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Mia May
Mia May
Mia May
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Mia May (born Hermine Pfleger; 2 June 1884 – 28 November 1980) was an Austrian actress.[1] She was married to the Austrian film producer and director Joe May[2] and appeared in 44 films between 1912 and 1924. Her daughter was the actress Eva May.

Key Information

Biography

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Mia May was born Hermine Pfleger on 2 June 1884 in Vienna, the daughter of Johann Pfleger, a baker, and Albine Pfleger (née. Steinfelder). Her older sister, Maria (1879–1958), who acted under the stage name Mitzi Telmont, was the second wife of the comedian Heinrich Eisenbach.

She made her stage debut at Jantsch Theater at the age of 5, playing child roles until she was 14. She continued her stage career as a teenager, taking on the stage name Herma Angelot, and appearing at the Apollo Theater as an actress and singer. While attending high school, she began receiving ballet lessons from Louise Übermasser.

In 1902, she married Joseph Otto Mandl, and seven weeks later gave birth to their daughter Eva Maria Mandl.[3] Herma Angelot then became Mia May, and when her husband entered the film business, he took on the name Joe May.

In 1911, May traveled to Hamburg to Wilhelm Bendiner's Neues Operettentheater. In 1912, the May family settled in Berlin, where her husband had been hired as a film director. She made her film debut in In der Tiefe des Schachtes (1912), which her husband directed, followed by the 1913 short Life's Temptations, and Die geheimnisvolle Villa (1914), which was also their daughter Eva May's film debut.

In 1915, Joe May founded the film company May-Film Gmb, which Mia May became managing director of.[4] She is also credited with writing Your Big Secret (1918).

May appeared in films such as Hilde Warren und der Tod (1917), which was written by Fritz Lang, The Beggar Countess (1918), The Platonic Marriage (1919), Veritas Vincit (1919), and Tragedy of Love (1923) with Emil Jannings and a young Marlene Dietrich. May said of Dietrich, "I remember her as very funny and engaging, attractive and original. No man could resist her. She went everywhere with a monocle and a boa of five red foxes. On other occasions, she would wear a wolf fur throw. People would follow her in the streets, they would laugh at her, but she fascinated them."[5]

From 1919 to 1920, she starred in the 8 part film serial Mistress of the World. For a time, she was as popular as actresses Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, and Pola Negri.[6]

May's final screen appearance was in The Love Letters of Baroness S (1924). She retired in 1924 after her daughter Eva May committed suicide.

Upon the rise of the Nazis in 1933, Mia May and Joe May emigrated to America via France. In 1949, Mia and Joe opened the Blue Danube restaurant in Los Angeles, but it was unsuccessful, and closed shortly after.[7][8][9] Previously, Joe May had opened the Wiener Bar in Hollywood in 1937.[10]

Mia May died on 28 November 1980 in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography

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References

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Mia May

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Mia May is an Austrian actress known for her leading roles in German silent cinema during the 1910s and early 1920s, specializing in melodramas and tragedies, many of which were directed by her husband Joe May. She emerged as one of the first major divas of German-language film, earning comparisons to contemporary stars such as Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, and Pola Negri for her distinctive dramatic style and screen presence. Born Hermine Pfleger in Vienna on June 2, 1884, she displayed an early interest in performance, appearing on stage as a child under the name Herma Angelot before marrying director Julius Otto Mandl (later known as Joe May) in 1902 and adopting the screen name Mia May. Her film career began in 1912 with productions directed by her husband, and she often collaborated closely with him, occasionally contributing as a screenwriter and editor. Notable films include In der Tiefe des Schachtes (1912), Arme Eva Maria (1916), The Indian Tomb (1921), and Tragedy of Love (1923), the latter featuring a young Marlene Dietrich in an early role. Her acting career ended abruptly in 1924 following the suicide of her daughter Eva May, after which she retired permanently from film and stage. With the rise of National Socialism and the barring of her Jewish husband from filmmaking in Germany, the couple emigrated first to France and then to the United States, where they resided until her death in Hollywood on November 28, 1980.

Early life

Childhood and family background

Mia May was born Hermine Pfleger on 2 June 1884 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. She was the daughter of the baker Johann Pfleger and his wife Albine Pfleger. She had an older sister, Maria Pfleger (1879–1958), who later acted under the stage name Mitzi Telmont. From a very young age, Hermine showed great interest in acting.

Early stage career

Mia May began her stage career in Vienna at a very young age. She started ballet lessons as a small child and made her professional debut at the age of five at the Jantsch Theater in the K.K. Prater, where she performed in numerous child roles until she was fourteen. As a teenager attending high school, she adopted the stage name Herma Angelot and continued her performing career as an actress and singer with engagements at Gabor Stein's summer theater "Venice in Vienna" and Ben Tieber's Apollo Theater. Following her marriage in 1902, she temporarily retired from the stage for several years after the birth of her daughter. She returned to acting around 1910 under the name Mia May, appearing once again at the Apollo Theater. In 1911 she performed in Hamburg at the Neue Operettentheater in the operetta Madame Serafin and other productions before relocating to Berlin later that year.

