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Laya Raki Profile
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Photo gallery |
| (Brunhilde Marie Joerns) |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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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| Links: Filmography | |