Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi | |
|---|---|
_trailer.jpg) Varconi in trailer for Roberta (1935) | |
| Born | Mihály Várkonyi 31 March 1891 |
| Died | 6 June 1976 (aged 85) Santa Barbara, California, US |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1913–1959 |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Aranyosy (m. 1919–1949) (her death) Lilliane Varconi (m. ?–1976)[1] |
Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi, 31 March 1891 – 6 June 1976) was a highly successful silent film actor in Hungary.
Biography
Born in Kisvárda, Austria-Hungary, Varconi was the first Hungarian actor to make a film in the United States. His normal speaking accent sounded almost exactly like that of Transylvanian Bela Lugosi.
He worked under contract to Cecil B. DeMille, and played Pontius Pilate in DeMille's 1927 production of The King of Kings.
Because of his accent, Varconi's popularity waned with the advent of sound films and he was cast in smaller parts, often playing Hispanic characters. He worked on the New York City stage and wrote for radio.
He died from a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California on 6 June 1976 at the age of 85. He was interred at the Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles, California, US.
Selected filmography
- The Yellow Foal (1913)
- Bánk Bán (1914)
- Miska the Magnate (1916)
- St. Peter's Umbrella (1917)
- A 99-es számú bérkocsi (1918)
- White Rose (1919)
- The Red Peacock (1920)
- Masters of the Sea (1922)
- A Vanished World (1922)
- The Blood (1922)
- Sunken Worlds (1922)
- Sodom and Gomorrah (1922)
- Der Junge Medardus (1923)
- Die Lawine (1923)
- Namenlos (1923)
- Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo (1924)
- Triumph (1924)
- Changing Husbands (1924)
- Feet of Clay (1924)
- Dancing Mad (1925)
- The Last Days of Pompeii (1926)
- Silken Shackles (1926)
- The Volga Boatman (1926)
- The King of Kings (1927)
- The Angel of Broadway (1927)
- The Forbidden Woman (1927)
- Chicago (1927)
- Tenth Avenue (1928)
- Sinner's Parade (1928)
- The Divine Lady (1929)
- Eternal Love (1929)
- You'll Be in My Heart (1930)
- Doctors' Wives (1931)
- The Black Camel (1931)
- Men in Her Life (1931)
- Safe in Hell (1931)
- The Rebel (1932)
- The Song You Gave Me (1933)
- Menace (1934)
- Roberta (1935)
- A Feather in Her Hat (1935)
- Dancing Pirate (1936)
- The Plainsman (1936)
- Big City (1937)
- Suez (1938)
- Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
- Everything Happens at Night (1939)
- Strange Cargo (1940)
- The Sea Hawk (1940)
- Federal Fugitives (1941)
- They Raid By Night (1942)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
- The Hitler Gang (1944)
- Scotland Yard Investigator (1945)
- Unconquered (1947)
- Where There's Life (1947)
- The Atomic Submarine (1959)
References
- ^ "Várkonyi Mihály Életrajz". www.szineszkonyvtar.hu.
External links
- Works by or about Victor Varconi at the Internet Archive
- Victor Varconi at IMDb
- Victor Varconi at the Internet Broadway Database
- Photographs and literature
- Victor Varconi at Find a Grave
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1891 births
- 1976 deaths
- People from Kisvárda
- Hungarian male silent film actors
- 20th-century Hungarian male actors
- American male film actors
- American male silent film actors
- American male television actors
- Hungarian emigrants to the United States
- Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States
- American people of Hungarian descent
- 20th-century American male actors
- Burials at Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles