Romantic lead and then (due to his increasing weight) character player, discovered by Michael Curtiz in Hungary in 1922. Slezak began appearing in German films that year and moved to the US, initially as a stage actor, in 1930. His screen roles were often as heavies, notably in "This Land is Mine" (1943) and "Lifeboat" (1944). Like his father, Leo Slezak (1873-1946), he was also a gifted opera singer. Daughter Erika Slezak has appeared on daytime soaps.
- Born:
May 3, 1902 in Vienna, Austria
- Died:
April 21, 1983.
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Job Titles:
Actor, Opera singer, Bank clerk
Family
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Daughter: Erika Slezak. born 1946
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Daughter: Ingrid Slezak.
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Father: Leo Slezak. born 1873, died 1946
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Son: Leo Slezak. worked in theater in Vienna as an assistant stage director
Milestones
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1922 Screen debut, Sodom und Gomorrah
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1922 Worked as bank clerk when discovered by director Michael Kertesz (later Curtiz)
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1930 Moved to US
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1931 Broadway debut
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1942 US film debut, Once Upon a Honeymoon
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1959 US opera debut in The Gypsy Baron at the Metropolitan Opera
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1974 Played daughter Erika Slezak s godfather on her daytime soap opera, One Life to Live