Lilia Skala

She was one of the first women architects in Austria and was the first female member of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. She graduated from the University of Dresden Summa cum Laude; the institution is now known as the Technical University of Dresden, located in Germany. Her life was the subject of the eponymous one-woman play Lilia!, written and performed by her granddaughter Libby Skala.

• Name — Lilia Skala • Birth Name — Lilia Sofer • Born — 28 November 1896 • Birthplace — Vienna, Austria-Hungary • Died — 18 December 1994 • Place of death — Bay Shore, New York, U.S. • Resting Place — Lakeview Cemetery New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S. • Education — Technische Hochschule Dresden • Occupation — Architect Actress • Years Active — 1931–1990 • Children — 2

Skala was born Lilia Sofer in Vienna. Her mother, Katharina Skala, was Roman Catholic, and her father, Julius Sofer, was Jewish and worked as a manufacturer's representative for the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company. She was one of the first women to graduate in architecture and engineering from the University of Dresden, then practiced architecture professionally in Vienna. In the late 1930s, she was forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with her husband, Louis Erich Skala, and their two young sons. (Lilia and Erich adopted the non-Jewish sounding surname of Lilia's mother.) Skala and her husband managed to escape (at different times) from Austria and eventually settled in the United States.

According to a short memoir by Skala's son Peter, Skala developed an interest in theatre when she was 14 or 15 years old. However, Skala's parents were conservative and preferred Skala to pursue a career that was more "respectable". At that time, women were not allowed to study at the University of Vienna, so Skala's parents had to send her to the TU of Dresden in Germany. Although it is unclear why Skala choose to study architecture, she excelled in the field and graduated Summa cum Laude. Skala returned to Vienna and continued to practice architecture after the completion of her undergraduate degree. About a year after the birth of Skala's son, she enrolled in acting lessons and renewed her interest in theatre. As her creative talents unfurled, Skala appeared in television shows and serials from 1952 to 1985, such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965. As Grand Duchess Sophie, Skala kept company on Broadway with Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, not too many years after toiling in a Queens, New York zipper factory as a non-English-speaking refugee from Austria. She played Lisa Douglas’s mother, the Countess, on Green Acres in the 1960s. She was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her most famous role as the Mother Superior in 1963's Lilies of the Field. Skala also appeared in Ship of Fools (1965), Charly (1968), Deadly Hero (1976), Eleanor and Franklin (1976), Roseland (1977), Heartland (1979) Flashdance (1983), and House of Games (1987).

Skala was a Christian Scientist. She was introduced to the religion in Vienna in the 1920s.

• Film • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1931 — Purpur und Waschblau — Leonore von Cadour - Hofdame der Fürstin • 1931 — Man braucht kein Geld — Uncredited • 1933 — Madame wünscht keine Kinder — Uncredited • 1936 — Girls' Dormitory — Fräulein Hell • 1936 — Flores de Nice • 1937 — Unentschuldigte Stunde • 1953 — Call Me Madam — Grand Duchess Sophie • 1963 — Lilies of the Field — Mother Maria • 1965 — Ship of Fools — Frau Hutten • 1967 — Caprice — Madame Piasco • 1968 — Charly — Dr. Anna Straus • 1976 — Deadly Hero — Mrs. Broderick • 1977 — Roseland — Rosa (The Peabody) • 1979 — Heartland — Mrs. Landauer • 1981 — The End of August — Mlle. Reisz • 1983 — Flashdance — Hanna Long • 1983 — Testament — Fania • 1987 — House of Games — Dr. Littauer • 1990 — Men of Respect — Lucia

The authorities additionally record the headings Lilia Sofer and Lilia Skalla. Her recorded languages were English and German. Her recorded confession was Christian Science.