Walter Slezak (3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was a portly
Austrian character
actor who appeared in numerous
Hollywood films.
Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat engineer in
Alfred Hitchcock's 1944
Lifeboat, but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in 1962's
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. He also played a cheerfully corrupt and philosophical private detective in the 1947
film noir Born to Kill and appeared as Squire Trelawney in the 1972 version of
Treasure Island.
Career
Born in
Vienna,
Austria, the son of famed opera tenor
Leo Slezak, 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 Gomorrha, 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.
His first American film was 1942's
Once Upon a Honeymoon, appearing opposite
Ginger Rogers and
Cary Grant.
He worked steadily and appeared in over 100 films including
The Princess and the Pirate,
The Spanish Main,
Sinbad the Sailor,
Born to Kill,
Call Me Madam and
Treasure Island.
Slezak played the lead in
Broadway musicals, including
Fanny, for which he won the
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Slezak acted in radio in such shows as
Lux Radio Theater,
Columbia Workshop,
The Pepsodent Show, and
The Charlie McCarthy Show. He made numerous television appearances, including in the programs
Playhouse 90 and
Studio One, and he appeared as "
The Clock King" on
Batman in 1966.
His autobiography,
What Time's the Next Swan? was published in 1962. The book's title refers to an alleged incident in the career of his father,
heldentenor Leo Slezak. During a performance in the title role of
Lohengrin, the elder Slezak was supposed to finish his aria by stepping into a swan boat and then being pulled offstage. When a stagehand removed the boat prematurely, Slezak supposedly covered for the error by asking the audience "What Time's the Next Swan?".
Personal life
Slezak married Johanna "Kaasi" Van Rijn on October 10, 1943. The couple had three children: Ingrid,
Erika, and Leo. Erika went on to become an
Emmy-winning actress, and has starred as
Victoria Lord on the long-running soap opera
One Life to Live since 1971. In 1974 Slezak appeared on the series as her character's godfather, Lazlo Braedecker.
On April 21, 1983, shortly before his 81st birthday, Slezak died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was reportedly despondent over his advanced physical illness.
[Portrait of the actor Walter Slezak by Thomas Staedeli] He is buried at Egern Friedof in
Munich, Germany.
[Walter Slezak (1902 - 1983) - Find A Grave Memorial]
Awards
In 1955, Slezak won a
Tony Award for his role in the
Broadway production of
Fanny.
Partial filmography
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