Turhan Bey
Turhan Bey , actually Turhan Gilbert Selahettin Şahultavi , (born March 30, 1922 in Vienna , Austria ; † September 30, 2012 there ) was an Austrian actor and photographer. He was a popular lead actor in Hollywood in the 1940s.
Live and act
The son of a Turkish diplomat and a Czech Jew emigrated with his mother to the USA via Switzerland and Paris after the Nazis invaded Vienna in 1940 . At first they lived in Princeton with his uncle, who worked as a mathematician for Albert Einstein . The uncle planned a career as a mathematician for his nephew. However, the boy had no ambitions in this direction, so he persuaded his mother to move to California because of the milder climate. They rented a house in Beverly Hills and Şahultavi attended Ben Bard's Dramatic School to improve his English and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California .
When he was shown at his school, he was discovered by talent scouts for the Warner Brothers and hired in 1941 for the film Footsteps in the dark with Errol Flynn . This laid the foundation for his film career.
Film career
He adopted the stage name Turhan Bey and embodied European aristocrats, mysterious Orientals and agents in the following film engagements. He was under contract with Universal Studios and played alongside Katharine Hepburn , Walter Huston , Boris Karloff , Peter Lorre , Brenda Marshall , María Montez , Merle Oberon and other well-known actors.
Towards the end of the war , Bey was drafted into military service. A lot had changed when he got back. Universal Studios had changed hands and his contract was sold to Eagle-Lion Studios . Bey had an affair with Lana Turner for over a year . Turhan Bey had a friendly relationship with Ava Gardner . With these he made other films. After the end of the war, he decided in 1953 to end his film career in the USA and return to his native Austria and his hometown Vienna with his mother and grandmother. However, there they were faced with problems. Their former home had been " Aryanized " and it took some time before they got their property back. Bey took over some cinemas, in the meantime traveled to the USA for filming and devoted himself to his other passion, the photography of landscapes and beautiful women.
In 1993 it experienced a renaissance on television. After an appearance in the television series SeaQuest DSV , after a 40-year hiatus from filming, a number of other international film and television roles followed. For example, Bey took part in two episodes of the science fiction series Babylon 5 ; in one of them he played the Emperor of the Centauri people , who remained nameless in this episode, but was mentioned in later episodes as Emperor Turhan . In season five he played Sech Turval. He also made a guest appearance on the crime series Murder is Her Hobby with Angela Lansbury .
In 2002 the documentary was released from luck pursued. Vienna - Hollywood - Retour by Andrea Eckert on the life of Turhan Bey, who was also shown at the Viennale . On the occasion of his 90th birthday, Austrian Post issued a special stamp with a portrait of the actor.
Bey was buried on the urn wall of the Simmering fire hall (Dept. ML, Gr. 23, No. 1G) in Vienna.
Filmography
- 1941: Shadows on the Stairs
- 1941: Mr. X going astray (Footsteps in the Dark)
- 1941: Raiders of the Desert
- 1941: Burma Convoy
- 1941: The Gay Falcon
- 1942: Bombay Clipper
- 1942: Unseen Enemy
- 1942: Junior G-Men of the Air
- 1942: Drums of the Congo
- 1942: The Falcon Takes Over
- 1942: Danger in the Pacific
- 1942: Destination Unknown
- 1942: The Mummy's Tomb
- 1942 Arabian Nights (Arabian Nights)
- 1943: The Adventures of Smilin 'Jack
- 1943: Curse of the Temple Gods (White Savage)
- 1943: Captive Wild Woman (voice only, as narrator)
- 1943: Spy on the Orient Express (Background to Danger)
- 1943: Crazy House
- 1943: The Mad Ghoul
- 1944: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- 1944: Follow the Boys (as himself)
- 1944 dragon's (Dragon Seed)
- 1944: The Climax
- 1944: Bowery to Broadway
- 1945: Frisco Sal
- 1945: Sudan
- 1946: Night in Paradise
- 1947: Out of the Blue
- 1948: Adventures of Casanova
- 1948: The Amazing Mr. X
- 1948: Parole, Inc.
- 1949: The bride of the Maharajah (Song of India)
- 1953: Prisoners of the Casbah
- 1993: seaQuest DSV (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1994: Scourge of Lust (Possessed by the Night)
- 1994: Healer
- 1995: Murder is her hobby ( Murder, She Wrote , TV series, 1 episode)
- 1995: VR.5 (TV series, 1 episode)
- 1995: Grid Runners - In the race against the future (Virtual Combat)
- 1995/1998: Babylon 5 (TV series, 2 episodes)
- 1997: The Visitor - Escape from Space ( The Visitor ; TV series, 1 episode)
Web links
- Turhan Bey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dennis Hevesi: Turhan Bey, Actor With Continental Charm, Dies at 90. in: The New York Times of October 11, 2012. (Obituary, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Turhan Bey: Turkish Hollywood star dies in Austria on deutsch-tuerkische-nachrichten.de, accessed on May 23, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d e f Persecuted by luck. Vienna - Hollywood - Retour - Portrait of Hollywood actor Turhan Bey on andrea-eckert.com, accessed on May 23, 2014.
- ↑ Turhan Bey ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on matineeclassics.com, accessed May 23, 2014.
- ↑ Turhan Bey - Biography on tcm.com, accessed May 23, 2014.
- ↑ Haunted by luck. Vienna - Hollywood - Retour on viennale.at, accessed on May 23, 2014.
- ↑ Turhan Bey: The last of a great Hollywood era turns 90 on nachrichten.at, accessed on May 23, 2014.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bey, Turhan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Şahultavi, Turhan Gilbert Selahattin (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian actor and photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 30, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna , Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 30, 2012 |
| Place of death | Vienna , Austria |