Helen Schneider

Helen Schneider (born December 23, 1952) is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany.

Life and career

Helen Leslie Schneider was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider. Her family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany and Russia. Schneider studied piano before starting to perform with her own blues band in venues in New England and New York.

Between 1978 and 1984, she achieved success as a rock singer in Germany; her song "Rock'n' Roll Gypsy" reached the top 10 record charts and she received a Gold Record Award and shared the Goldene Europa Award with John Lennon. In 1980 she toured with the German rock legend Udo Lindenberg. She played one of the leads in the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers, which has since gained a huge cult following, especially in unusual places for an American film such as Nepal, Russia and especially Germany, where Schneider had name recognition.^[1]

In 1987, she began her acting career at the Theater des Westens in Berlin playing the Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. From 1995 to 1998, she performed as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber. From 1999 to 2001, she performed as Eva Perón in the musical Evita at the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele. In 2014 she starred as Judy Garland in the European production of End of the Rainbow. She received enormous acclaim for her one-woman performance pieces: A Walk on the Weill Side, A Voice and A Piano, and Verwandlungen. In 2006 she received the DIVA - German Entertainment Prize for her lifetime achievements.

In 2007 Helen Schneider returned to the recording business. She recorded three CDs with Edel Music. For "Dream a Little Dream" she received a golden CD award in jazz.

Awards

1981: Bronze Bravo Otto
1999: Hersfeld-Preis for Evita
2006: DIVA-Award in the Category World Award (Hall of Fame)
2011: Hersfeld-Preis for Sunset Boulevard

Bibliography

"Helen Schneiders Tiergeschichten für große und kleine Kinder" (Helen Schneider & Linda Uruburu, Lilli Messina (Illustr.), Klaus Weimann (Übers.)), Baumhaus Medien, 2007
"Maximilian Schnecks wunderbarer Regentag" (Helen Schneider & Linda Uruburu, Lilli Messina (Illustr.), Klaus Weimann (Übers.)), Baumhaus Medien, 2007

Discography

1976 LP So Close (Windsong)
1977 LP Let It Be Now (RCA)
1979 LP Ein Mädchen aus New York – Live in Hamburg (RCA, 1979; LP) - (Transl.: a girl from New York)
1980 LP Crazy Lady (WEA Warner Music, 1980; LP)
1981 LP Mr. Valentino - Ihre großen Erfolge (RCA, 1981)
1981 LP Schneider with the Kick (WEA Warner Music, 1981/ 1992)
1982 LP Rock'n'Roll Gypsy (WEA Warner Music, 1982, LP; Compilation of WEA-Alben, i.e. "Schneider With The Kick", 1996, CD)
1982 LP Exposed (WEA Warner Music, 1982; LP)
1983 LP Breakout (WEA Warner Music, 1983; LP)
1983 EP Smuggled Out A-Live (Warner Music; Live-EP)
1983 LP The Best of Helen Schneider (WEA Warner Music, 1983/84; LP)
1984 LP Helen Schneider (Amiga, 1984; LP)
1988 LP Back On Track (Epic/CBS, 1988; LP)
1989 LP A Walk on the Weill Side (CBS Records, 1989; LP)
1991 LP Vagabond (CBS/Sony Music, 1991; LP)
1995 LP "Short Operas" (Ariola/Sony BMG, 1995; LP)
1995 LP Right as the Rain (Rhino/WEA, 1995; LP; CD release by Tomato; 2003)
1995 CD Songs of Kurt Weill (Rhino/WEA; reissued by Tomato with changed track listing and bonus track "Barbara's Song")
1996 CD Sunset Boulevard (Polydor/Universal, 1996; CD)
1999 CD Romantic Nights (BMG, 1999; CD)
2001 CD A Voice and A Piano (Preiser Records, 2001; CD)
2001 CD Cool Heat (Elysium Recordings, 2001; CD)
2001 CD Short Operas 2 (Ariola/Sony BMG, 2001; CD)
2007 CD Just Like A Woman (Edel, 2007; CD)
2009 CD Dream a Little Dream (Edel Records, 2009; CD)
2009 CD Working Girl - The Very Best of Helen Schneider (Edel, 2009; CD)
2010 CD The World We Knew - The Bert Kaempfert Album (with SWR Swing Band)" (Edel, 2010; CD)

Singles (in Charts)

Rock ’N’ Roll Gypsy (Rock ’N’ Roll Outlaw) (1981); CH #1, D #6
Angry Times (1982); D #26
Hot Summer Nites (1982); D #36
Piece of My Heart (1982); D #73

Collaborations

Udo Lindenberg – Live – Intensivstationen (Warner Music, 1982/ 2002)
Eberhard Schoener – Short Operas (BMG Ariola, 1996)
Eberhard Schoener – The Sound of Derrick (BMG Ariola, 1998)
Eberhard Schoener – Short Operas II (BMG Ariola, 2001)

Musical Productions

Sunset Boulevard – Original German Recording (Polydor/ Universal, 1996)
Victor/ Victoria (Bremer Theater, 2005)

Filmography

Theatrical Releases

"Eddie and the Cruisers", USA, 1983

Television

"Mauritius-Los", D (WDR), 1990
"Der Havelkaiser" (Series), D (SFB), 1993/1995/1998/1999
"Siska (TV Series) – Das letzte Konzert", D (ZDF), 1998
"Liebe macht sexy", D (SAT1), 2009
"Tatort: Borowski und die Sterne", D (ARD), 2009
"Das Duo – Mordbier", D (ZDF), 2010

Musical- and Theatre Productions

"Cabaret", Berlin (Theater des Westens), 1987–88
"Ghetto", New York City (Circle in the Square Theater), 1988
"Frida: The Story of Frida Kahlo", Boston & New York City (Brooklyn Academy of Music), 1992–93; Wien (Schauspielhaus), 2000; Recklinghausen (Sommer-Festival), 2002
"Anything Goes", Berlin (Theater des Westens), 1993–94
"Sunset Boulevard", Niedernhausen (Rhein-Main-Theater), 1995–98; Bad Hersfelder Festspiele, 2011
"Evita", Bad Hersfeld (Sommer-Festival), 1999–2001
"Mahagonny Songspiel", Vienna (Schauspielhaus), 2000
"Die Sieben Todsünden", Wien (Schauspielhaus), 2000; Dessau (Kurt-Weill-Festival), 2005
"Transformations Ver.0.1" (nach Gedichten von Anne Sexton), Wien (Schauspielhaus), 2001; Linz, 2002
"Victor/Victoria", Bremen (Bremer Theater), 2005
"Hello, I’m Johnny Cash", Berlin (Renaissance-Theater), 2010
"Der Ghetto Swinger", Hamburg (Hamburger Kammerspiele), 2012
"Transformations" (nach Gedichten von Anne Sexton), Stuttgart (Theater Rampe), 2012