Gisela Werbezirk

Gisela Werbezirk (also spelled Werbisek, 8 April 1875 – 15 April 1956) was an Austrian-Hungarian actress. For most of her career, she performed across theaters in Europe, notably in Vienna and Berlin, and at one time was compared to stage actress Marie Dressler. Upon the invasion of Austria shortly before the onset of World War II, she emigrated with her family to America as a Jewish refugee to escape Nazi persecution. She arrived in New York in late 1938 and performed on Broadway before later having minor roles in Hollywood films. She died in 1956 due to kidney failure.

Career Early life Werbezirk was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia) in 1875 to a Jewish family. Before becoming a film actress, she began her career as a stage actress in Vienna, where she played the part of a 35-year-old "old" woman, despite being only 15 years old at the time. She was best known in Vienna, where she appeared on stage and was popular among theater-goers. In late 1923, she landed one of her most successful roles in the play "Frau Breier aus Gaya," where she played the part of Sali Breier, a successful poultry woman.

Among other European cities she toured was Berlin, from where she returned to Vienna in 1929 following a long stay. In 1936, she had a lead role in the play Mizzi in Vienna's Deutsches Volkstheater, where she performed over 100 times across three different Vienna theaters alongside an ensemble cast. She claimed to have performed in Abie's Irish Rose across cities in Europe over 1,000 times, during which time she was reportedly the highest paid German-speaking actress.

Career in America Having emigrated to America in late 1938, Werbezirk expected she would find work straight away due to her popularity in Europe, however she was unheard of in America and was mocked due to her name. and her debut performance was the title role in a Yiddish version of Queen Mother, in New York's National Theatre. Another earlier role was a major part in Gray Farm, despite only having a brief run. She is believed to have played around 150 roles, typically as an older lady, although also had many minor film roles. Together they had a son, Heinrich Piffl, who later changed his name to Henry Peever in America.

From London, they boarded the SS Île de France as refugees bound for America in late 1938, Once in America, she was taunted over her name, ultimately opting to drop the "Piffl". While the name Piffl is honorable in Austria, she was initially unaware it had a less desirable English-language meaning. In an interview in 1946, she claimed to receive up to 20 prank calls a day about her name, some with false news about her son, such as that he had been involved in an accident. Despite mistaking a friend for a prank caller, she did not want to unlist her phone number as she feared losing contact with friends. Werbezirk ultimately gained American citizenship and lived the rest of her life in the United States.

Partial filmography

Film

Television