Film career

Film debut and early roles

Mia May made her film debut in 1912 with a leading role in In der Tiefe des Schachtes, directed by her husband Joe May. The family relocated to Berlin that same year after Joe May was hired as a director for Continental-Kunstfilm GmbH, marking the beginning of their close professional partnership in the emerging German film industry. Her early roles included appearances in films such as Die geheimnisvolle Villa (1914) and Die Sünde der Helga Arndt (1916), both directed by Joe May. In 1917, she starred in the title role of Hilde Warren und der Tod, directed by Joe May with a screenplay by Fritz Lang. In 1915, Mia May became managing director of May-Film GmbH, the production company founded by her husband. She appeared in a total of 44 films between 1912 and 1924.

Peak stardom in German silent cinema

Mia May reached the peak of her stardom in German silent cinema during the late 1910s and early 1920s, when she became widely recognized as one of the first great divas of the German film industry. She specialized in melodramas and tragedies, earning comparisons to leading actresses of the era such as Asta Nielsen, Henny Porten, and Pola Negri. Her popularity rivalled that of Henny Porten and Asta Nielsen, establishing her as a major star in the post-World War I German film landscape. Her major productions during this period included Veritas Vincit (1919), directed by Joe May, which became one of her greatest successes and is regarded as the first monumental film in German cinema history. She achieved further prominence starring as Maud Gregaards in the eight-part serial Die Herrin der Welt (Mistress of the World, 1919–1920), also directed by Joe May, an elaborate adventure series that proved enormously popular with German audiences and outperformed contemporary films like Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari at the box office. In 1920, she starred in Fritz Lang's Das wandernde Bild (The Wandering Image), followed by her appearance in the two-part adventure epic Das Indische Grabmal (The Indian Tomb, 1921), directed by Joe May and featuring a screenplay by Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang. Mia May was a frequent subject of film star postcards published by Ross Verlag and Rotophot, reflecting her widespread popularity among fans. She continued her close collaboration with her husband Joe May, who directed many of her key films during this peak period.

Final films and retirement

Mia May's final films marked the end of her prominent career in German silent cinema. In 1923, she appeared in the elaborate four-part production Tragödie der Liebe (Tragedy of Love), directed by her husband Joe May, portraying Countess Manon de Moreau, a woman searching for her husband's murderer, opposite Emil Jannings and with an early appearance by Marlene Dietrich. Unlike her earlier successes, her performance in this role received rather negative reviews from critics. Her last completed and released film was Die Liebesbriefe der Baronin von S... (1924). Mia May retired from the film business at the end of 1924, a decision which is often attributed to the suicide of her daughter Eva May on September 10, 1924. She had no further acting credits after this point.

Personal life

Marriage to Joe May

Mia May married Julius Otto Mandl in 1902. Following the marriage, she adopted the stage name Mia May, and her husband subsequently took the professional name Joe May, deriving it from hers when he entered the film industry. On 29 May 1902, she gave birth to their daughter Eva Maria Mandl, who later became an actress under the name Eva May. Mia May and Joe May formed a close professional partnership that significantly shaped her career in German silent cinema. Joe May directed many of the films in which she starred, often casting her in leading roles in his productions. When Joe May founded May-Film GmbH in 1915, Mia May served as its managing director. She also contributed creatively by co-writing scripts and working as an editor on several of his films. This collaboration positioned her as one of the era's prominent leading actresses, with her roles frequently tied to his directorial work.

Daughter Eva May

Eva May, born Eva Maria Mandl on May 29, 1902, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, was the only child of actress Mia May and film director Joe May. She made her film debut at age twelve in her father's silent detective film Die geheimnisvolle Villa (1914), appearing alongside her mother. Eva May went on to build a promising career in German silent cinema, appearing in more than thirty films during the late 1910s and early 1920s and earning the nickname "Jedermanns Liebling" (Everyone's Darling) for her appealing performances and favorable press. Tragically, Eva May committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot on September 10, 1924, in Baden, Lower Austria, at the age of twenty-two. Her death devastated Mia May, who retired permanently from acting immediately afterward and never appeared on screen again.

Later life

Emigration from Nazi Germany

In 1933, following the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, Joe May, who was of Jewish descent, was barred from working in the film industry under the new regime's antisemitic policies. As a result, Mia May and her husband Joe May emigrated from Germany to escape Nazi persecution. They traveled via France before reaching the United States. This move marked the end of their life in Germany, where Joe May had been a prominent director and producer, and Mia May had earlier enjoyed a successful acting career before retiring from the screen in the mid-1920s.

Life in the United States

After emigrating to the United States, Mia May and her husband Joe May settled in Hollywood, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. In 1937, Joe May opened the Wiener Bar in Hollywood as a business venture. Later, in April 1949, the couple opened the Blue Danube restaurant in West Los Angeles, specializing in Austrian cuisine and supported by friends from the émigré community including Hedy Lamarr, Otto Preminger, Walter Reisch, and Robert Siodmak. The restaurant proved unsuccessful and closed after a few months. Mia May did not resume her acting career in the United States, having made her last film appearances in Germany in 1924.

Death

Mia May died on 28 November 1980 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 96. After a long retirement from acting following her final film in 1924, she had resided quietly in the United States for the remainder of her life. She was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California.
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