Anecdotes

Became famous for her inimitable whistling. The rock band Scorpions used it for the intro of their most successful song "Wind of Change" (1990).

Released several records between 1957 and 1964.

Her father was a Dutch plantation owner in what is now Indonesia, her mother was German. After living 9 years on Java, she returned to Europe with her family and settled in Vienna in 1934.

Although she enjoyed her greatest successes in Germany during the Third Reich era, she did not acquire German citizenship until 1955.

She lived an impoverished life in a retirement home in Lübeck, where she died peacefully in her sleep on 7th August 2005, having suffered from lung disease for a while.

Arriving in Frankfurt, Germany at the age of 10, Werner's family in 1934 moved to Vienna, where she attended the Max Reinhardt Seminar drama school and gave her debut at the Theater in der Josefstadt in 1937.

She got married with an American journalist in 1948 and lived in the USA till 1953. Yet she continued appearing in German movies in those years.

Her bubbly personality made her an all-time favourite amongst cinema-goers during pre- and post-WWII Germany.

Werner was a Dutch citizen by birth.

Actress Ilse Werner was born as Ilse Charlotte Still in Batavia, Indonesia (nowadays Jakarta). She grew up in the privileged world of colonial Dutch East Indies until she was nine years of age.

Werner's last appearance on German TV took place in 2001.

Her last wish was to have her ashes scattered in Potsdam-Babelsberg.

She starred in the popular wartime films "Die schwedische Nachtigall" (The Swedish Nightingale) and "Wir machen Musik" (We're Making Music), as well as in the musical drama Große Freiheit Nr. 7.

She was the German dubbing voice of Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood , Rita Hayworth in My Gal Sal , Maureen O'Hara in Buffalo Bill and of Paulette Goddard in. Reap the Wild Wind. She also dubbed Gene Tierney, Margaret Lindsay, Gale Sondergaard, Linden Travers and Gale Storm.

She was the hostess of a popular television show of Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow since 1941, titled "Wir senden Frohsinn - Wir spenden Freude".

The family went to Germany in 1930. Later she went to Vienna to the Max Reinhardt acting school and made her debut in the play "Glück" at the Theater in der Josephstadt in 1937. They soon became aware of this young actress and only one year later she made her film debut with "Die unruhigen Mädchen" (1938).

After her marriage with Josef Niessen she retired from the film business temporarily. Only in 1959 she was in the limelight again as a singer, the film industry only played a subordinated role.

After the war she was banned from appearing in movies for a short while due to her involvement in propaganda films during the Third Reich, but soon resumed a successful career and remained a favourite for German movie-goers.

Ilse Werner also launched a second career as a singer and especially as an artistic whistler, often to melodies composed by Werner Bochmann.