Hollywood film star and legend Marlene Deitrich was one of the hugest stars in the world in the 1930s for her films Blue Angel, Shanghai Express, The Devil Is A Woman, Morocco, Blonde Venus, Destry Rides Again.
She was romantically involved with Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn, John F. Kennedy, George Bernard Shaw, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Gary Cooper, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Yul Brynner, and a few others.
In the late 70s until her passing in 1992, Dietrich lived in Paris, France and became a recluse inside her apartment at 12 Avenue Montaigne. She seldom saw guests outside of a select few family members and employees. For human contact she became a prolific phone caller and letter writer. After her passing in 1992, Dietrich had a collection of letters consisting of over 300,000 pages of documents, including correspondence with Burt Bacharach, Yul Brynner, Maurice Chevalier, Noël Coward, Jean Gabin, Ernest Hemingway, Karl Lagerfeld, Nancy and Ronald Reagan, Erich Maria Remarque, Josef von Sternberg, Orson Welles and Billy Wilder.
The German born Dietrich also had an admiration for the American tennis star Jimmy Connors. Jimbo mentioned his communications with Dietrich in his book “The Outsider.”
During one French Open in the early 80s, Dietrich noticed that Connors was staying in the same apartment building she lived in. She gave him a ring and the two icons shared a one minute conversation. The legendary movie star then sent Jimbo a framed photo of herself with six-word inscription: “We just talked. Fuck them all.”
The very brief encounter with film legend Dietrich obviously left an impact on Connors, for him to remember it and share it in his 2013 book “The Outsider” over three decades later, is the testimonial.
Rafa Nadal has enchanted Larry Ellison and Fred Couples. Roger Federer has the ardent support of Anna Wintour and Wladimir Klitschko. John McEnroe was adored by Jack Nicholson and Hank Aaron.
And now you know Jimmy Connors had a super fan too, in Marlene Dietrich.
Blue Angel · Hollywood · Jimmy Connors · Marlene Dietrich · Paris · Roland Garros
