Walter Slezak

Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood productions.

Slezak typically portrayed wily and loquacious characters, often philosophical, and often with a taste for food, drink, and fine living. He played a crafty villain as a U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat (1944), a charming, two-timing major domo to a tycoon in Come September (1961), and a wandering gypsy in The Inspector General (1949). He stood out as shrewd, unscrupulous private investigators in film noir, as in Cornered (1945) and Born to Kill (1947).

Early life Slezak was born in Vienna, the son of opera tenor Leo Slezak and Elisabeth "Elsa" Wertheim. He studied medicine for a time and later worked as a bank teller. His older sister Margarete Slezak was also an actress.

Career Slezak was talked into taking his first role, in the 1922 Austrian film Sodom und Gomorrah, by his friend and the film's director, Michael Curtiz.

Slezak acted in radio in such shows as Lux Radio Theater, Columbia Workshop, The Pepsodent Show, and The Charlie McCarthy Show. He made numerous television appearances, including in the programs The Loretta Young Show, This Is Show Business, Playhouse 90, and Studio One. He starred in an unsold television pilot, Slezak and Son, that aired in 1960 as an episode of the anthology series New Comedy Showcase, and appeared as The Clock King in episodes 45 and 46 of TV series Batman in 1966.

In 1959/60, Slezak appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in Johann Strauss's operetta Der Zigeunerbaron. In the 1970s, Slezak played the non-singing role of Frosch, the jailer, in the San Francisco Opera production of Johann Strauss's operetta Die Fledermaus. Later film roles in Britain included the Cliff Richard vehicle Wonderful Life (1964) and Black Beauty (1971).

Personal life Slezak married Johanna "Kaasi" Van Rijn on 10 October 1943. The couple had three children: Ingrid, Erika, and Leo. Erika went on to become an Emmy-winning actress, and starred as Victoria Lord on the long-running soap opera One Life to Live from 1971 to its cancellation in 2012. In 1974, Slezak appeared on the series as her character's godfather, Lazlo Braedecker.

Death On 21 April 1983, Slezak died from a self-inflicted gunshot. He was buried in the grave of his parents in the cemetery of St. Laurentius Church, a Catholic parish in Egern, Bavaria.

Autobiography Slezak's autobiography, What Time's the Next Swan? was published in 1962. The book's title refers to an alleged incident in the career of his father, heldentenor Leo Slezak. During a performance in the title role of Lohengrin, the elder Slezak was supposed to finish his aria by stepping into a swan boat and then being pulled offstage. When a stagehand removed the boat prematurely, Slezak supposedly reacted to the error by asking the audience "What time's the next swan?"

Awards In 1955, Slezak won a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of Fanny.

Complete filmography Year Film Role Notes 1922 Sodom and Gomorrah Eduard Harber / Goldsmith 1924 Michael Michael My Leopold Leopold 1925 Oh Those Glorious Old Student Days Sumpf und Moral 1926 Give My Regards to the Blonde Child on the Rhine Watch on the Rhine Walter Thiermann Marccos tollste Wette Young Blood Oberprimaner The Sea Cadet 1927 Wie bleibe ich jung und schön - Ehegeheimnisse Goodbye Youth Mario The Right to Live The Lorelei The Ways of Love Are Strange Florizel The Long Intermission Ottokar The Standard-Bearer of Sedan 1928 Single Mother Almenrausch and Edelweiss Mentel Das Hannerl von Rolandsbogen 1929 Osudné noci Bellini Eros in Chains Heinz Ewer 1932 Spies at the Savoy Hotel Kurt 1942 Once Upon a Honeymoon Baron Franz von Luber 1943 This Land Is Mine Major Erich von Keller The Fallen Sparrow Dr. Christian Skaas 1944 Lifeboat Willi Step Lively Joe Gribble Till We Meet Again Vitrey, The Mayor The Princess and the Pirate La Roche 1945 Salome, Where She Danced Dimitrioff The Spanish Main Don Juan Alvarado Cornered Melchior Incza 1947 Sinbad the Sailor Melik Born to Kill Arnett Riffraff Molinar 1948 The Pirate Don Pedro Vargas 1949 The Inspector General Yakov 1950 The Yellow Cab Man Dr. Byron Dokstedder Spy Hunt Doctor Stahl Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion Sgt. Axmann 1951 Bedtime for Bonzo Prof. Hans Neumann People Will Talk Prof. Barker 1953 Confidentially Connie Emil Spangenberg Call Me Madam August Tantinnin White Witch Doctor Huysman 1954 The Steel Cage Louis 1956 The Good Fairy Max Sporum TV movie 1957 Ten Thousand Bedrooms Papà Vittorio Martelli Pinocchio Geppetto TV movie 1959 The Miracle Flaco A Doll's House Presenter TV movie A Christmas Festival Mr. Really-Big TV movie 1961 Come September Maurice Clavell 1962 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Stossel 1963 A Cry of Angels George Frideric Handel TV movie 1964 Wonderful Life Lloyd Davis Emil and the Detectives Baron 1965 The Man Who Bought Paradise Captain Meers TV movie 24 Hours to Kill Malouf A Very Special Favor Etienne 1966 Congress of Love Museum Guide Dr. Coppelius Dr. Coppelius Batman Clock King 1967 The Caper of the Golden Bulls Antonio Gonzalez 1968 Heidi Father Richter TV movie 1970 The Juggler of Notre Dame The Innkeeper 1971 Black Beauty Hackenschmidt 1972 Treasure Island Squire Trelawney 1976 The Mysterious House of Dr. C Dr. Coppelius