Walter Slezak (3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, notably the German U-boat engineer in Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 Lifeboat, but occasionally he played lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, a philosophical detective in Born to Kill, and as Squire Trelawney in Treasure Island.
Born in Vienna, Austria, the son of famed opera sta...
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Walter Slezak (3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, notably the German U-boat engineer in Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 Lifeboat, but occasionally he played lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, a philosophical detective in Born to Kill, and as Squire Trelawney in Treasure Island.
Born in Vienna, Austria, the son of famed opera star Leo Slezak, he was a medical student and later a bank teller. He was talked into taking his first role, in the 1922 Austrian film Sodom und Gomorrha, by his friend and the film's director, Michael Curtiz. In his early movie career, before he gained weight, Slezak was cast as a thin leading man in silent films. He also acted on the stage for many years, debuting on Broadway in 1930.
His first American film was 1942's Once Upon a Honeymoon, opposite Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. He worked steadily and appeared in over 100 films including The...
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