Zoltán Latinovits (Budapest, September 9, 1931 – Balatonszemes, June 4, 1976) was a Hungarian actor, arguably the most significant one of the twentieth century.
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His mother divorced his father Oskar Latinovits in 1941 and married István Frenreisz, a doctor, with whom she had two more children (István, who became an actor under the name István Bujtor, and musician Károly). He began his school career in 1937, when he was enrolled to the Damjanich Street Primary School in Budapest, and graduated with excellent results in 1949 at the Szent Imre Gimnázium (St. Emery Secondary School). He became a carpenter and worked for a bridge building firm. He was substitute basketball player for Haladás SE from 1951, and was also a good sailor. From 1952 he studied at the Technical University of Budapest and became involved in a drama group. He became a civil engineer in 1956.
He started his professional acting career after various stints in student and amateur productions.
1956-1959. Debrecen, Csokonai Theatre.
1959-1961. Miskolc, National Theatre.
1961-1962. Debrecen, Csokonai Theatre.
1962-1966. Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre). One of his most successful roles performed there was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in 1963, playing with Éva Ruttkai, his later wife.
1966-1968. Thália Theatre.
1969-1971. Vígszinház.
19671-1976. Veszprém, Petőfi Theatre, where he was able to realise his long time dream of being able to direct.
One of the best performer of the poetry of Attila József, Gyula Illyés and Endre Ady.
Performed in numerous films from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. One of the most famous is Szindbád (1971), based on the short stories by Gyula Krúdy and directed by Zoltán Huszárik.
Latinovits was run over by a train at the station of Balatonszemes near Lake Balaton in 1976. Though the official statements talked of suicide, it never became fully clear whether he had jumped deliberately in front of the train or whether his death was an accident.[1] His death immediately became a romanticized legend, also due to the similarities with the suicide of poet Attila József, of whose poems Latinovits had been one of the foremost interpreters.
1973. Ködszurkáló (Skywriter) 1985. Emlékszem a röpülés boldogságára (collected works)
(1966) – Jászai Mari prize (1970) – Balázs Béla prize (1975) – Significant artist (1989) – Kossuth prize (posth.)