Lee Parry (born Mathilde Charlotte Benz,[2][3] 14 January 1901 – 24 January 1977) was a German film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1919 and 1939.
Lee Parry was born Mathilde Charlotte Benz on 14 January 1901, daughter of the stage actor, opera tenor, and variety director Josef Friedrich Benz (1863–1928), who was popularly known as "Papa Benz", and the singer Mathilde Benz (1880–1967).
Parry was discovered by director Richard Eichberg in 1919, who she subsequently married. She made her film debut in Jettatore, followed by Sins of the Parents and Nonne und Tänzerin (all 1919),[4] all of which were directed by Eichberg.
Parry was at the pinnacle of her career when she starred in the historical drama Monna Vanna (1922) opposite Paul Wegener and Hans Stürm. She co-starred in several films with Bela Lugosi during the period in which he lived in Germany, including Hypnosis and The Curse of Man.
In addition to acting in films, Parry also acted on the stage and starred in several Viennese operettas. She also embarked on a successful music career, recording popular songs such as "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt".[5] Her final screen appearance was in Adieu Vienne (1939).
In 1956, Parry moved to Buenos Aires with her second husband, Siegmund Breslauer, who was a director at the German exile theater Freie Deutsche Bühne. Following a theatrical comeback in the play Manon, she continued to perform for several more years on various stages across South America.[6]
