Charles Korvin (born Géza Kárpáthi, November 21, 1907 – June 18, 1998) was a Hungarian-American film, television and stage actor. He was also a professional still and motion picture photographer and a master chef. Korvin was born in Pöstyén,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

''(now Piešťany, Slovakia)'' and studied at the Sorbonne. During his 10 years in France, he was hired by Yvon, the famous French postcard company, shooting on location all over the country. In 1937, he was hired for a CBC documentary film project about the renowned Canadian medical doctor, Norman Bethune. Entitled ''Heart of Spain'', Korvin photographed and co-directed the anti-Franco film which was shot on the front lines during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. Moving to the United States in 1940, Korvin studied acting and stagecraft at the Barter Theater in

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and f ...

. As Géza Korvin, he made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage debut in 1943, playing a Russian nobleman in the play, '' Dark Eyes''. After signing a movie contract with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, he changed his stage name to Charles Korvin. He worked steadily through the 1940s, including appearing in three films with actress Merle Oberon. He was a victim of the

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

around 1952, when he refused to testify before the

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

, and his film career halted. Turning to the newly burgeoning, and much less political, field of broadcast television, Korvin starred in early productions for ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'', '' Studio One'', and '' US Steel Hour''. He played The Eagle for six contiguous episodes on Disney's ''

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

'' and played Latin dance instructor Carlos on ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

'' episode "Mama Loves Mambo". In 1960, he starred as Inspector Duval in the UK/US television series ''

Interpol Calling ''Interpol Calling'' was a 1959 Rank Organisation and Jack Wrather Productions British television crime drama series for ITC Entertainment. The programme, which ran for one series of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes, followed the adventures of ...

'' produced by J. Arthur Rank. During these years, Korvin returned to off-Broadway theater starring as the king in Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' with runs at the

Westbury Music Fair The NYCB Theatre at Westbury (originally known as the Westbury Music Fair) is an entertainment venue located in the hamlet of Jericho, outside of Westbury, New York. Constructed as a theatre in the round style with seating for 2,870 that was ori ...

and the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (co-starring

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

). He was back on Broadway in the mid-1960s starring as the upstairs neighbor in Neil Simon’s

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

winning play, “

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

”. In 1964, he returned to Hollywood to play the ship’s captain in Stanley Kramer’s

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning film, ''

Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...

''. Remaining active in later years, he was the voice of the Red Baron for eight years on television and radio ads for Lufthansa Airlines.

Personal life

For more than 25 years, Korvin, with his wife Anne, were part-of-the-year residents in

Klosters Klosters is a Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. In 2021, the municipality shortened its name to Kl ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he enjoyed skiing, cooking and entertaining with friends and fellow part time residents Irwin and Marion Shaw,

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

Salka Viertel Salka Viertel (15 June 1889 – 20 October 1978) was an Austrian Jewish actress and Hollywood screenwriter. While under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1933 to 1937, Viertel co-wrote the scripts for many movies, particularly those starr ...

, Deborah Kerr, and Gaetan de Rosnay, among others. Korvin claimed to have been

's last dance partner. Julia Child, another long time friend, was interviewed in 1978 by Dick Cavett on his

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television show. When he asked her to name her favorite “amateur” chef, Child replied, “Charles Korvin”.

Partial filmography

* ''

Enter Arsène Lupin ''Enter Arsène Lupin'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Ford Beebe and starring Charles Korvin and Ella Raines. It features the French gentlemen thief Arsène Lupin, a creation of the writer Maurice Leblanc. Lupin keeps watch on a young ...

'' (1944) - Arsene Lupin * ''

This Love of Ours ''This Love of Ours'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Merle Oberon, Claude Rains, Charles Korvin and Carl Esmond. The film's composer, Hans J. Salter, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original ...

'' (1945) - Dr. Michel Touzac * ''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (1946) - Mahoud Baroudi * ''

Berlin Express ''Berlin Express'' is a 1948 American drama film starring Robert Ryan, Merle Oberon and Paul Lukas, and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Thrown together by chance, a group of people search a city for a kidnapped peace activist. Set in Allied-occupi ...

'' (1948) - Perrot * '' The Killer That Stalked New York'' (1950) - Matt Krane * ''

Tarzan's Savage Fury ''Tarzan's Savage Fury'' is a 1952 film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, Dorothy Hart as Jane, and Patric Knowles. While most Tarzan films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s presented Tarzan as a very different character from ...

'' (1952) - Rokov, Russian Agent * ''

Lydia Bailey ''Lydia Bailey'' is a 1952 American historical film directed by Jean Negulesco, based on the novel of the same name by Kenneth Roberts. It stars Dale Robertson and Anne Francis. Plot In 1802, lawyer Albion Hamlin travels from Baltimore to Cap ...

'' (1952) - Col. Gabriel D'autremont * '' Sangaree'' (1953) - Felix Pagnol * ''

Thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

'' (1956) - Pablo Gardia * ''

'' (1965) - Capt. Thiele * ''

The Man Who Had Power Over Women ''The Man Who Had Power Over Women'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by John Krish and starring Rod Taylor, Carol White and James Booth. The screenplay concerns a successful Australian talent agent who grows disenchanted with his life ...

'' (1970) - Alfred Felix * '' Inside Out'' (1975) - Peter Dohlberg

References

Sources

* Lamparski, R. (1986) ''Whatever became of ... ? Tenth series'', Crown Publishers, Inc.: New York. .

External links

* * * (credited as Geza Korvin) * * Finding aid of th
Charles Korvin photographs, circa 1937-1938
collection at Brandeis University Archives & Special Collections.
Charles Korvin: Erinnerungen eines Hollywoodstars aus Ungarn, by Charles Korvin, published by SYNEMA:Gesellschaft für Film und Medien, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korvin, Charles 1907 births 1998 deaths People from Piešťany American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors University of Paris alumni Hungarian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male actors