz von Bardeleben a Prussian nobleman, then in 1908 John Fox, Jr. author of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and, in 1913, George Anderson, an actor. She bore no children in any of the marriages.

Sources

• Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, [vol. # 16].
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• Fritzi Scheff at the Internet Movie Database
• Fritzi Scheff at the Internet Broadway Database
• Fritzi Scheff at Findagrave
• Fritzi Scheff portrait gallery at NYP Library
• Fritzi Scheff; PeriodPaper.com about 1910