Corny Collins
- Actress
Brunette Corny Collins (born in Berlin as Gisela Szymanski) had begun her working life as a medical assistant until her acumen as an entertainer was noticed by the actor Günter Pfitzmann. Pfitzmann, co-founder of the famous Cabaret 'Die Stachelschweine' (which translates to The Porcupines), slotted Collins into Berlin cabaret opposite Wolfgang Neuss and comedienne Ursula Herking. Having received expert coaching in the finer points of acting under Marlise Ludwig, Collins then made her theatrical debut in the comedy 'Ein Tag im siebten Himmel'. The director/writer Axel von Ambesser now also spotted her comedic talent and cast her in his marital farce Die Freundin meines Mannes (1957) as a philandering architect's daughter. Despite the fact that Corny Collins was by then already 25 years old, her youthful pretty looks led to her being typed in subsequent film outings as teenagers.
She made her breakthrough appearance on the screen as a spoiled brat and proverbial 'rotten egg' in the drama L'Ange sale (1958). After that, her characters tended to be rebellious youngsters (as, for example, the girl from a good family falling into bad company in Verdammt die jungen Sünder nicht (1961)), materialistic gold diggers (Wilde Wasser (1962)), friends of the heroine, precocious (Carrousel des passions (1960)) or sweetly innocent daughters (Vater, Mutter und neun Kinder (1958)), or damsels in distress (Der lustige Krieg des Hauptmann Pedro (1959), Tim Frazer jagt den geheimnisvollen Mister X (1964). In Das indische Tuch (1963) (one of several films in which she was directed by genre specialist Alfred Vohrer) she was one of nine suspects in a series of strangulation murders at a dead aristocrat's castle. In the Eurospy thriller Comando de asesinos (1966), her Jenny Renoir was one of many shady characters prowling around Lisbon in search of a groundbreaking formula. By the late 60s, Collins worked primarily in television, her screen personae having grown rather more dispirited or jaded (problems in her own personal life may well have been a contributing factor). She had guest roles in a few well known shows like Percy Stuart (1969), Der Kommissar (1969) and Tatort (1970). After her retirement from the screen in 1991, Collins made only occasional forays to the stage.
A prolific voice actress, Corny Collins has provided the German dubbing voice for stars like Frances McDormand, Ann-Margret, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Bennett and Fay Wray.
She made her breakthrough appearance on the screen as a spoiled brat and proverbial 'rotten egg' in the drama L'Ange sale (1958). After that, her characters tended to be rebellious youngsters (as, for example, the girl from a good family falling into bad company in Verdammt die jungen Sünder nicht (1961)), materialistic gold diggers (Wilde Wasser (1962)), friends of the heroine, precocious (Carrousel des passions (1960)) or sweetly innocent daughters (Vater, Mutter und neun Kinder (1958)), or damsels in distress (Der lustige Krieg des Hauptmann Pedro (1959), Tim Frazer jagt den geheimnisvollen Mister X (1964). In Das indische Tuch (1963) (one of several films in which she was directed by genre specialist Alfred Vohrer) she was one of nine suspects in a series of strangulation murders at a dead aristocrat's castle. In the Eurospy thriller Comando de asesinos (1966), her Jenny Renoir was one of many shady characters prowling around Lisbon in search of a groundbreaking formula. By the late 60s, Collins worked primarily in television, her screen personae having grown rather more dispirited or jaded (problems in her own personal life may well have been a contributing factor). She had guest roles in a few well known shows like Percy Stuart (1969), Der Kommissar (1969) and Tatort (1970). After her retirement from the screen in 1991, Collins made only occasional forays to the stage.
A prolific voice actress, Corny Collins has provided the German dubbing voice for stars like Frances McDormand, Ann-Margret, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Bennett and Fay Wray.
