If you’ve ever sat through the 1942 classic Casablanca, you know Paul Henreid. He’s Victor Laszlo—the noble resistance leader, the man who stood up to the Nazis, the guy who made Humphrey Bogart look just a little bit grumpy by comparison. But behind the suave, cigarette-lighting legend was a woman whose name rarely makes the marquee today: Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck.
Most people just called her "Lisl."
She wasn't a starlet. She wasn't chasing a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Honestly, she was something much more interesting—a constant in a life that was constantly in upheaval. To understand Lisl is to understand the actual reality of "Old Hollywood" displacement. It wasn't all glitz; for many, it was about survival, fleeing a crumbling Europe, and building a life in a zip code that felt like another planet.
The Vienna Years: Life Before the Storm
Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck was born on July 31, 1908. Vienna was the center of the world then. Her father, Gustav Glück, was a heavyweight in the art world—a renowned art historian and the director of the Imperial Gallery. You’ve got to imagine the household: high-brow discussions, intellectual rigor, and deep roots in Austrian culture.
Lisl grew up in a world of refined stability. Then she met Paul.
At the time, Paul Henreid (then Paul von Hernreid) was a burgeoning talent. They married on New Year’s Day, 1936. It sounds romantic, right? A New Year’s wedding in Vienna. But the timing was harrowing. The shadow of the Third Reich was stretching over Austria. Being part of the intellectual and artistic elite didn't mean you were safe; it often meant you were a target.
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Fleeing the Reich
Lisl wasn't just a passenger in Paul’s career; she was his partner in a literal escape. Paul was fiercely anti-Nazi, a stance that made staying in Austria a death sentence. By 1938, they had to move. Fast.
They went to London first. Paul was branded an "official enemy of the state" back home, and their assets were seized. Imagine going from the daughter of a prestigious gallery director to a refugee in London, hoping the government doesn't deport you.
Eventually, they made it to the United States in 1940.
A lot of people think the transition for European actors was seamless because they were "famous." It wasn't. It was gritty. Lisl was the one managing the household, the one navigating the cultural whiplash of moving from the baroque streets of Vienna to the frantic energy of New York City, and finally, the manufactured sunshine of Los Angeles.
Life in the Pacific Palisades
Once Paul became a household name—thanks to Now, Voyager and Casablanca—the Henreids settled into life in the Pacific Palisades. This wasn't the "Bling Ring" version of Hollywood. It was a community of European exiles.
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Lisl and Paul adopted two daughters, Monica and Mimi.
- They lived a life that was surprisingly grounded.
- Lisl maintained their European traditions in a very American setting.
- She stayed out of the tabloids, which, frankly, is a feat in itself for a "Hollywood wife."
What most people get wrong is the idea that Lisl was just a "socialite." If you look at the archives and the way their daughter Monica speaks of her, she was the emotional backbone. When Paul was blacklisted during the McCarthy era—yes, the man who played Victor Laszlo was actually targeted for his "liberal" views—Lisl didn't flinch.
The industry turned its back on Paul for a while. He went from leading man to a guy who had to direct TV episodes just to pay the bills. Lisl stayed.
Why the "Gluck" Name Matters
There is often some confusion online because the name "Gluck" is associated with other famous figures, like the poet Louise Glück. While they shared an era and a penchant for intellectual depth, Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck was her own person. She belonged to that specific generation of women who were educated to be leaders but were often relegated to "support" roles by the era's social scripts.
She died on February 27, 1993, in San Diego, just a year after Paul passed away. They were married for 56 years.
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In a town known for five-minute marriages and public meltdowns, a 56-year partnership is basically a miracle. You don't get that by being a "trophy wife." You get that by being Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck—someone who survived a world war, a total loss of status, a move across the globe, and the fickle nature of show business.
Takeaways for History Buffs
If you're looking into the life of Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck, don't just look for her in the credits of movies. Look for her in the margins of history.
- Research the "Exile" Community: To understand Lisl, look up the "Weimar on the Pacific." It was a group of European intellectuals in LA that she was a part of.
- Check the Paul Henreid Memoirs: Paul wrote an autobiography called Ladies Man. While the title sounds cheeky, it gives a lot of credit to Lisl for keeping their family together during the war years.
- Visit the Archives: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences often has bits and pieces of their personal correspondence that show a much more complex woman than the "wife" label suggests.
Lisl Gluck is a reminder that the most interesting people in Hollywood history are often the ones who weren't trying to be famous at all. They were just trying to be human in a world that had gone a little bit crazy.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era of Hollywood and the real people behind the legends, here is where you should start:
- Read "City of Nets" by Otto Friedrich. It’s the best book for understanding what Los Angeles was really like for European refugees in the 1940s. It puts Lisl's experience in a much broader, more intense context.
- Watch "Now, Voyager." Pay attention to Paul Henreid’s performance. Now that you know his wife was the one who helped him navigate the stress of being an "enemy of the state" back home, his "noble" characters feel a lot more grounded in reality.
- Explore the Glück family tree. Her father, Gustav Glück, is a fascinating figure in his own right. Understanding the world she came from—one of high art and European academia—makes her transition to the "New World" much more impressive.
The history of Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck isn't just a footnote; it's a blueprint for resilience.