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Marie Versini as Nscho-chi
Photo:
Rights Managed / Mary Evans / IMAGO
Your name is inextricably linked with the Karl May film series.
At the side of Lex Barker and Pierre Brice, she played Winnetou's little sister Nscho-chi, who fell madly in love with Old Shatterhand.
Marie Versini died on Monday.
Karl May Verlag confirmed this to SPIEGEL with reference to the Versinis family.
A cause of death was initially not known.
The »Bild« had previously reported on the death.
Marie Versini was born in Paris in 1940.
Even as a little girl, her father had just brought her a "Winnetou" book from Germany, she only wanted to be nscho-chee.
So it is written on the Versini homepage.
That years later the chief's son from the book would conquer the screen and she would confess her love to Old Shatterhand - little Marie really could not have imagined that.
Youngest member of the »Comédie Francaise«
At the age of 17 Versini became the youngest member of the »Comédie Francaise«.
She made her first film in 1957 ("A Tale of Two Cities").
In the following years, other French and English films were added ("Mitsou", "Chien de Pique", "Paris Blues"), but they were not shown in Germany.
In 1962, the director Rolf Thiele brought the young French woman to Germany for "The black-white-red four-poster bed".
At the side of Thomas Fritsch, she also inspired Horst Wendlandt, who hired Versini for the role of Nscho-tschi.
"My childhood dream has come true," says Versini's homepage: "A happy time begins."
"Absolute teenage favorite"
In “Winnetou Part 1” this unknown 23-year-old Brice and Barker stole the show.
“In that one role, she became a teenage favorite.
For years she was the ›Bravo‹ star number one, "Michael Petzel, head of the Karl May Archive in Göttingen, once told the dpa news agency:" It's fascinating how her hearts flew to her and she became a figure of identity, even at the time of the beginning student revolt, when the Karl May wave had long since subsided. "
Mario Adorf also felt how great the love he had for Nscho-chi.
The actor, who played Nscho-chi's murderer Santer in the film, said a few years ago: "I keep meeting people who say: I haven't forgiven you for many years that you shot Nscho-chi.
I hated you for it. "
Marie Versini died on Monday with her family.
She was 81 years old.
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