"URSULA THIESS
"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
by Michael Fitzgerald
The "most beautiful girl in the world" was born in Hamburg, Germany on May 15, 1924. Wanting to be an actress at a young age, the future star obtained parts in plays, such as The Women and looping jobs, dubbing American films, such as Road to Singapore, into German. "It would still be Dorothy Lamour's face, but MY voice, when you saw the film over there," she explains.
An early marriage to director Georg Thiess gave Ursula the last name. (Thiess rhymes with peace). Although the union wasn't a happy one, it did produce two children, Manuella, born in 1944, and Michael, born in 1946. She had spent World War II inside the Third Reich. "They knew how I felt about them, so I tried to keep out of sight, as much as possible," she recalled, laughing at her understatement.
Ursula Thiess was in her mid-20s when Howard Hughes and RKO-Radio beckoned her to the United States and a long term studio contract. "I was flown over here, and taken to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which is located on Hollywood Boulevard, just catty-cornered to the famous Graumann's Chinese Theater! It was very exciting."
The studio arranged dates, and it wasn't long before she attracted the attention of extremely handsome actor Robert Taylor, who was already divorced from his wife of fifteen years, Barbara Stanwyck. Laughing, she recalled: "The press reported that Robert Taylor had finally dated someone prettier than he was. But he was warped about marriage, thanks to Barbara Stanwyck. He was not about to make a commitment. Also, he was always being shipped off to England, or other locations for three months or more, to make movies like Knights of the Round Table."
Ironically, Ursula made her first movie on location - in India! Monsoon (1952) garnered a great deal of publicity. "That's where I was touted as 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.' On the ads, everywhere!
"They sent us to India, where we stayed in the Taj Mahal Hotel. The architect who built it, committed suicide by jumping off a high floor, just because Queen Victoria didn't care for his design! George Nader was my leading man, and Diana Douglas was also in it. She and Kirk Douglas had just gone through their divorce. That perennial bad guy, Myron Healey, came with a camera, and was always taking pictures - of virtually anything! And Ellen Corby, who became famous as the grandmother on The Waltons, was also with us. Rod Amateau, who died in 2003, was the director, and he became a lifelong friend."
The year 1952 was quite good for the young star. "Modern Screen voted me the year's Most Promising Star, along with Marilyn Monroe! I also received the Golden Key Award from the Foreign Press Association, whose ceremony I helped host. Then, in 1953, I received the Golden Globe Award."
It was also in 1953 when she first met Robert Taylor. "We dated off and on for some time - sometimes he'd date other women, but these were studio arrangements, as well. With his frequent overseas locations, I could see that the relationship was going nowhere. I had to virtually turn it off, to get him to realize he really loved me. We finally married on May 24, 1954 on a boat in Jackson Lake Wyoming, which is near Jackson Hole. Our first child, Terrence, was born in 1955. It was in that year of 1955 that I was one of only three at RKO under long-term contract!"
Ursula's second feature film was 1954's The Iron Glove. "Robert Stack became a good friend. William Castle directed. It was the first time I worked with Bill; he and his German wife Ellen became very good friends. Bill was soon to become quite famous for directing those gimmicky horror films."
Thanks to her rather exotic beauty, it was no surprise that in her next vehicle, Bengal Brigade, she would play a character named Latah. "This was on loan out to Universal-International. It was a remake of an old Gary Cooper picture, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer. [1935]. Rock Hudson was the star, and Arlene Dahl was the other leading lady. Our dressing rooms were next to each other, and one day I heard her fume 'If I'd known that woman was going to be in this picture, I never would have signed the contract!' We both had the same agent, so I asked him about it. He explained that it was only professional jealousy - that I was too pretty to be in the same picture with."
Ursula Thiess encountered more misadventures when she was assigned to play Marianna in The Americano (1955) with Glenn Ford. "Some locations were in Brazil this time! The ground breaking on our new home had just begun, when I had to report on location for two weeks in Riverside, California. So near, yet so far. Around this time, Bob decided I should learn to drive a car! Those learning experiences were something else! (laughs) William Castle was once again my director, but Glenn Ford was something else. Early on, Glenn stated, in that boyishly grinning face of his, that 'I like to treat my ladies rough.' It seems he wanted 'realism' in his pictures, no matter what the cost. There is a scene where he literally threw me off a saddle, and on to the ground. He did it with such velocity that is caused me to suffer a twisted neck, a torn blouse, and a mouthful of sand, along with a thundering forty-eight-hour headache! This was not a good start, but Mr. Ford got his scene and, admittedly, it didn't lack realism."
Ursula's co-stars were Frank Lovejoy and Cesar Romero. "They, and other cast members, visited and comforted me during my two-day recovery. I tried to make amends for what Glenn Ford had done, but Cesar Romero blurted out, in a very direct manner, 'Don't kid yourself, Ursula. That son of a bitch knew what he was doing. He has a reputation for that.'"
Becoming pregnant in 1954, Miss Thiess lost out on working in a film with her husband. "I was becoming more and more of a house frau. Ronald and Nancy Davis Reagan lived almost next door, in Pacific Palisades, and we became best friends. We attended a lot of parties with people like David and Hjordis Niven, Ray Milland, George Sanders, Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons and her then husband Stewart Granger, and Michael Wilding and his then wife Elizabeth Taylor. Our wide circle of friends also included Henry Koster and wife Peggy Moran; Rory Calhoun and his wife Lita Baron; Steffi Duna and her husband Dennis O'Keefe, and Lana Turner and her then spouse Lex Barker. A studio acquaintance and Bob's co-star, Ava Gardner, was one I didn't get to know that well. I was still getting publicity and giving a lot of interviews at this time, and Loretta Young gave me some great advice. Loretta told me that her mother said to 'Count to 10 before answering a question, especially a stupid one.' So, I followed Mrs. Young's advice when one reporter asked me how I enjoyed living under the rule of the Third Reich!"
