Interview with Renate Haller

by Gwen Lord.

(First published in the HNUK newsletter, November 1997)

I would like to thank you Renate, so very much for this interview.

You're more than welcome, Gwen.

The breathtaking art you so lovingly lavish on the fans of the cult TV series Beauty and the Beast, makes us the envy of other fandoms.

Thank you.

The fans are always keen to know if your art will be in certain Beauty and the Beast fanzines and because of this, they ask me endless questions about you. This interview should fill in the gaps, where their questions now lie waiting for answers.

Sure, so what do you want to know?

Where you were born, your family, when you first started drawing, etc. etc...

I was born on May 8th, 1951, in South Tyrol, the provincial capital is Bozen; the German South Tyrol has been a part of Italy since 1919. I'm an only child.

Are you married, Renate?

Yes I am, my husband is called Hartmann and we have been married over 25 years, it was our Silver Wedding last year.

Any children?

Yes, we have a lovely daughter, Beatrix, she is a school teacher, teaching mathematics, which she loves so much.

In what part of the South Tyrol do you live?

A place called St.Pauls/Eppan. Our country is very mountainous, with very rich forests, intensively cultivated from the vineyards and apple plantations in the valleys to the highest mountain formsteads. It is quite near to Austria and Switzerland.

Austria ... that's where another wonderful Beauty and the Beast artist lives, Rosemarie Hauer!

Yes, I met Rosemarie for the first time in 1991, at a Beauty and the Beast gathering of the 'Tunnel Community' in Germany.

When did you first start drawing?

Oh! I've always loved drawing, since childhood, it was always important to me. I didn't draw much until Beauty and the Beast entered my life. I did not go to an art school like you did Gwen, but I did attend a couple of drawing and painting courses, but it was pretty boring really. So I changed courses, dropping landscapes for nude and portrait, this I loved very much. But only when I saw Vincent and Catherine that it sparked off in me a need to draw them, it was like an inner voice telling me. I listened and the joy and fulfilment it gives me, I never thought possible.

Have you ever been to England?

No, sadly I haven't and I've never attended a British or USA convention, just the German ones. Rosemarie and I meet up once a year, to share the love we feel for Beauty and the Beast since 1989. It is a deep love we share for this special show.

Do you have a special favourite episode?

Yes, but it's hard to say which one I like best, apart from the usual ones that most fans love. A Happy Life, Orphans, I also like Brothers.

Have you ever met any of the cast?

Yes, I met Roy Dotrice, David Greenlee and Jo Anderson here in the German Gathering.

Do you draw other subjects?

I do portraits, caricatures, wine bottle labels, all on request, but Vincent and Catherine have captured my heart for ever.

Thank goodness, Renate, as your art in the fanzines and calendars, keep alive our fantasy and our dreams.

Thank you, Gwen.