Kurt Kasznar
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| Kurt Kasznar | |
|---|---|
 from the trailer for the film Lili (1953) |
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| Born | August 13, 1913 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | August 6, 1979 (aged 65) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Kurt Kasznar (August 13, 1913 – August 6, 1979) was a stage, film, and television actor.
Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married an Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he played 12 roles. In 1941, he was drafted into the United States Army. He was trained as a cinematographer and later served in the Pacific. He was assigned to an army photographic unit and was part of the team that filmed the signing of the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri.
Kasznar's first major Broadway appearance was in The Happy Time. (He recreated his role for the film version and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.) He also appeared on Broadway in Barefoot in the Park, Waiting for Godot, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and The Sound of Music, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.
Kasznar appeared in more than 80 films and television shows, and had a regular role in the 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.
Kasznar died of cancer in Santa Monica, California.
[edit] Private Life
Kasznar married American heiress Cornelia Whooley in 1938; she died in 1948. They had one daughter, journalist Susan Lee Kasznar.
In 1950, while working on Broadway, he met his second wife, actress Leora Dana. They were married from 1950 to 1958.
[edit] External links
