Paul Lukas

For those of a similar name, see Paul Lucas (disambiguation).

The native form of this personal name is Lukács Pál. This article uses the Western name order.

Paul Lukas
File:Paul Lukas - 1950.jpg Lukas in 1950
Born	Pál Lukács (1891-05-26)May 26, 1891 Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died	Tangier, Morocco
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1916–70
Spouse(s)	Gizella "Daisy" Benes (1927–1962; her death) Annette M. Driesens (1963–1971; his death)
Parent(s)	Mária Zilahy Janos Lukacs

Paul Lukas (May 26, 1891 – August 15, 1971) was an Hungarian-born American actor. He won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the film Watch on the Rhine (1943).

Life and career

Lukas was born Pál Lukács in Budapest into a Jewish family, the son of Mária (née Zilahy) and János Lukács, an advertising executive.

Lukas made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917. At first, he played elegant, smooth womanizers, but increasingly he became typecast as a villain. He had a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany and Austria, where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He arrived in Hollywood in 1927, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1937.

He was busy in the 1930s, appearing in such films as the melodrama Rockabye, the crime caper Grumpy, Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, the comedy Ladies in Love, and the drama Dodsworth. He followed William Powell and Basil Rathbone portraying the series detective Philo Vance, a cosmopolitan New Yorker, once in The Casino Murder Case (1935).

His major film success came in Watch on the Rhine (1943), where he played a man working against the Nazis, a role he originated in the Broadway premiere of the play of the same name in 1941. His portrayal of Kurt Mueller, a German émigré with an American wife, played by Bette Davis, was universally lauded by critics. Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times, wrote, "As the enemy of fascism, Mr. Lukas' haggard, loving, resourceful determination becomes heroic by virtue of his sincerity and his superior abilities as an actor." He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role, winning out over luminary efforts as Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Gary Cooper in For Whom the Bell Tolls, Walter Pidgeon in Madame Curie, and Mickey Rooney in The Human Comedy. He also received the New York Film Critics Award for his performance.

In 1943, he guest starred as the eponymous character in an episode of the radio program Suspense, "Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer". On April 2, 1944, he starred in "The Steadfast Heart" on Silver Theater.

Modern viewers also remember Lukas for his role as Professor Aronnax in Walt Disney's film version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). By that time, however, he was, at age 63, suffering from memory problems during the production, apparently leading him to lash out at cast and crew alike. Even friend Peter Lorre was not immune to the abuse.

In the 1940s, Lukas was a charter member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a conservative lobbying group opposed to possible Communist influence in Hollywood.

Lukas' film career picked up momentum in the 1960s with six films, including Fun in Acapulco with Elvis Presley in 1963 and Lord Jim with Peter O'Toole in 1965. His final film, The Challenge, was released in 1970.

The remainder of his career moved from Hollywood to the stage to television. His only singing role was as Cosmo Constantine in the original 1950 Broadway stage version of Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam, opposite Ethel Merman (although he is heard singing a song in the 1933 film Little Women, displaying a pleasant voice).

He died August 15, 1971, in Tangier, Morocco, reportedly while searching for a place to spend his retirement years.

He is buried in Spain

Recognition

Lukas has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1922	Samson and Delilah	Ettore Ricco, tenor
1923	The Unknown Tomorrow
1928	Three Sinners	Count Dietrich Wallentin
1928	Hot News	James Clayton
1928	Night Watch	Captain Corlaix
1928	The Shopworn Angel	Bailey
1930	Slightly Scarlet	Malatroff
1930	Behind the Make-Up	Boris
1930	The Benson Murder Case	Adolph Mohler
1930	The Devil's Holiday	Dr Reynolds
1930	Grumpy	Berci
1930	The Right to Love	Eric
1930	Anybody's Woman	Gustave Saxon
1931	City Streets	Big Fellow Mashal
1931	Strictly Dishonorable	Gus
1931	The Vice Squad	Stephen Lucarno
1932	No One Man	Dr Karl Bemis
1932	Downstairs	Albert, the Baron's Butler
1932	Rockabye	Antonie de Sola
1932	A Passport to Hell	Lt. Kurt Kurtoff
1933	The Kiss Before the Mirror	Walter Bernsdorf
1933	Secret of the Blue Room	Captain Walter Brink
1933	Captured!	Colonel Carl Ehrlich
1933	Little Women	Prof. Bhaer
1933	Grand Slam	Blondie
1934	The Countess of Monte Criso	Rumowski
1935	Age of Indiscretion	Robert Lenhart
1935	The Casino Murder Case	Philo Vance
1935	The Three Musketeers	Athos
1935	I Found Stella Parish	Stephan Norman
1936	Dodsworth	Arnold Iselin
1936	Ladies in Love	John Barta
1937	Brief Ecstasy
1937	Espionage	Anton Kronsky
1937	Dinner at the Ritz	Baron Philip de Beaufort
1938	The Lady Vanishes	Dr Hartz
1939	Confessions of a Nazi Spy	Dr. Kassell
1939	Captain Fury	Francois Dupre
1940	Strange Cargo	Hessler
1940	The Ghost Breakers	Parada
1940	A Window in London	Zoltini	Released as Lady in Distress in USA
1941	The Monster and the Girl	W. S. Bruhl
1941	They Dare Not Love	Baron von Helsing
1943	Watch on the Rhine	Kurt Muller
1944	Uncertain Glory	Inspector Marcel Bonet
1944	Address Unknown	Martin Schulz
1944	Experiment Perilous	Nick Bederaux
1946	Deadline at Dawn	Gus Hoffman
1946	Temptation	Sir Meyer Isaacson
1947	Whispering City	Albert Frederic
1948	Berlin Express	Dr Bernhardt
1950	Kim	Lama
1954	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Prof. Pierre Aronnax
1958	The Roots of Heaven	Saint Denis
1962	Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse	Karl von Hartrott
1962	Tender Is the Night	Dr. Dohmler
1963	55 Days at Peking	Dr. Steinfeldt
1963	Fun in Acapulco	Maximillian Dauphin
1965	Lord Jim	Stein
1968	Sol Madrid	Capo Riccione
1970	The Challenge	Dr Nagy

External links

• Paul Lukas at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Lukas at the Internet Broadway Database
• Paul Lukas at Find a Grave
• Paul Lukas at Virtual History