Lilia Skala

Born Lilia Sofer on November 28, 1896, and raised in Vienna, Austria, Lilia Skala's parents were Katharina Skala (Catholic) and Julius Sofer (Jewish). Her father worked as a manufacturers representative for the Waldes Kohinoor company. Lilia Skala had two sisters, Lisl (later known in the United States as Elizabeth Polk, later a renowned dance therapy pioneer) and Felicitas ("Lizi"; pronounced Litzi; an infant/baby nurse). All three sisters adopted their mother's gentile maiden name of "Skala" and later emigrated to the United States. Lilia Skala would become a star on two continents. In pre-World War II Austria she starred in famed Max Reinhardt's stage troupe, and in post-war America she would become a notable matronly, award-worthy character star on Broadway and in films.

Gave birth to her 1st child at age 27, a son Peter Skala on September 3, 1924. Child's father was her husband, Erich Skala.

Forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with her Jewish husband, Louis Erich Pollak (who also adopted his mother-in-law's gentile maiden name of "Skala") and two young sons in the late 1930s, Lilia and her family managed to escape (at different times) to England.

Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 38, a son Martin Erich Skala on January 10, 1935. Child's father was her husband, Erich Skala.

In 1939, practically penniless, they immigrated to the USA, where she sought menial labor in New York's garment district. She quickly learned English and worked her way back to an acting career, this time as a sweet, delightful, thick-accented Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee.

She broke through the Broadway barrier in 1941 with "Letters to Lucerne", followed by a featured role in the musical "Call Me Madam" with Ethel Merman.

In the 1950s, she did an extensive tour in "The Diary of Anne Frank" as Mrs. Frank, and performed in a German-language production of Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera".

Lilia became a familiar benevolent face on TV in several early soap operas, including Claudia: The Story of a Marriage (1952).

Grandmother of Christopher Skala (b. November 12, 1961) via son Peter, Libby Skala (b. April 20, 1967) and Emily Skala Hull (b. February 3, 1970) via son Martin.

She won her widest claim to fame, however, as the elderly chapel-building Mother Superior opposite Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field (1963), for which she won both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

That led to more character actress work in films, most notably as the dog-carrying Jewish lady in the star-studded Ship of Fools (1965) and as Jennifer Beals's elderly friend in Flashdance (1983).

On TV she played Eva Gabor's Hungarian mother in Green Acres (1965) and earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the popular miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976)).

Her final film work, occurring in the 1980's, went on to include a touching role as Hanna Long in the hit musical Flashdance (1983), plus parts in Testament (1983), House of Games (1987) and Men of Respect (1990).

She continued filming into her 90th year.

A few years later, on December 18, 1994, Lilia died of natural causes in Bay Shore (Long Island), New York.

She was not shown in the "Memorial Tribute" at the 67th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in 1995, although she died in December 1994 and had been nominated for an Oscar in 1964 for her role in "Lilies on the Field".

Since 2001, actress Libby Skala, Skala's granddaughter has been performing a one-woman show "Lilia!", based on the life of her grandmother, with portrayals of both her grandmother and herself in these shows.