S.Z. Sakall

Birth Name:

Jacob Gero

Birth Place:

Budapest, Hungary

Profession

Actor, Soundtrack

All three of his sisters died in Nazi concentration camps
After a heart attack claimed his life, he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif․, in the same garden as "Casablanca" co-stars Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and John Qualen
Early in his career, he owned his own production company
Started writing for vaudeville shows in Budapest when he was in his teens
A character actor, he played many amiable, excitable supporting characters such as uncles, businessmen and eccentrics
Specialized in musicals and comedies in Vienna and Berlin before settling in America
Fled back to his native Hungary in the 1930s when the Nazis rose to power, then fled again at the start of World War II, eventually making his home in America
His autobiography, "The Story of Cuddles (My Life Under the Emperor Francis Joseph, Adolf Hitler and the Warner Brothers)" was published in 1953
Originally turned down the role in "Casablanca" that made him famous in the U․S
Was featured in articles in "Variety" and the "New York Times․"

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