Biography
Born on 3 May 1902 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, Walter Slezak died on 21 April 1983 in Flower Hill, New York, USA. As the son of celebrated opera singer Leo Slezak, he caught the attention of director Miháli Kertész, who would later adopt the name Michael Curtiz. Kertész urged him toward a career as a stage and screen performer, leading to Slezak’s screen debut in the director’s Sodom Und Gomorrha (1922). After achieving moderate success in romantic parts and completing Eros En Ketten (1930), he relocated to the United States, where he appeared in several Broadway dramas before entering Hollywood features in 1942.
His expanding girth soon brought casting as a heavy in numerous dramas and comedy-dramas. One musical credit, Step Lively (1944), paired him with Frank Sinatra and George Murphy and allowed him to display his lighter comedic touch. He portrayed the principal villain, Don Pedro, in The Pirate (1948), opposite Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. In the screen adaptation of Irving Berlin’s Broadway success Call Me Madam (1953), Slezak supplied strong support to Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor, George Sanders, and Vera-Ellen.
He stepped away from motion pictures to join the 1955 Broadway cast of Fanny, starring Florence Henderson and Ezio Pinza, and earned a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of the altruistic Panisse. That same decade he performed in a 1957 New York Metropolitan Opera production of The Gypsy Baron. In 1958 he shared the stage with Jayne Meadows in the mystery The Gazebo, which completed 218 performances at the Lyceum Theatre. Films from the late 1950s through the early 1970s alternated between comedy and drama and included Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm (1962), Emil And The Detectives (1964), Dr. Coppelius (1966), Black Beauty (1971), and Treasure Island (1972). Many of these later projects were shot in Europe, where Slezak spent portions of his final years. Distressed by declining health, he took his own life shortly before turning 81.
His expanding girth soon brought casting as a heavy in numerous dramas and comedy-dramas. One musical credit, Step Lively (1944), paired him with Frank Sinatra and George Murphy and allowed him to display his lighter comedic touch. He portrayed the principal villain, Don Pedro, in The Pirate (1948), opposite Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. In the screen adaptation of Irving Berlin’s Broadway success Call Me Madam (1953), Slezak supplied strong support to Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor, George Sanders, and Vera-Ellen.
He stepped away from motion pictures to join the 1955 Broadway cast of Fanny, starring Florence Henderson and Ezio Pinza, and earned a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of the altruistic Panisse. That same decade he performed in a 1957 New York Metropolitan Opera production of The Gypsy Baron. In 1958 he shared the stage with Jayne Meadows in the mystery The Gazebo, which completed 218 performances at the Lyceum Theatre. Films from the late 1950s through the early 1970s alternated between comedy and drama and included Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm (1962), Emil And The Detectives (1964), Dr. Coppelius (1966), Black Beauty (1971), and Treasure Island (1972). Many of these later projects were shot in Europe, where Slezak spent portions of his final years. Distressed by declining health, he took his own life shortly before turning 81.