Charles Puffy (born Károly Hochstein; 3 November 1884 – 1942 or 1943) was a Hungarian film actor.

Biography

Hochstein appeared in more than 130 films between 1914 and 1938. He was the only

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

star in Hungary's silent film era, appearing under the name "Pufi" (meaning "Fatty" in Hungarian, referring to his weight) and Carlie Puffy in the United States for Universal Studios. His other stage names were Károly Huszár or Pufi Huszár. Besides his work on films, he frequently appeared on stage, mostly in comical roles. Later, he worked in films in both Germany and the United States, including such classics as

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

's '' Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler'' (''Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler'') (1922) and

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the Silent film, silent to the Sound film, sound era, during which he worked with mos ...

's ''

Der blaue Engel ''The Blue Angel'' () is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredited ...

'' (''The Blue Angel'') (1930). He used the names "Karl Huszar", "Karl Huszar-Puffy" or "Charles Puffy". In the sound era, he returned to his native Hungary, where he was featured in smaller roles in a number of films. Puffy was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and decided to flee Hungary when the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

started. He and his wife tried to get away to the United States, but Puffy died mid-way, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Other sources say that he and his wife were captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and imprisoned in a

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

in Karaganda,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. Puffy participated in the camp's amateur acting company, but after one year in capture, he died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

Partial filmography

* '' Tavasz a télben'' (1917) * '' Az Ezredes'' (1917) aka ''The Colonel'' * '' St. Peter's Umbrella'' (1917) * '' Lili'' (1918) * '' The Three Aunts'' (1921) * '' About the Son'' (1921) * '' The Convict of Cayenne'' (1921) * '' The Earl of Essex'' (1922) * '' Open All Night'' (1924) * '' The Great Unknown'' (1924) * '' The Love Thief'' (1926) * '' The Mystery Club'' (1926) * '' A Man's Past'' (1927) * '' The Private Life of Helen of Troy'' (1927) * '' Love Me and the World Is Mine'' (1928) * ''

The Man Who Laughs ''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in Engl ...

'' (1928) * '' Yellow Lily'' (1928) * '' My Heart is a Jazz Band'' (1929) * '' The Hero of Every Girl's Dream'' (1929) * '' Land Without Women'' (1929) * '' My Sister and I'' (1929) * '' Father and Son'' (1929) * '' My Daughter's Tutor'' (1929) * '' Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame'' (1929) * ''

The Great Longing ''The Great Longing'' () is a 1930 Cinema of Germany, German comedy film directed by Steve Sekely in his directorial debut and starring Camilla Horn, Theodor Loos, and Harry Frank. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were de ...

'' (1930) * ''

Next, Please! ''Next, Please!'' () is a 1930 German comedy film directed by Erich Schönfelder and starring Charles Puffy, Adele Sandrock, and Albert Paulig. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Gustav A. Knauer and Willy Schiller. It was releas ...

'' (1930) * '' The King of Paris'' (1930) * '' The Adventurer of Tunis'' (1931) * '' A Crafty Youth'' (1931) * '' The Yellow House of Rio'' (1931) * '' My Cousin from Warsaw'' (1931) * '' Twice Married'' (1930) * '' The Mad Bomberg'' (1932) * '' Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932) * '' Scandal in Budapest'' (1933) * ''

The Rakoczi March ''The Rakoczi March'' () is a 1933 drama film directed by Gustav Fröhlich and Steve Sekely and starring Fröhlich, Leopold Kramer and Camilla Horn. It was a International co-production, co-production between Austria, Germany and Hungary.Dassa ...

'' (1933) * '' Miss Iza'' (1933) * '' Romance in Budapest'' (1933) * '' Little Mother'' (1935) * '' Help, I'm an Heiress'' (1937) * ''

Man Sometimes Errs ''Man Sometimes Errs'' (Hungarian: ''Az ember néha téved'') is a 1938 Hungarian comedy film directed by Béla Gaál and starring Antal Páger, Anna Tõkés and Margit Dajka.Cunningham p.227 The film's sets were designed by the art director M ...

'' (1938)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puffy, Charles 1884 births 1942 deaths Hungarian male silent film actors Hungarian expatriates in Germany Hungarian expatriates in the United States Hungarian expatriates in Japan Male actors from Budapest Silent film comedians 20th-century Hungarian male actors Hungarian male film actors Jewish Hungarian actors People who died in the Gulag