Gábor Baraker
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Gábor Baraker (10 June 1926 – 30 April 1983) was a Hungarian actor who performed in his home country, Australia and the United Kingdom.


Early life

Before Baraker could complete his schooling, he and his Jewish family came under threat from the
persecution of Jews The persecution of Jews has been a major event in Jewish history prompting shifting waves of refugees and the formation of diaspora communities. As early as 605 BC, Jews who lived in the Neo-Babylonian Empire were persecuted and deported. Antis ...
during the latter years of the
Second World War 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 ...
. As a result, his family's shops were confiscated, his parents and sister were sent to a concentration camp and he was sent to work in a Nazi Labour Camp. There, Baraker built railroad tracks, which he helped blow up again when Russian advances neared. With 32 others, he escaped and hid until the Russians passed by, following them into Budapest."


Career

Having survived
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 ...
, Baraker was able to attend the Budapest Academy of Dramatic Art, passing a four-year course within three years. Becoming a member of the Budapest National Theatre, he won distinction in his home country, playing leading roles in the great classics, meeting the standard repertoire of the National Theatre. Coming to Australia in July 1950 and not being able to speak English, Baraker used what little money he had to buy a bicycle. While cycling to work on his first journey, he was knocked off his bike and spent the next two months in hospital. During this time, he learnt English from the nurses looking after him. After recovering, the Hungarian joined the Perth Repertory Theatre. Another technique he used to improve his English was saying lines in early roles without knowing what they meant. Soon, he found himself playing important roles in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' and ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...
''. During his time, the actor also became fluent in German. Moving to Melbourne to join his parents and sister, Baraker appeared for the University of Melbourne's Union Theatre and Princess Theatre in many productions like ''
Thieves' Carnival ''Le Bal des Voleurs'' (''Thieves' Carnival'') is a play written by French playwright Jean Anouilh, first staged at Théâtre des Arts, Paris on 17 August 1938. Later productions ''Thieves' Carnival'' was presented on the televised series ''The ...
'', ''
Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...
'', ''
Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...
'', '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' and '' Bells Are Ringing'', finding success as both an actor and director. Arriving in England in 1962, Baraker made appearances in episodes of cult TV shows including '' Man of the World'', ''
Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...
'', '' Crane'', ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' (serials: ''
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
'' and '' The Crusade''), ''
Redcap REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a browser-based, metadata-driven EDC software and workflow methodology for designing clinical and translational research databases. It is widely used in the academic research community: the REDCap ...
'', ''
No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV (TV network), ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' ...
'', ''
Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...
'', ''
The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...
'' and '' The Saint'' as well as films including uncredited roles in the James Bond movie '' Thunderball'' (1965, as SPECTRE #13) and in
the Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Clouseau, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the fil ...
entry ''
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'' (1968, as Swiss Banker). His theatre credits include ''
Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...
'' at
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
in the West End, '' Fiddlers Three'' at
Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...
(1972-1973) and
Bernard Pomerance Bernard Pomerance (September 23, 1940 – August 26, 2017) was an American playwright and poet whose best known work is the play ''The Elephant Man''. Biography Pomerance was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1940. He studied at the University ...
's ''Someone Else is Still Someone'' at the
Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...
(1974).


Filmography


References


External links

* *
Gabor Baraker
at Theatricalia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baraker, Gabor 1926 births 1983 deaths Hungarian emigrants to England Male actors from Budapest Jewish Hungarian actors Hungarian expatriates in Australia 20th-century Hungarian male actors