Kurt Kasznar

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Kurt Kasznar , born Kurt Serwicher or Kurt Servicher , (born August 12, 1913 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary , † August 6, 1979 in Santa Monica , California ) was an Austrian- American actor .

Life

At the age of ten he was already standing by Max Linder's side in front of a film camera . He worked in the Salzburg restaurant of his stepfather Ferdinand Kasznar until he was 18. At the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna he trained as an actor. In 1933, a year after his debut, he went to the Schauspielhaus Zürich . In 1935 he accepted Max Reinhardt's invitation to the USA, but then Kasznar returned and took part in the 1936 Salzburg Festival . In January 1937 he went back to the USA to take up an offer in the film The Eternal Road .

It was not until the " Anschluss of Austria " in 1938 that Kasznar finally stayed in the USA. He performed on New York stages, married the wealthy American Cornelia Wooley, and became an American citizen. In 1940/41 he directed and produced the play Crazy With the Heat .

In 1941 he was drafted into the US Army. He worked as a cameraman and reporter in the Pacific. Kasznar was part of the team that began the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri . In June 1943 he brought the one-act play First Cousin to the performance, in which he was also involved as a co-author.

From 1948 he played again regularly on Broadway . 1951 began his real career as a film actor . He embodied shady, bizarre, sometimes funny characters. His role in the film My Son Discovered Love earned him a 1953 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In the 1960s he was mainly a television actor who appeared in numerous series.

After the death of his first wife in 1948, he was married to the actress Leora Dana from 1950 until the divorce in 1958 . The journalist Susan Kasznar comes from his first marriage .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kasznar, Kurt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Serwicher, Kurt (maiden name); Servicher, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1979
Place of death Santa Monica , California , United States