- Born
- 21 October 1884Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Died
- 22 January 1957Bad Reichenhall, Germany · aged 72
Claire Waldoff
Her Berlin dialect, sharp delivery and distinctive stage clothes made her a leading cabaret performer of the Weimar years.
Claire Waldoff was born in Gelsenkirchen in 1884. Originally named Clara Wortmann, she pursued an acting career before arriving in Berlin in 1907 and developing the songs and stage manner that made her famous.
With a shirt, tie, cropped red hair and a forceful voice, she made Berlin dialect central to her performance. Songs such as “Hermann heeßt er” and “Wer schmeißt denn da mit Lehm?” combined everyday observation with humour and irreverence. Recordings, radio and major variety venues extended her audience beyond cabaret.
For decades she shared her life with Olga “Olly” von Roeder. Their home and friendships connected them to Berlin’s lesbian social world, where Waldoff’s public independence had particular resonance.
After 1933 her career became more restricted, though she continued to perform after joining the Reich Chamber of Culture and later participated in wartime radio entertainment for the armed forces. Her record therefore includes accommodation as well as exclusion under Nazi rule. She settled in Bavaria with Olly and faced financial hardship after the war. Waldoff died in Bad Reichenhall in 1957.