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Kurt Kasznar

January 07, 2023

Kurt Kasznar (born Kurt Servischer; August 13, 1913 – August 6, 1979) was an Austrian-American stage, film and television actor who played roles on Broadway, appearing in the original Broadway productions of Waiting for Godot, The Sound of Music and Barefoot in the Park. He also appeared in feature films and had many notable parts in television, including the science fiction series Land of the Giants.

Kurt Kasznar
from the trailer for the film Lili (1953)
Born
Kurt Servischer

(1913-08-13)August 13, 1913
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
DiedAugust 6, 1979(1979-08-06) (aged 65)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1924–1978
Spouse(s)
Cornelia Woolley
​
​
(m. 1939; died 1948)​

​
​
(m. 1950; div. 1958)​

"A big, glib, dapper man who spoke with an accent, he was almost always cast as some sort of a Continental gentleman," reported The New York Times.

As a soldier in World War II, Kasznar was among the first U.S. Army photographers to film the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[1]

Early life

Kurt Kasznar was born Kurt Servischer on August 13, 1913, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. His family was Jewish.[2] His father left the family when Kurt was very young. After his mother married Hungarian restaurateur Ferdinand Kasznar, Kurt assumed his surname. While working as an apprentice waiter at his stepfather's restaurant, Kasznar met director Max Reinhardt and enrolled in his seminars. "There I learned to act, write, build sets and live," Kasznar said later.[1]

At age eleven Kasznar appeared in Der Zirkuskönig (The King of the Circus, 1924), the last movie made by Max Linder, which was filmed in Vienna. Kasznar began working on the stage in 1931, in a performance of Jedermann (Everyman) at the Salzburg Festival.[1]

Career

In 1936 Kasznar left Austria for the United States, with Max Reinhardt's theater company.[3] He appeared in Reinhardt's production of The Eternal Road, playing the role of Zebulon in the premiere performance July 7, 1937,[4] and performing at least a dozen roles during the three-month Broadway run of the epic production.[1]

In 1941 Kasznar produced a two-act Broadway musical revue, Crazy With the Heat,[5] which ended as a financial failure. Later that year he was drafted into the United States Army. He was trained as a cinematographer and later served in the Pacific. Assigned to a photographic unit, he filmed landings on New Guinea and in the Philippines, and the signing of the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri. He was one of the first Army photographers to film the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[1]

While in service, Corporal Kurt S. Kasznar wrote and performed in his only play, First Cousins, which he dedicated "to the thousands of foreign-born American soldiers." Kasznar's play was one of five that won a contest for soldier-playwrights and were published in the 1943 book The Army Play by Play. The one-act plays were performed on Broadway[6] for the benefit of the Sailors and Soldiers Club, and were later staged at Hyde Park for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In his 2004 study, Staging the War: American Drama and World War II, Albert Wertheim calls First Cousins — which tied for fourth place in the competition — "by far the most effective play in The Army Play by Play collection."[7]

Kasznar's first major Broadway appearance was in the 1950 production of Samuel A. Taylor's play, The Happy Time. He recreated his role, that of Uncle Louie, for the 1952 film version and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Kasznar also appeared on Broadway as the director in Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author (1955–1956), and he played Pozzo in the original Broadway production of Waiting for Godot (1956).

 
William Shatner (Archie Goodwin) and Kurt Kasznar (Nero Wolfe) in the CBS-TV series Nero Wolfe (1959)

While performing on stage in Noël Coward's Look After Lulu! in March 1959, Kasznar was also playing detective Nero Wolfe in what would have been television's first series based on Rex Stout's characters. Co-starring William Shatner as Archie Goodwin and initially slated to air on CBS in September 1959, the Nero Wolfe series was aborted after a pilot and a few episodes were filmed.[8][9]

 
Kurt Kasznar and Stefan Arngrim in Land of the Giants, circa 1969

Kasznar created the role of Max Detweiler in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music (1959–1963), for which he received a Tony Award nomination. "When that musical had marked its 1,000th performance, Mr. Kasznar was the only actor who had never missed a show," reported The New York Times.[1] He was discussed as a possibility to re-create his stage role in the film version of The Sound of Music, but the role went to Richard Haydn. He debuted the role of Victor Velasco in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963–1967).

