Evelyn Künneke

Evelyn Künneke pursued careers as a singer, dancer, and actress, enjoying notable achievements in Germany spanning from the early 1940s until the close of the 1950s. Eve-Susanne Kunneke entered the world as the offspring of Eduard Künneke, who composed operas and operettas. During her formative years, her father's established reputation loomed large over her. Initial recognition arrived via the pseudonym Evelyn King, through her dance performances. Adolf Hitler stood out as her most notable admirer throughout the middle and latter portions of the 1930s. By the decade's conclusion, she reverted to using her family name professionally. The year 1942 marked her breakthrough in singing with the release of "Sing, Nightingale, Sing." Her comments criticizing the war's advancement led to governmental disfavor, resulting in her incarceration. Only the intervention of Leni Riefenstahl, a close associate of Hitler and arguably the preeminent artistic influence within his entourage, averted more severe consequences for Künneke and her relatives. Postwar, she persisted in cabaret performances and produced numerous tracks in the mid-1950s mimicking rock & roll and rhythm styles, including "Bongo Boogie," akin to material featured on collections like Rockin' Is Not Our Business! Motion picture roles, primarily in musical films, commenced for her in the late 1950s, though her output of recordings diminished during the 1960s. Nevertheless, her cinematic endeavors persisted without full interruption, with appearances as an actress on German television and in sporadic films across that decade. A resurgence occurred in the mid-1970s after Rainer Werner Fassbinder, serving as director and producer, included her in Fox and His Friends (1975), leading to ongoing activity in theater and cinema thereafter. Lung cancer claimed her life in 2001.