Signs of life at 85
Grande Dame turns 85: Happy Birthday, dear Dagi!
Things have gone quiet around Dagmar Koller. The grande dame of showbiz is spending her 85th birthday in seclusion at her home in Portugal. A sign of life has now come from there.
The news came as a shock: in mid-May, the German newspaper BILD published photos showing Dagmar Koller in a wheelchair. "I sometimes look down at myself and think: that stupid foot, that stupid leg ... But should I mope about it? No!" she told her colleague. And that she was looked after day and night by a nurse and her relatives. Koller was never seen in public again after that. Not even close friends knew how she was doing ...
"And yet," recalls her manager and good friend Tim Lange, Dagmar was already feeling much better after her femoral neck fracture last year. "We went to a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Vienna Konzerthaus at the end of December," he says, "Dagmar was fit, she seemed to have recovered well from the operation."
What happened next is a matter of speculation. Apparently, Koller had a relapse a few months later and is still wheelchair-bound today.
Her state of health is probably also the reason why "Dagi" left my interview request unanswered on the occasion of her 85th birthday, which is actually quite atypical for her. "She wanted to escape all the hype and retired to her house in the Algarve two months ago," explains Lange. "It wouldn't have been possible in this way in Vienna."
Does physiotherapy every day
Dagmar now needs all her energy to regain her strength. Supported by two 24-hour assistants, she does physiotherapy every day to regain her mobility. "It's particularly difficult for a former dancer." After all, she had done gymnastics regularly before her fall, including the splits.
In her finca in Portugal, which has been a retreat for the artist for decades, she enjoys the view from her terrace over the rocky coast to the sea, as well as the palm and cactus garden she has created and the many mosaics she has brought with her from all over the world over the course of her life. "She concentrates on the beautiful things in life here," says her manager, describing the healing process.
Sometimes memories of her life with Helmut Zilk, with whom she spent her last years here until his death, come back. Lange: "He was already dependent on dialysis at the time and without Dagmar he wouldn't have been able to be in Portugal. It is a comfort to her that she was able to give him three more years with a high quality of life."
"The greatest happiness in my life"
"Dagi" met the future mayor of Vienna when she was 40, at the height of her career, when Zilk was ORF television director. By this time, the operetta star had already shone in "The Man of La Mancha", "Sorbas" and, of course, "My Fair Lady" and had toured the world. "I had the greatest luck in my life with him," she said in an interview with "Krone" on the tenth anniversary of Zilk's death. "Insanely clever, an important personality and yet kind-hearted."
Zilk and Koller were a congenial couple in Viennese society, not least because each of them enjoyed the other's success. The horse-drawn carriage ride in April 1986, when Princess Diana and the then Prince Charles were driven through Vienna with Dagmar Koller and her husband Helmut Zilk, is unforgettable.
When a letter bomb exploded in their shared apartment on December 5, 1993 and Zilk lost two fingers on his left hand, "Dagi" saved her husband's life by tying off his arm with a splits.
What a wonderful surprise. I would like to thank the Kronen Zeitung. I am touched that they are thinking of me, even though I am currently in Portugal. From here I send my heartfelt greetings to all readers! Your Dagmar Koller
Das Geburtstagskind freut sich über ein Blumenbouquet
It's a quiet birthday that "Dagi" will be celebrating next Monday, without cameras, without flashbulbs. The operetta empress can look back with pride on 85 years and an unparalleled career. "Her family, who are scattered all over the world, are coming together in Portugal to surprise her," says Lange.
Speaking of surprises: The "Krone" sent Dagmar Koller a bouquet of flowers for her 85th birthday. And she promptly received a sign of life from her management. "What a wonderful surprise. Thank you to the Kronen Zeitung. I am touched that they are thinking of me, even though I am currently in Portugal. From here I send my heartfelt greetings to all readers! Your Dagmar Koller."
"Without her, Viennese society is as bland as a dry roll," wrote BILD. Come back soon, dear Dagi, and Happy Birthday!
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