He appeared as Tevye in several productions of Fiddler on the Roof.[10] In 1974–1975 Kasznar, Myrna Loy, Edward Mulhare and Ricardo Montalbán toured nationwide in John Houseman's production of George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, playing 158 cities in six months.[11] In 1978 he played Mansky in Molnár's The Play's the Thing with "enormous authority," wrote New York Times critic Mel Gussow. "It is the kind of character he has played often, and consummately, on stage and in films."[1]

Kasznar appeared in more than 80 films and television shows, and had a regular role in the Irwin Allen science fiction television series Land of the Giants as Alexander Fitzhugh. His feature films included Lili, Kiss Me Kate, The Last Time I Saw Paris, My Sister Eileen, A Farewell to Arms and 55 Days at Peking.

Private life

Kasznar married American heiress Cornelia Woolley following her 1939 divorce from her second husband.[12] The daughter of a New York woolen merchant, Woolley was widely known in the theater world for her philanthropy. She died at home unexpectedly in June 1948, at age 48; at the time, Kasznar was performing in John Houseman's Broadway production of Joy to the World.[13]

Kasznar met his second wife, actress Leora Dana, when they worked together in the Broadway production of The Happy Time (1950). They married in 1950 and divorced in 1958.

Death

Kasznar died on August 6, 1979, one week before his 66th birthday, in Santa Monica, California. Ten months earlier, he had been diagnosed with cancer. He had no known survivors.[1]

Partial filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Fraser, C. Gerald (August 8, 1979). "Kurt Kasznar dies; Broadway actor". Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  2. ^ Caryl Flinn, The Sound of Music, Macmillan International Higher Education (2015), p. 41
  3. ^ Kurt Kasznar obituary, Associated Press, August 8, 1979. Katz, Ephraim, The Film Encyclopedia. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1998 (Third Edition) ISBN 0-06-273492-X p. 727
  4. ^ Atkinson, Brooks, "The Play: 'The Eternal Road'". The New York Times, January 8, 1937
  5. ^ Crazy With the Heat at the Internet Broadway Database
  6. ^ The Army Play by Play at the Internet Broadway Database
  7. ^ Wertheim, Albert, Staging the War: American Drama and World War II. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2004 ISBN 0-253-34310-0, pp. 126, 132–134, 299. First Cousins is collected in The Army Play by Play: Five One-Act Plays (New York: Random House, 1943).
  8. ^ Staff (March 14, 1959). "Two Stage Actors Signed by C.B.S.-TV: Kasznar and Shatner to Play in 'Nero Wolfe' Pilot Film — 'Telephone Hour' Plans". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2013. Shepard, Richard F., The New York Times, April 9, 1959.
    Ewald, William F., Television in Review (syndicated column), April 9, 1959.
  9. ^ "Television's Lost Classics Volume 2: Rare Pilots". MVD Entertainment Group. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  10. ^ Wertheim, Albert, Staging the War: American Drama and World War II. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2004 ISBN 0-253-34310-0, p. 299
  11. ^ Loy, Myrna, and James Kotsilibas-Davis, Being and Becoming. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987; ISBN 0-394-55593-7 pp. 339–340
  12. ^ Walter Winchell, Walter Winchell On Broadway, syndicated column, Palm Beach Daily News, March 21, 1939. "Transcontinental Romance Nears Altar in Los Angeles", Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1939
  13. ^ Mrs. Kurt S. Kasznar (obituary), The New York Times, June 21, 1948. "Besides her husband, Mrs. Kasznar leaves a daughter by a previous marriage, Cornelia Hopkins Woolley."

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurt Kasznar.

