Alfred Sandor (November 5, 1918 – September 22, 1983), born Alfred Sandwina, and billed early in his career as Al Sandwina, was a Hungarian-born American and Australian

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

and singer. He was also credited as Al Sander and Al Sandor.

Early life and career

Sandor was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

during the turmoil of the Hungarian Revolutions and Interventions, He spent his early years travelling with the circus, where his mother,

Katie Sandwina Katie Sandwina (born Katharina Brumbach and also known as Katie Brumbach; 1884 – 21 January 1952) was an Austrian-American circus strongwoman. Life in the circus Katie Brumbach was one of fourteen children born to circus performers Phil ...

, was a circus strongwoman, and he had a background as a ringmaster. After a brief career working as a boxer in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he was a spy behind enemy lines during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Acting career

After World War II he returned to America, where he established himself as an actor, appearing in Broadway productions and musical theatre. On US television he appeared on ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...

'', in a single episode of ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'' in 1968 (playing Sheriff George Patterson) and on ''

Our Five Daughters ''Our Five Daughters'' was a daytime soap opera that ran on NBC from January 2 to September 28, 1962. The show was written by Leonard Stadd and directed by Paul Lammers, and aired for a half-hour, five days a week, at 3:30 PM EST, right afte ...

''. His theatre work included

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televis ...

'', and ''

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'' opposite

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...

. His film work included ''

The Return of Captain Invincible ''The Return of Captain Invincible'' is a 1983 Australian superhero musical comedy film directed by Philippe Mora, and starring Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee. It was a box office disappointment on release but has become a cult film since then. ...

''. Sandor later travelled to Australia (where he took up citizenship), to appear in a touring production of ''Plaza Suite'', the play ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...

'' (with

Lorraine Bayly Lorraine Daphne Bayly AM (born 16 January 1937) is an Australian retired actress of film, television and theatre, narrator, presenter, singer, dancer, pianist and theatre director, stage manager and writer. Bayly has been a performer since s ...

and Mona Richardson'' Theatre Australia'', September, 1980
Page 45 NSW THEATRE
/ref>), and he appeared in the film ''

Nickel Queen ''Nickel Queen'' is a 1971 Australian comedy film starring Googie Withers and directed by her husband John McCallum. The story was loosely based on the Poseidon bubble, a nickel boom in Western Australia in the late 1960s, and tells of an outback ...

'', whilst doing television work with roles in ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when rotated by 180 degrees. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiper ...

'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'', '' Boney'' and '' The Evil Touch''. However, he would become best known for his long-running role as the "dandy" surgeon Dr. Raymond Shaw in the Australian television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

''. An original cast member of the serial, he continued in the role for six years, leaving around 20 episodes before the programme's conclusion due to ill health.

Death

After suffering from ill health for some time, he died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in Sydney, Australia in 1983, aged 64.

References

External links

* * * American male soap opera actors American male television actors Deaths from lung cancer in Australia 1918 births 1983 deaths Deaths from cancer in New South Wales 20th-century American male actors Hungarian emigrants to Australia Hungarian emigrants to the United States {{US-tv-actor-1910s-stub