Ferenc Zenthe (born Ferenc Rameshofer; 20 April 1920 – 30 July 2006) was a Hungarian actor, honored with being chosen as an Actor of the Nation, the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...

and the

Meritorious Artist Merited Artist, Honored Artist, etc., is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union Republics, and autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern Bloc states, as well as in a number of post-Soviet states. In Russian language ...

Award of Hungary. Best known from the historical series '' A Tenkes Kapitánya'' and pioneering soap opera ''

Szomszédok ''Szomszédok'' (, ''Neighbours'') was a Hungarian television series that ran for 331 episodes between 1987 and 1999 and airing its grand finale on 31 December 1999. The series aired on state-owned broadcaster Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Televis ...

'', he was regarded as one of the great talents of his generation.

Life and career

Ferenc Zenthe was born on 20 April 1920 in Salgóbánya (now part of

Salgótarján Salgótarján (; , German: ''Schalgau'') is a city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád County, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third least populous county capital. The nearby Salgó Castle is a well-known tourist attra ...

) as the only son of a 50-year-old mining engineer. He attended the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

high school of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

, then attended four semesters in the University of Economics in Budapest, which he left to join the Academy of Performing Arts in 1941, but ended his studies after one year because of

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 ...

. He joined the

National Theatre of Pécs The National Theatre of Pécs is the main theatre of Pécs, Hungary. History Theatrical plays became a regular attraction in the city from the beginning of the 19th century in German and Hungarian language. Most often they were arranged in larger ...

in 1945, and after two seasons, the Kisfaludy Theatre of Győr (now the National Theatre of Győr). In 1949 he joined the Csokonai Theatre of Debrecen, and in 1952 the Madách Theatre of Budapest, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Beloved by the audience from the start of his career, he received numerous film and television roles in the restarting Hungarian film industry. His first role was the one of army general Sándor Nagy in ''Föltámadott a Tenger'', then the leading role of ''Rákóczi hadnagya''. This followed a series of romantic/comedic roles: a ''Kétszer kettő néha 5'', ''Mese a 12 találatról'', ''Kölyök'', ''Fapados szerelem''. In 1963 he got the leading role of the first series produced by the Hungarian Television: ''A Tenkes kapitánya'' (The Captain of Tenkes). As the leery Máté Eke in one of the greatest success of early Hungarian television, Zenthe's fame grew potentially. He led the cast of the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-nominated '' The Revolt of Job'' in 1983. Beside movies and stage roles, he was mainly known from TV series like ''Tüskevár'', ''Fekete Város'', ''Bors'', and particularly ''

'': from 1987, he formed the grumbling old taxi driver Uncle Taki in the first sitcom of the Hungarian Television, which achieved cult status in its 12-year run. Ferenc Zenthe also performed numerous voiceovers, and was the cast member of Europe's longest running radio play, ''Szabó család'', for which he recorded scenes even from his deathbed . Ferenc Zenthe died of pneumonia on 30 July 2006, and was buried in the

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery (, ) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a cemetery). It compris ...

Awards

* 1954, 1968

Jászai Mari Award The Jászai Mari Award is a state award, which was created by the Hungarian government in 1953 as an award for theatrical arts. The award was named in honour of the Hungarian actress Mari Jászai Mari Jászai (born Mária Krippel; 24 February ...

* 1975 Merited Artist Award * 1984 Award of Film Critics * 1989 Distinguished Artist Award * 1992 Erzsébet Award * 1993 Award of the Hungarian Actor's Guild * 1995 Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic, Officer's Cross * 1997

* 2000 Honorary citizenship in

Siklós Siklós ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Šikloš, Шиклош) is the 4th largest town in Baranya county, Hungary. The Malkocs Bey Mosque was built by the order of the Malkoçoğlu family. Ottoman conquest During Sultân Süleymân's 1543 campa ...

* 2003 Honorary citizenship in his hometown of

* 2005 Hungarian Heritage Award * 2005 Actor of the Hungarian Nation

Filmography

* ''Föltámadott a tenger'' (1953) * ''Kétszer kettő néha 5'' (1954) * '' Rakoczy's Lieutenant'' (1954) * ''

Leila and Gábor ''Leila and Gábor'' (Hungarian: ''Gábor diák'') is a 1956 Hungarian historical musical film directed by László Kalmár and starring Ferenc Zenthe, Marianne Krencsey and Imre Sinkovits. An operetta film, it is inspired by the 1905 stage wor ...

'' (1956) * ''

Tale on the Twelve Points ''Tale on the Twelve Points'' (Hungarian: ''Mese a 12 találatról'') is a 1957 Hungarian sports film, sports comedy film directed by Károly Makk and starring Klári Tolnay, Ferenc Zenthe and István Somló. It was shot at the Hunnia Studios in ...