January 07, 2023
kurt, kasznar, born, kurt, servischer, august, 1913, august, 1979, austrian, american, stage, film, television, actor, played, roles, broadway, appearing, original, broadway, productions, waiting, godot, sound, music, barefoot, park, also, appeared, feature, f. Kurt Kasznar born Kurt Servischer August 13 1913 August 6 1979 was an Austrian American stage film and television actor who played roles on Broadway appearing in the original Broadway productions of Waiting for Godot The Sound of Music and Barefoot in the Park He also appeared in feature films and had many notable parts in television including the science fiction series Land of the Giants Kurt Kasznarfrom the trailer for the film Lili 1953 BornKurt Servischer 1913 08 13 August 13 1913Vienna Austria HungaryDiedAugust 6 1979 1979 08 06 aged 65 Santa Monica California U S OccupationActorYears active1924 1978Spouse s Cornelia Woolley m 1939 died 1948 wbr Leora Dana m 1950 div 1958 wbr A big glib dapper man who spoke with an accent he was almost always cast as some sort of a Continental gentleman reported The New York Times As a soldier in World War II Kasznar was among the first U S Army photographers to film the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Private life 4 Death 5 Partial filmography 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditKurt Kasznar was born Kurt Servischer on August 13 1913 in Vienna Austria Hungary His family was Jewish 2 His father left the family when Kurt was very young After his mother married Hungarian restaurateur Ferdinand Kasznar Kurt assumed his surname While working as an apprentice waiter at his stepfather s restaurant Kasznar met director Max Reinhardt and enrolled in his seminars There I learned to act write build sets and live Kasznar said later 1 At age eleven Kasznar appeared in Der Zirkuskonig The King of the Circus 1924 the last movie made by Max Linder which was filmed in Vienna Kasznar began working on the stage in 1931 in a performance of Jedermann Everyman at the Salzburg Festival 1 Career EditIn 1936 Kasznar left Austria for the United States with Max Reinhardt s theater company 3 He appeared in Reinhardt s production of The Eternal Road playing the role of Zebulon in the premiere performance July 7 1937 4 and performing at least a dozen roles during the three month Broadway run of the epic production 1 In 1941 Kasznar produced a two act Broadway musical revue Crazy With the Heat 5 which ended as a financial failure Later that year he was drafted into the United States Army He was trained as a cinematographer and later served in the Pacific Assigned to a photographic unit he filmed landings on New Guinea and in the Philippines and the signing of the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri He was one of the first Army photographers to film the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1 While in service Corporal Kurt S Kasznar wrote and performed in his only play First Cousins which he dedicated to the thousands of foreign born American soldiers Kasznar s play was one of five that won a contest for soldier playwrights and were published in the 1943 book The Army Play by Play The one act plays were performed on Broadway 6 for the benefit of the Sailors and Soldiers Club and were later staged at Hyde Park for President Franklin D Roosevelt In his 2004 study Staging the War American Drama and World War II Albert Wertheim calls First Cousins which tied for fourth place in the competition by far the most effective play in The Army Play by Play collection 7 Kasznar s first major Broadway appearance was in the 1950 production of Samuel A Taylor s play The Happy Time He recreated his role that of Uncle Louie for the 1952 film version and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance Kasznar also appeared on Broadway as the director in Pirandello s Six Characters in Search of an Author 1955 1956 and he played Pozzo in the original Broadway production of Waiting for Godot 1956 William Shatner Archie Goodwin and Kurt Kasznar Nero Wolfe in the CBS TV series Nero Wolfe 1959 While performing on stage in Noel Coward s Look After Lulu in March 1959 Kasznar was also playing detective Nero Wolfe in what would have been television s first series based on Rex Stout s characters Co starring William Shatner as Archie Goodwin and initially slated to air on CBS in September 1959 the Nero Wolfe series was aborted after a pilot and a few episodes were filmed 8 9 Kurt Kasznar and Stefan Arngrim in Land of the Giants circa 1969 Kasznar created the role of Max Detweiler in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music 1959 1963 for which he received a Tony Award nomination When that musical had marked its 1 000th performance Mr Kasznar was the only actor who had never missed a show reported The New York Times 1 He was discussed as a possibility to re create his stage role in the film version of The Sound of Music but the role went to Richard Haydn He debuted the role of Victor Velasco in Neil Simon s Barefoot in the Park 1963 1967 He appeared as Tevye in several