Franz Theodor (Schmitz) Lingen (1903 - 1978)

Born 10 Jun 1903 in Hannover, Provinz Hannover, Preußen, Deutsches Reich

Husband of Marianne Josefine (Zoff) Schmitz — married 1 Oct 1928 in Frankfurt am Main, Provinz Hessen-Nassau, Deutsches Reich

Died 10 Nov 1978 at age 75 in Wien, Österreich

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Biography

Theo (Schmitz) Lingen is Notable.

Theo Lingen, born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter.

Franz Theodor was born in 1903. He was the son of Theodor Schmitz and his wife Maria Magdalena, née Overzier. Franz Theodor grew up in Hanover and attended the Königliches Goethegymnasium, which he left without graduating. His acting talent was discovered during rehearsals for a school play. For his stage name "Theo Lingen" he used the name of his father's birthplace, Lingen (Ems). In 1922 he played at the Residenztheater Hannover, in 1923 in Halberstadt, in 1924 in Münster and Bad Oeynhausen, and in 1926 in Recklinghausen. On stage, he gained an early reputation as a character comedian whose virtuoso marionette-like punch line work was admired.^[1]

He married Marianne Brecht, née Zoff, in 1928 in Frankfurt am Main.^[2] 1927-1928 they lived in Buchschlag near Frankfurt.^[3][4] They had one daughter:

• Marianne Ursula Lingen (officially Schmitz; born 9 Feb 1928; died 20 Oct 2014), became an actress and married actor and film director Kurt Meisel.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

In 1929 Theo played Macheath in Bertolt Brecht's Threepenny Opera (Dreigroschenoper) in Frankfurt am Main. He was then invited by Brecht to also take on the role in the original production in Berlin. Beginning in 1929 Theo also worked as a film actor. In total, he appeared in over 200 films. From 1933 he took on exclusively comic film roles.^[1]

Theo adopted his stepdaughter Hanne Marianne Brecht (born 12 Mar 1923 in Munich; died 23 Jun 2009 in Munich),^[10] after her father, Bertolt Brecht, emigrated in 1933.^[11]

From 1939 to 1960 Theo and his family lived mostly in Strobl am Wolfgangsee, Austria. He became a naturalized Austrian citizen in 1946. From 1948 he worked as a character actor at the Vienna Burgtheater and appeared frequently onstage in Germany. He also occasionally worked as a film director. Foremost however he pursued his film career, performing in numerous comedies of varied quality, in the 1960s and 1970s also on television.^[1]

Theo Lingen passed away in 1978 in Vienna and was buried at Vienna Zentralfriedhof.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} German Wikipedia article on Theo Lingen
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Hesse, Germany, Marriages, 1849-1930 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
3. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Falltorweg 4 (Buchschlag)
4. ↑ Leben in Dreieich: Wie Theo Lingen Bert Brecht die Frau ausspannte
5. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Ursula Lingen
6. ↑ English Wikipedia article on Ursula Lingen
7. ↑ https://geneee.org/ursula/lingen?lang=de
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #137975549
9. ↑ http://www.steffi-line.de/archiv_text/nost_buehne/12l_lingen_ursula.htm
10. ↑ https://geneee.org/hanne/brecht?lang=de
11. ↑ http://www.steffi-line.de/archiv_text/nost_buehne/07h_hiob_hanne.htm
12. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #11513275

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q69236
• English Wikipedia article on Theo Lingen
• Badenhausen, Rolf. Lingen, Theo. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 14 (1985), S. 622-623 (Online-Version); URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118728431.html#ndbcontent
• Frankfurter Personenlexikon: Lingen, Theo
• Wien Geschichte Wiki: Theo Lingen
• Lingen in Lingen. Stadt Lingen, Ems, Mai 2018
• https://geneee.org/theo/lingen?lang=de
• Ancestry.com. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
• Ancestry.com. U.S., Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1914-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.