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Laya Raki Profile

Laya Raki
Laya Raki
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(Brunhilde Marie Joerns)
27 July 27 is born in Calvoerde, near Gardelegen, Brunswick, Germany. her father is circus artist Wilhelm Friedrich/S. Jörns. Later publicity will state that she was born in Indonesia.
? her mother leaves when she is only 5 years old
? begins learning acrobatics at age five
Summer 47 is discovered on the beach at Travemuende, Germany, when her bathing suit tears open, and her bosom is revealed
48 due to her manager’s suggestion, she renames herself Laya Raki
? appears in a cabaret in the Russian zone of Berlin. Friends smuggle her by car into the British zone.
? introduces the genuine Mambo to Germany
? appears in the Berlin show Monte Carlo
? goes from Berlin to Munich and, later, to London
dances in Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Zurich, Switzerland; Rome and Milano, Italy. Her engagement in Sweden is prolonged for several months.
c. 50 is discovered by Realfilm producer Walter Koppel for his Die Dritte von rechts
53 debuts in the movies in Hochzeit fuer eine Nacht, filmed in Munich
53 says no when a businessman from Hamburg proposes to her
there are rumors she is having an affair with her French publicity man, Orlando
September 53 promising her a big part, film producer and con man "Major" Howard Rowson invites her to London, England. His promise fizzles, but she finally gets a part in The Seekers.
October 53 is signed by Rank
returns to Cologne, Germany, after her London experience. There were even rumors that she was kidnapped by Rowson.
53 films The Seekers in New Zealand
December 53 her agent, “Major” Michael Howard, gets bad press when leaving a string of unpaid hotel bills in Germany
22 December 53 Howard is sentenced at London’s Old Bailey to seven years preventive detention
c. 54 appears in the revue Cockles and Champagne, presented and produced by Cecil Landau
19 June 54 is on the cover of Picturegoer
55 via Munich, she’s off to Barcelona, Spain, for the filming of Camino cortado
56 debuts on the German stage at the Deutsches Theater in Munich
June 57 marries Australian-born actor Ron Randell in a civil ceremony in London. He’s 37; she’s 26. This is his third marriage. He was formerly married to Elaine Maltzman and Marie Keith. In November 1950 he became engaged to actress Amanda Blake.
December 57 is out with her husband Ron Randell
the Randells file for a license to be married in the Catholic Church. They are to marry in the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills within ten days.
May 60 is on the cover of Vue
June 61 causes a scandal at a wine presentation at the Hotel Gehrhus during the Berlin Film Festival when her gown suddenly splits open. Fellow guest Jayne Mansfield is devastated by losing all the publicity to Laya. Laya and her husband, Ron Randell, have to leave. Afterwards, there are rumors of a big argument and a split between Laya and Ron.
14 September 61 attends a Variety Club racing event at Sandown Park, Surrey, with her husband
18 September 61 wears a very low cut dress at the West End premiere of Fanny, Warner Brothers Cinema at Leicester Square, London, which she attends with her husband
November 61 attends the London premiere of King of Kingswith husband Ron Randell
April 62 issues her hit song “Oh Johnny, hier nicht parken.” The reviews are devastating.
62 attends the Venice Film Festival
July 62 after some TV work in New York City, she travels to Rome, Italy, for location filming
63 is in the spotlight of the press while attending the premiere of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm at the Coliseum Theater in London. No one notes fellow guest, Princess Margaret.
68 is a close friend of German-born actress Susanne Cramer and one of the last to see her alive
January 69 by a telegram to her agent in Germany, the German public learns about the death of Susanne Cramer in Los Angeles
71 lives with her husband in a modest apartment in Beverly Hills and hopes to act in Germany again
January 71 stars on the Sydney stage opposite her husband, Ron Randell, in Come Live with Me
11 June 05 as Brunhilde Randell, she becomes the widow of Randell, who dies at age 86 at Country Villa Convalescent Hospital, Los Angeles, of acute cardiac arrest. Randell suffered from Alzheimer's and was in a memory care home.
? Randell is cremated and interred at Westwood?Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles
8 April 09 marries Duane O. Wood, former vice president of Lockheed International, at his Bel Air home. He’s 93; she’s 81.
7 July 18 becomes the widow of Wood, who dies at age 102 in palliative care in Los Angeles
19 July 18 Wood is interred at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California
21 December 18 at 8:30 PM PST, she dies age 91 in her sleep at a Los Angeles hospital. She is survived by her step-daughter, Cathy, and her step-grandchildren, Tyler and Shannon.
16 January 19 her cremains are interred next to her ex-husband Ronald Randell’s at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park
Sources:
Jasmin, Bild, Who's Who in Hollywood 1966, www.britishpathe.com, Photoplay, Mein Film
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