productions of Fiddler on the Roof 10 In 1974 1975 Kasznar Myrna Loy Edward Mulhare and Ricardo Montalban toured nationwide in John Houseman s production of George Bernard Shaw s Don Juan in Hell playing 158 cities in six months 11 In 1978 he played Mansky in Molnar s The Play s the Thing with enormous authority wrote New York Times critic Mel Gussow It is the kind of character he has played often and consummately on stage and in films 1 Kasznar appeared in more than 80 films and television shows and had a regular role in the Irwin Allen science fiction television series Land of the Giants as Alexander Fitzhugh His feature films included Lili Kiss Me Kate The Last Time I Saw Paris My Sister Eileen A Farewell to Arms and 55 Days at Peking Private life EditKasznar married American heiress Cornelia Woolley following her 1939 divorce from her second husband 12 The daughter of a New York woolen merchant Woolley was widely known in the theater world for her philanthropy She died at home unexpectedly in June 1948 at age 48 at the time Kasznar was performing in John Houseman s Broadway production of Joy to the World 13 Kasznar met his second wife actress Leora Dana when they worked together in the Broadway production of The Happy Time 1950 They married in 1950 and divorced in 1958 Death EditKasznar died on August 6 1979 one week before his 66th birthday in Santa Monica California Ten months earlier he had been diagnosed with cancer He had no known survivors 1 Partial filmography EditThe Light Touch 1951 as Mr Aramescu Anything Can Happen 1952 as Nuri Bey Talk About a Stranger 1952 as Matlock Lovely to Look At 1952 as Max Fogelsby The Happy Time 1952 as Uncle Louis Bonnard The Bad and the Beautiful 1952 as Party Guest uncredited Lili 1953 as Jacquot Sombrero 1953 as Father Zacaya Ride Vaquero 1953 as Father Antonio Kiss Me Kate 1953 as Baptista All the Brothers Were Valiant 1953 as Quint Give a Girl a Break 1953 as Leo Belney The Great Diamond Robbery 1954 as Louie Valley of the Kings 1954 as Hamed Backhour The Last Time I Saw Paris 1954 as Maurice Jump into Hell 1955 as Capt Jean Callaux My Sister Eileen 1955 as Papa Appopolous Flame of the Islands 1956 as Cyril Mace Anything Goes 1956 as Victor Lawrence A Farewell to Arms 1957 as Bonello Legend of the Lost 1957 as Prefect Dukas Arms and the Man 1958 as Major Petkoff Frauensee 1958 as Nathanael Dobbs The Journey 1959 as Csepege For the First Time 1959 as Ladislas Tabory 55 Days at Peking 1963 as Baron Sergei Ivanoff Code Name Heraclitus 1967 as Constantine Casino Royale 1967 as Smernov The King s Pirate 1967 as Zucco The Perils of Pauline 1967 as Consul General The Ambushers 1967 as Quintana Land of the Giants 1968 1970 as Alexander Fitzhugh Here s Lucy 1 episode Lucy and the Group Therapy 1971 Hawkins as John Carraza 1 episode Murder on the 13th Floor 1973 Wonder Woman 1 episode Judgment from Outer Space 1977 References Edit a b c d e f g h Fraser C Gerald August 8 1979 Kurt Kasznar dies Broadway actor Retrieved February 29 2016 Caryl Flinn The Sound of Music Macmillan International Higher Education 2015 p 41 Kurt Kasznar obituary Associated Press August 8 1979 Katz Ephraim The Film Encyclopedia HarperCollins Publishers Inc 1998 Third Edition ISBN 0 06 273492 X p 727 Atkinson Brooks The Play The Eternal Road The New York Times January 8 1937 Crazy With the Heat at the Internet Broadway Database The Army Play by Play at the Internet Broadway Database Wertheim Albert Staging the War American Drama and World War II Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press 2004 ISBN 0 253 34310 0 pp 126 132 134 299 First Cousins is collected in The Army Play by Play Five One Act Plays New York Random House 1943 Staff March 14 1959 Two Stage Actors Signed by C B S TV Kasznar and Shatner to Play in Nero Wolfe Pilot Film Telephone Hour Plans The New York Times Retrieved November 4 2013 Shepard Richard F The New York Times April 9 1959 Ewald William F Television in Review syndicated column April 9 1959 Television s Lost Classics Volume 2 Rare Pilots MVD Entertainment Group Retrieved October 18 2018 Wertheim Albert Staging the War American Drama and World War II Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press 2004 ISBN 0 253 34310 0 p 299 Loy Myrna and James Kotsilibas Davis Being and Becoming New York Alfred A Knopf 1987 ISBN 0 394 55593 7 pp 339 340 Walter Winchell Walter Winchell On Broadway syndicated column Palm Beach Daily News March 21 1939 Transcontinental Romance Nears Altar in Los Angeles Los Angeles Times June 27 1939 Mrs Kurt S Kasznar obituary The New York Times June 21 1948 Besides her husband Mrs Kasznar leaves a daughter by a previous marriage Cornelia Hopkins Woolley External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurt Kasznar Kurt Kasznar at the Internet Broadway Database Kurt Kasznar at IMDb Kurt Kasznar biography actordatabase com accessed July 2 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kurt Kasznar amp oldid 1126891795, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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