Sari Maritza


Sari Maritza was a British film actress of the early 1930s.

Early years

Born in Tianjin, China as Dora Patricia Nathan, she was the daughter of Major Walter Simeon Nathan and his Austrian wife, Eveline Detring. She received her school education in England, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. British colonial administrator Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan was an uncle.

Film

Maritza entered films in 1930 and gained some notoriety for dancing a tango with Charles Chaplin at the premiere for his film City Lights in 1931. She made the German-UK film Monte Carlo Madness in Germany in 1932 before traveling to Hollywood, but her few films there for Paramount Studios and RKO Radio Pictures were poorly received.
In America, she was portrayed as an exotic European vamp with emphasis placed on her mother's Austrian heritage, but Maritza had lived most of her life in Britain, and disapproved of the studio's attempts to create a more mysterious facade for her. She retired in 1934 following her marriage, and in later years, admitted that she had been eager to end her career as she did not consider herself to be a capable actress.
The Literary Digest said the name was pronounced SHA-ree MAR-ee-tsa.

Personal life and death

On October 17, 1934, Maritza married film executive Sam Katz in Phoenix, Arizona. They divorced in 1938. She died at age 77 in the U.S. Virgin Islands in July 1987.

Filmography

Greek Street as AnnaBed and Breakfast as Anne EntwhistleNo Lady as Greta GherkinskiThe Water Gipsies as Lily BellMonte Carlo Madness as Queen YolaForgotten Commandments as Anya SorinaEvenings for Sale as Lela FischerA Lady's Profession as Cecily WithersInternational House as Carol FortescueThe Right to Romance as Lee Joyce