'' (1957) * ''A nagyrozsdási eset'' (1957) * '' A Quiet Home'' (1958) * '' What a Night!'' (1958) * ''Szerelem csütörtök'' (1959) * ''

Sleepless Years ''Sleepless Years'' (Hungarian: ''Álmatlan évek'') is a 1959 Hungarian drama film directed by Félix Máriássy and starring Éva Ruttkai, Géza Tordy, and Éva Vass.Rîpeanu p.91 It was shot at Hunnia Studios in Budapest. The film's sets w ...

'' (1959) * ''Kard és kocka'' (1959) * ''Kölyök'' (1959) * ''Fapados szerelem'' (1960) * ''Az arc nélküli város'' (1960) * ''Alázatosan jelentem!'' (1960) * ''Felmegyek a miniszterhez'' (1961) * ''Jó utat autóbusz!'' (1961) * ''Különös tárgyalás'' (1961) * ''Mindenki gyanús'' (1961) * '' Land of Angels'' (1962) * ''Meztelen diplomata'' (1963) * ''Tücsök'' (1963) * ''Hivatalos utazás'' (1963) * ''Lajos király válik ''(1964) * ''Játék a múzeumban'' (1965) * ''Két találkozás'' (1965) * ''Patyolat akció'' (1965) * ''A férfi egészen más'' (1966) * ''Énekesmadár'' (1967) * ''Egri csillagok'' (1968) * ''A beszélő köntös'' (1968) * ''Szemüvegesek'' (1968) * ''Legenda a páncélvonatról'' (1969) * ''Az örökös'' (1969) * ''Őrjárat az égen'' (1969) * ''Végállomás, kiszállni!'' (1970) * ''A gyilkos a házban van'' (1970) * ''Márton bátyám'' (1970) * ''Vargabetű'' (1970) * ''Hahó Öcsi!'' (1970) * ''Vidám elefántkór'' (1970) * ''Tisztújítás'' (1970) * ''Valaki a sötétből'' (1970) * ''Játék olasz módra'' (1970) * ''Barátság'' (1970) * ''Jó estét nyár, jó estét szerelem!'' (1971) * ''Fegyház a körúton'' (1971) * ''Remetekan'' (1971) * ''Öngyilkos'' (1971) * ''Fuss, hogy utolérjenek'' (1972) * ''Az ördög cimborája'' (1972) * ''Romantika'' (1972) * ''Illatos út a semmibe'' (1972) * ''A vőlegény nyolckor érkezik'' (1972) * ''Irgalom (1973) * ''Egy szerelem három éjszakája'' (1973) * ''A törökfejes kopja'' (1973) * ''Egy srác fehér lovon'' (1973) * ''Bekötött szemmel'' (1974) * ''Csata a hóban'' (1975) * ''A méla tempefői'' (1975) * ''A tragédia próbája'' (1975) * ''Beszterce ostroma'' (1976) * ''Csaló az üveghegyen'' (1976) * ''Robog az úthenger'' (1976) * ''Utolsó a padban'' (1976) * ''Sir John Falstaff'' (1977) * ''Családi kör'' (1977) * ''Mire megvénülünk'' (1978) * ''A világ közepe'' (1979) * ''Égigérő fű'' (1979) * ''A világ közepe'' (1979) * ''Petőfi'' (1980) * ''A Pogány Madonna'' (1980) * ''A névtelen vár'' (1981) * ''Csak semmi pánik'' (1982) * ''Különös házasság'' (1983) * '' Jób lázadása'' (1983) * ''Erdő'' (1984) * ''Megfelelő ember kényes feladatra'' (1984) * ''Leányvásár'' (1984) * ''Utazás az öreg autóval'' (1985) * ''A három nővér'' (1985) * ''Az elvarázsolt dollár'' (1985) * ''II. József'' (1985) * ''A csodakarikás'' (1986) * ''A fantasztikus nagynéni'' (1986) * ''Gyökér és vadvirág'' (1987) * ''Halál sekély vízben'' (1993) * ''Európa messze van'' (1994) * ''Komédiások'' (2000) * ''Zsaruvér és Csigavér I.: A királyné nyakéke'' (2001) * ''Csocsó, avagy éljen május elseje!'' (2001) * ''Zsaruvér és Csigavér II.: Több tonna kámfor'' (2002) * ''Magyar vándor'' (2004)

Television series

* ''A Tenkes kapitánya'' (1963) * ''Princ, a katona'' (1966) * ''Oly korban éltünk'' (1966) * ''Tüskevár'' (1967) * ''Őrjárat az égen'' (1969) * ''Bors'' (1968) * ''Rózsa Sándor'' (1970) * ''A fekete város'' (1971) * ''Vivát, Benyovszky!'' (1975) * ''

'' (1987-1999) * ''Kerek világ'' (1988) * ''Komédiások'' (2000) * ''Sobri'' (2003)

References

External links