Walter Slezak
| Walter Slezak | |
|---|---|
Slezak as Mister Geppetto, 1957
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| Born |
3 May 1902 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 21 April 1983 (aged 80) Flower Hill, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Self-inflicted gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Rottach-Egern, Germany |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Other names | Walt Slezak |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1922–1980 |
| Spouse(s) | Johanna Van Rijn (1943–1983; his death) |
| Children | Erika, Ingrid, Leo (Jr.) |
| Parent(s) | Leo and Elsa (née Wertheim) Slezak |
| Awards | Tony Award (1955) |
Walter Slezak (German pronunciation: [ˌvaltɐ ˈslɛzak]) (3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born character actor and singer who appeared in German films before migrating to the US in 1930 and featuring in numerous Hollywood productions.
Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat (1944), but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). He also played a cheerfully corrupt and philosophical private detective in the film noir Born to Kill (1947) and appeared as Squire Trelawney in Treasure Island (1972).
Born in Vienna, the son of opera tenor Leo Slezak and Elsa Wertheim, he studied medicine for a time and later worked as a bank teller. He was talked into taking his first role, in the 1922 Austrian film Sodom und Gomorrah, by his friend and the film's director, Michael Curtiz.
In his early movie career, before he gained a great deal of weight, Slezak was cast as a thin leading man in silent films. He also acted on the stage for many years, debuting on Broadway in 1931. In Vienna in the 1930s, Slezak was close friends with heiress Maria Altmann and her family.
His first American film was Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942), with Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. He worked steadily and appeared in over 100 films including The Princess and the Pirate (1944), The Spanish Main (1945), Sinbad the Sailor (1947), Born to Kill (1947), Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950), People Will Talk (1951), and Call Me Madam (1953).
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