Kurt Kasznar
| Kurt Kasznar | |
|---|---|
from the trailer for the film Lili (1953)
|
|
| Born |
Kurt Servischer August 12, 1913 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | August 6, 1979 (aged 65) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1924–1978 |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelia Woolley (1939–1948) Leora Dana (1950–1958) |
Kurt Kasznar (born Kurt Servischer; August 12, 1913 – August 6, 1979) was an Austrian-American stage, film, and television actor who played roles on Broadway, appearing in the original productions of Waiting for Godot, The Sound of Music and Barefoot in the Park and had many notable parts in television and feature films.
"A big, glib, dapper man who spoke with an accent, he was almost always cast as some sort of a Continental gentleman," reported The New York Times.
As a soldier in World War II, Kasznar was among the first U.S. Army photographers to film the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Kurt Kasznar was born Kurt Servischer on August 12, 1913, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (today: Austria). His father left the family when Kurt was very young. After his mother married Hungarian restaurateur Ferdinand Kasznar, Kurt assumed his surname. While working as an apprentice waiter at his stepfather's restaurant, Kasznar met director Max Reinhardt and enrolled in his seminars. "There I learned to act, write, build sets and live," Kasznar said later.
At age 11 Kasznar appeared in Der Zirkuskönig (The King of the Circus, 1924), the last movie made by Max Linder, which was filmed in Vienna. Kasznar began working on the stage in 1931, in a performance of Jedermann (Everyman) at the Salzburg Festival.
In 1936 Kasznar left Austria for the United States, with Max Reinhardt's theater company. He appeared in Reinhardt's production of The Eternal Road, playing the role of Zebulon in the premiere performance July 7, 1937, and performing at least a dozen roles during the three-month Broadway run of the epic production.
...
Wikipedia