Vic Oliver

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Victor Oliver von Samek (born July 8, 1898 in Vienna , † August 15, 1964 in Johannesburg , South Africa ) was an Austro-British comedian and actor .

Life

Oliver was born as Victor Oliver von Samek in Austria . His father was Baron Viktor von Samek. After attending school and participating in the First World War as a member of the k. And k. Army , he studied medicine at the University of Vienna , but gave up his studies to turn to music.

In the 1920s he made his way as a bank clerk and textile manufacturer before he returned to music: in 1926 he came to the United States as a conductor and violinist , where he discovered his talent for comedy, so that he continued to work in this field. In 1929 he received an engagement at the Palace Theater in New York . In 1931 he moved to the Palladium in London , where he quickly became a popular entertainer . In the following years he appeared in musical revues, variety shows and as a pantomime . He subsequently received his own entertainment program on British radio, titled hi, gang! was broadcast. He also founded the Vic Oliver Concert Orchestra, which focuses on the performance light classical light music specialist.

At the end of the 1930s, the National Socialist police officers classified Oliver as an important target due to his - according to National Socialist definition - Jewish descent and his family relationship with Winston Churchill : In the spring of 1940, the Reich Security Main Office in Berlin put him on the special wanted list GB , a directory of people which the Nazi surveillance apparatus regarded as particularly dangerous or important, which is why they should be located and arrested with special priority in the event of a successful invasion and occupation of the British Isles by the Wehrmacht by the occupying troops following special SS units.

In 1953, Oliver developed the radio show Variety Playhouse , which offered the audience music, comic interludes and dramatic scenes.

family

In 1936 Oliver married the actress Sarah Churchill , a daughter of the British politician - and later Prime Minister - Winston Churchill , whom he had met as a colleague at a joint review . The marriage was divorced in 1945. His second marriage was in 1946 with Natalie Frances Conder; the couple had a daughter. Family members still live in Vienna.

Fonts

  • Mr. Show Business . (Autobiography)

Filmography

  • 1936: Rhythm in the Air
  • 1937: Who's Your Lady Friend?
  • 1938: Meet Mr. Penny
  • 1938: Around the Town
  • Room for Two , 1940.
  • Hi gang! , 1941.
  • He Found a Star , 1941.
  • Give Us the Moon , 1944.
  • I'll Be Your Sweetheart , 1945.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry on Olivier on the special wanted list GB (reproduced on the website of the Imperial War Museum in London) .
personal data
SURNAME Oliver, Vic
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Samek, Victor Oliver von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-British comedian and actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH 15th August 1964
Place of death Johannesburg , South Africa