News has emerged that former Eurovision entrant Margot Hielscher has died, aged 97. She represented Germany in back-to-back contests in 1957 and 1958.

Margot was born in 1919 in Berlin. During the 1940s she became a film star before having a go at the fledgling Eurovision Song Contest. In 1957, when the West German selection was run by Hessischer Rundfunk, based in Frankfurt-am-Main. The national selection of four songs was won by Margot with the song ‘Telefon, telefon’; one of the first Eurovision songs to use a prop. It was written Friedrich Meyer and Ralph Maria Siegel (no, not him, but his father).

Margot came fourth out of 10 songs. He she is with the song that was the home entry.

In 1958, ARD took the West German national final to Dortmund. Margot beat a field of 12 songs, which earned her the jaunt to Hilversum, then the home of Dutch radio. Ten songs took part in the Contest, and Margot came seventh out of 10, with ‘Für zwei Groschen Musik’ (Music for two pennies) written by Friedrich Meyer, Fred Rauch and Walter Brandin.

Here she is, with more props!

In the 1960s, she hosted her own talkshow produced by Bayerischen Fernsehen of Bavaria. Her entertainment career continued into the 1990s and into the 21st Century, mainly as a star of stage.

Her last major appearance was 2011, when she was interviewed from her home in Munich.

Our thoughts are with her family at this time.

Author: John Stanton

Source: Youtube, Eurovision Ireland, Der Spiegel