Karin Dor Passes On

Karin Dor, a German actress who appeared in such films as The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Topaz (1969), died on November 6 2017 at the age of 79.

Karin Dor was born Kätherose Derr in Wiesbaden, Germany on February 22 1938. She made her film debut as an extra in the film Der letzte Walzer in 1953. In the Fifties she appeared in such films as Rosen aus dem Süden (1954), Solange du lebst (1955), Santa Lucia (1956), Mit Eva fing die Sünde an (1958), So angelt man keinen Mann (1959), Ein Sommer, den man nie vergißt (1959), and Die Bande des Schreckens (1960).

It was in 1962 that Karin Dor appeared in her first English language film, The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962). In the Sixties she appeared alongside Lex Baxter in a number of German made Westerns based on novels by Karl May, including Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962), Winnetou - 2. Teil (1964), Winnetou - 3. Teil (1965), and Winnetou und Shatterhand im Tal der Toten (1968). She also co-starred with Mr. Baxter in Die unsichtbaren Krallen des Dr. Mabuse (1962). She appeared with Sir Christopher Lee in the first of producer Harry Alan Towers's Fu Manchu movies, The Face of Fu Manchu. In the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice she played SPECTRE assassin Helga Brandt. In Topaz she played French agent' Devereaux's mistress and revolutionary Juanita de Cordoba. She also appeared in such films as Der Teppich des Grauens (1962), Die weiße Spinne (1963), Der Würger von Schloß Blackmoor (1963), Zimmer 13 (1964), Der unheimliche Mönch (1965), Die Nibelungen, Teil 1 - Siegfried (1966), Die Nibelungen, Teil 2 - Kriemhilds Rache (1967), Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel (1967), and Los monstruos del terror (1970). She guest starred on the American TV shows It takes a Thief, Ironside, and The F.B.I.

In the Seventies Karin Dor's career shifted largely to West German television, on which she appeared in several German TV movies. She guest starred on the TV show Achtung Zoll!.She also appeared in the feature films Haie an Bord (1971), Die Antwort kennt nur der Wind (1974), Dark Echoes (1977), Warhead (1977), and Frauenstation (1977).  In the Eighties she appeared in the film Johann Strauss - Der König ohne Kron (1987).  From the Nineties to the Teens she appeared on the TV shows Die große Freiheit, SOKO München, Inga Lindström, Das Traumschiff, and Rosamunde Pilcher. She appeared in the films Ich bin die Andere (2006) and Die abhandene Welt (2015).

Later in her career she appeared primarily on stage.

At least of those available widely available in the English speaking world, many of the films Karin Dor appeared in were not exactly Academy Award material. That having been said, whether she was in a low-budget B-movie like The Face of Fu Manchu or a A-picture like You Only Live Twice, Miss Dor could always be depended upon for a fairly good performance. She could also play a wide variety of roles, whether it was a murderess in Zimmer 13, a SPECTRE assassin in You Only Live Twice, a Native American woman in the Winnetou movies, or a scientist in The Face of Fu Manchu. Miss Dor was certainly beautiful, but she also had the talent to be convincing in many roles.