Gábor Faludi

Gábor Faludi (May 1, 1846 – May 4, 1932) was a theatre manager in Budapest, Hungary, a founder and manager of the Vígszínház (properly anglicized as the Comedy Theatre) and a major player in the theatre boom in Budapest at the start of the 20th century.

Gábor Faludi was born in Tét on May 1, 1846 as Gábor Waltersdorf according to the entry in the Jewish parish register of Téthszentkút (later known as Téth or Tét). His parents were Salamon Waltersdorf and Rozália (Szali) Klein, both local merchants. His sons Miklós, Jenő, and Sándor later became involved in the family theatre business while his daughter Hermina married Jenő Vázsonyi, the President of the Hungarian State Railway. The original family name suggests that the family may find its roots in the Austrian town of Bad Waltersdorf, located about 150 kilometers west of Téth.

Of his early life we do not know much, only that until 1878 he was a businessman in Devecser, and in the same year he moved to Budapest and developed the first theatre ticket booth system in the country, which he then leased out. In 1896 along with Count István Keglevich and the writer Ferenc Szécsi he founded the Vígszínház and got a considerable stake in the theatre, and at the same time he began managing the theatre's financial aspects. When Keglevich and Szécsi decided to give up their ties to the theatre after disagreements, Faludi took over full control of managing the theatre himself. In 1917 he also began to lease the Városi Színház (City Theatre).

Starting with the founding of the Vígszínház in 1896, it began to play an important part in Hungarian theatrical life. In the beginning it was rather the novelty of its play's styles and the frivolity of its plays that garnered it attention. From 1907 it became a considerable factor in literary life as it also transformed into the home of the contemporary Hungarian modern drama. The common opinion understood the fact that this theatre was also a profitable business venture, and slowly they began to regard it as a national cultural establishment. The Vígszínház in the first place became the representative symbol of Lipótváros, which was at the time the focal point and residence of the city's quickly assimilating German and Jewish residents. It conjured memories of the economic success following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, of happy peaceful times, even of the First World War due to the astounding success of its performances between 1915 and 1918, as well as the shared experiences of citizens.

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