Irm Hermann

Hermann had worked as a secretary before meeting Fassbinder through some mutual acquaintances, and she became hooked on the spot. She was an early member of his avant garde theater company and she even for a time acted as his agent to find him acting work in order to raise money so he could move into film directing. At one point, through sheer persistence, Hermann actually did get Fassbinder a lucrative offer to work on a German TV series, but he was unable to accept it--he was doing time in a Turkish prison for driving stolen cars in order to raise some quick cash! Fassbinder also became romantically involved with Hermann for a time; even though for most of his life he was essentially homosexual, Fassbinder did have affairs with several women. Hermann wanted to marry him and bear his child, but the only child that came to pass was their work together. Fassbinder was determined to use Hermann in his films, and she played a role in his initial effort, the short "Der Stadtstreicher" (1965). A tall, large-boned woman with small eyes, thin lips and very light (or frequently no) eyebrows, Hermann was often a morose, quiet presence in Fassbinder's films. She was sometimes a sensuous presence, and sometimes a mean-looking or bitchy one, but more often the long-suffering role she played in Fassbinder's life seemed to translate to the screen. In other cases, though, her roles were strictly functional and rather nondescript bits which were useful to the plot; such casting also mirrored the off-screen relationship the two shared. One of her most memorable roles in Fassbinder's canon came in his remarkably powerful and downbeat "The Merchant of Four Seasons" (1972), with Hermann receiving awards and acclaim from German critics for her part as the miserable protagonist's faithless wife. Her other most famous part came that same year in Fassbinder's bizarre and riveting lesbian triangle drama "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant," as the completely silent and much-abused servant of a haughty fashion designer brought low by her love for her model. At the film's end, Hermann's character leaves the mistress who has completely abased herself for love. Hermann, too, would eventually find the strength to pull away from her master. Despite the acclaim Hermann received in several Fassbinder efforts, he also cast her as the maid in "Nora Helmer" (1973), his version of "A Doll's House," and in a rather abbreviated rendering of the key role of Miriam in his strange adaptation of "The Women," "Frauen in New York" (1977). Hermann eventually gave up smoking, discovered Buddhism and vegetarianism and became involved with an artist, finding the strength to stand up to Fassbinder and refuse some of the humiliating roles he wanted her to play. She did, however, continue to haunt his oeuvre, playing small iconic roles in later films including "Lili Marleen" (1981). After his death, Hermann kept busy in a wide range of German media, and was more active in film than a number of the other Fassbinder company members. Experimental lesbian filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger used her iconically as well in her "The Image of Dorian Gray in the Yellow Press" (1984) and "Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia" (1989). Hermann also played medium-sized supporting roles in films including "Edith's Diary" (1983), "Welcome to Germany" (1988) and "Hades" (1995), bringing to her work a patina of the intensity and craftsmanship she had learned the hard way. Irm Hermann died in Berlin on May 26, 2020 at the age of 77.