Classic Movie Travels Vera Zorina
Vera Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin, Germany, on January 2, 1917. Her parents, Fritz and Abigail “Billie” Hartwig were professional singers.
Zorina grew up in the coastal town of Kristiansund, Norway, where she began her dancing career at Festiviteten, the local theatre. Zorina fell in love with ballet at an early age, reportedly taking her ballet slippers to bed with her at the age of two. By age four, she was performing locally. She studied at the Lyceum for Girls in Berlin and trained in dance under Olga Preobrajenska and Nicholas Legat.
When she was 12 years old, Max Reinhardt cast her in a 1929 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by a 1931 production of Tales of Hoffman. She was invited to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1933, upon which she took on the stage name of Vera Zorina. The company wanted her to perform under a Russian name. Of the 20 names they suggested, the one she settled on was the only one she could pronounce.
Zorina carried out the lead role in a London production of On Your Toes (1937), where she was spotted by film producer Samuel Goldwyn. He signed her to a seven-year contract, initiating her Hollywood film career.
Over the years, Zorina’s film performances included roles in The Goldwyn Follies (1938), On Your Toes (1939), I Was an Adventuress (1940), Louisiana Purchase (1941), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), and Follow the Boys (1944). Her final film role was in Lover Come Back (1946).
In 1938, Zorina married choreographer George Balanchine. She appeared in productions he choreographed until their divorce in 1946. In the same year, she married Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia Records. They had two sons: Peter and Jonathan. They divorced in 1977.
Zorina continued her stage career with productions of I Married an Angel (1938), The Tempest (1945), and Joan of Arc at the Stake (1948). She directed a production of Cabaret in 1968 at the Oslo Nye Teater in Oslo, Norway. She was appointed director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in the 1970s but ultimately left the role due to her husband’s illness. Her final stage performance was in Perséphone with the New York City Ballet in 1982.
Zorina was active as a director and adviser with Lincoln Center and directed operas at the Santa Fe Opera once she moved to New Mexico. She also published an autobiography in 1986 entitled Zorina. Additionally, she remained committed to her Catholic faith and was an Oblate of the Benedictine Order.
Zorina’s final marriage was to harpsichordist Paul Wolfe. They remained married until her passing in 2003. Her cause of death was undisclosed. She was 86 years old.
Today, some points of interest relating to Zorina’s life remain.
In 1943, she lived at 120 East End Ave., New York, New York. This building stands.
By 1961, she lived at 247 E. 61st St., New York, New York, which also remains.
In her later years, she resided at 22 Camino Caruso, Santa Fe, New Mexico. The ranch also stands today.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
