Steven Geray (born István Gyergyay, 10 November 1904 â€" 26 December
1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over
100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in
Spellbound (1945), Gilda (1946), In a Lonely Place (1950), All About
Eve (1950), Call Me Madam (1953) and To Catch a Thief (1955).He was
born in Ungvár, Austria-Hungary (now Uzhgorod, Ukraine) and educated
at the University of Budapest. He made his first stage appearance at
the Hungarian National Theater under his real name and after nearly
four years he made his London stage debut (as Steven Geray) in 1934,
appearing in Happy Week-End!. He began appearing in English-speaking
films in 1935 and moved to Hollywood in 1941. He appeared alongside
his wife, Magda Kun, whom he married in 1934, in the 1935 film Dance
Band.Political pressure led to Geray's exit from Europe. His act in
the Folies Bergère included impersonations of Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini, which incurred the wrath of the governments of Germany and
Italy. Geray failed to heed their warnings to stop the impersonations.
After being beaten up, however, he moved to Hollywood.Geray was cast
as the lead in a low-budget film noir So Dark the Night (1946). Even
with its limited budget, it received great critical reviews and
enabled its director Joseph H. Lewis to later direct A-pictures. Geray
continued to work on television and in films into the 1960s. Among
them a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1962 as extortionist and
murder victim Franz Moray in "The Case of the Stand-in Sister", three
episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as French dress
designer Gaston Broussard in 1956, including the over the top "A Paris
Creation" and various doctor roles on The Danny Thomas Show.
1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over
100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in
Spellbound (1945), Gilda (1946), In a Lonely Place (1950), All About
Eve (1950), Call Me Madam (1953) and To Catch a Thief (1955).He was
born in Ungvár, Austria-Hungary (now Uzhgorod, Ukraine) and educated
at the University of Budapest. He made his first stage appearance at
the Hungarian National Theater under his real name and after nearly
four years he made his London stage debut (as Steven Geray) in 1934,
appearing in Happy Week-End!. He began appearing in English-speaking
films in 1935 and moved to Hollywood in 1941. He appeared alongside
his wife, Magda Kun, whom he married in 1934, in the 1935 film Dance
Band.Political pressure led to Geray's exit from Europe. His act in
the Folies Bergère included impersonations of Adolf Hitler and Benito
Mussolini, which incurred the wrath of the governments of Germany and
Italy. Geray failed to heed their warnings to stop the impersonations.
After being beaten up, however, he moved to Hollywood.Geray was cast
as the lead in a low-budget film noir So Dark the Night (1946). Even
with its limited budget, it received great critical reviews and
enabled its director Joseph H. Lewis to later direct A-pictures. Geray
continued to work on television and in films into the 1960s. Among
them a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1962 as extortionist and
murder victim Franz Moray in "The Case of the Stand-in Sister", three
episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as French dress
designer Gaston Broussard in 1956, including the over the top "A Paris
Creation" and various doctor roles on The Danny Thomas Show.
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