More newly acquired friends, especially those Robert Taylor knew, included "The King" of Hollywood. "Clark Gable taught me to shoot! I didn't like hunting and fishing, but since Bob did, I went along with him. Clark and Kay (Williams) were very close to us, and Clark was especially upset when he learned that I was in Hamburg during the War: 'I might have killed you! I had three missions bombing that city!' Clark also wanted me to do The King and Four Queens [1956] with him, but by that time I had promised Bob I would give up my career."
Later in 1955, Ursula joined Robert Taylor in England, where he was filming Quentin Durward. "We stayed at the Dorchester Hotel, which was Bob's favorite. During my pregnancy, or should I say during HIS?, we seemed to socialize even more than usual. We would frequent nightclubs, and often the band would play the theme song from The Americano, which was written by Xavier Cugat and sang, in the film, by his then wife Abbe Lane."
Ursula's last starring vehicle was Bandido (1956). "I thought of myself as a housewife, and mother of a four-month-old baby boy. It had been 18 months since I finished The Americano, but Bob was still encouraging me to work at the time, and I accepted the assignment. What Bob and I didn't realize was that the entire film was to be shot on location - in Mexico! Although household chores weren't an apprehension for me - I had good help - I did have other reservations, like about the airliner we would use, to go to Mexico. Its reputation was far from good. Just as we were about to descend into Mexico City, the plane suddenly took a nose dive! Everything - food, drinks, you name it - went flying everywhere. The pilot tried to soothe us with not-so-funny jokes! After spending the night, we drove to Cuernavaca, where we remained for some time! I met my leading man, Robert Mitchum, at the time. I had known Bob, but not that well, before. As you know, Robert Mitchum has a terrible reputation for being a womanizer, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. True, 3 year-old girls, young and sexy babes, or 95 year old ladies got his attention, but they were the pursuer. Bob Mitchum was the pursued. Bob asked me about my hotel accommodations, and I told him they were okay, except that I didn't have a radio. It wasn't long before I heard Latin music coming from outside. He had arranged for it, until a radio could be found."
Among the other co-stars in Bandido were Zachary Scott, Douglas Fowley, Henry Brandon, and Gilbert Roland. "Everybody down there called Gilbert 'Amigo.' Gilbert appointed himself my mentor and guide. This was fine with Bob Taylor, as they had been friends for years. Gilbert taught me all about bullfighting, but first he taught me about Mexico City's renowned restaurants, where he introduced me to tequila. This drink prepared me for watching those bullfights, 'the greatest sport on earth' as Gilbert called it (laughs)."
Ten miles from Cuernavaca was a second location site, Tepoztian. "Our hotel was located on a hillside, overlooking the town, which had a unique Indian background. One morning, I found a scorpion hiding in one of my boots, and later, when preparing for a scene, we were held up by Tepoztian's machete-carrying males!"
Other locations followed. "Some were very primitive, too raw to even suggest human settlement!" The last location, before Acapulco, was the picturesque mountain town of Taxco, "Where I did some Christmas shopping. Dorothy Mitchum and Bob Taylor joined us in Acapulco, and the Mitchums gave us a fabulous party, complete with bugs and insects! (laughs). When we returned home, they gave us another party, at Mike Romanoff's in Los Angeles. Bob and I were sitting at a table with Lana and Lex, among other friends. All of a sudden, an uninvited and drunk Barbara Stanwyck came crashing in. Barbara instantly put Bob on edge. Dorothy confronted her for crashing their party, and Stanwyck, arrogantly drawled 'Do you know who I am?' She then continued with 'Hell, lady, I don't want your food. I just came in to take a peek at Taylor and his German broad.' This so angered Lex that he purposely stepped on Barbara Stanwyck's foot, although pretending it was an accident (laughs)."
The horrors surrounding her Bandido filming continued up to the end. "We were all about to board the plane home when I was stopped! It had something to do with my passport and my not being an American citizen. I charmed the guard, snatched my passport, and headed for the plane. The gunmen had their arms pointed at me, demanding that I stop, but I kept going until I was on board that plane. The passengers all applauded, and then we were on our way home!"
Ursula's last feature to date is The Left Hand of Gemini (1972), co-starring Richard Egan and Patricia Blair. "It was a sci-fi picture, but I did do some television, like 77 Sunset Strip and of course as Bob's girlfriend on his series, The Detectives."
She also accompanied Robert Taylor on his location shoots. "In April of 1958, we went to the High Sierras for The Law and Jake Wade. On August 16, 1959, our daughter Theresa was born."
In the interim, there was 15 years of wedded bliss, marred by Bob's past, specifically, his wife Barbara Stanwyck. "She took him to the cleaners. Although she was a big star, earning big money, she received an alimony check from Robert Taylor, until the day he died! We did have a lovely ranch, and other nice things, when Bob could keep some funds away from her! He only did that last film with her, The Night Walker, for the money. Even then he proclaimed 'She'll get it all, anyway!'"
In 1969 Bob and Ursula suffered nine months of hell. Diagnosed with lung cancer, he acknowledged to everyone, especially the children, that his four or five packs of cigarettes a day were the cause. "He begged the children to never start, so they'll never have to try and quit! Stanwyck kept up the demands for her alimony checks, of course. Right up to the end. Unbelievable!"
Miss Thiess eventually remarried, to a multimillionaire, and has homes in both Hawaii and Los Angeles. Widowed again - he also died of lung cancer - the former actress has recently penned her autobiography, full of interesting stories from her most interesting life.