Hédi Váradi (22 September 1929 – 11 April 1987) was a Hungarian actress.

Biography

At the age of 18, Hédi took acting lessons from the Hungarian acting teacher

Kálmán Rózsahegyi Kálmán Rózsahegyi (6 October 1873, in Pest – 27 August 1961) was a Jewish Hungarian actor and teacher. He descended from a family of theatre actors; his father, Ödön Rózsahegyi performed in the countryside. Kálmán Rózsahegyi also be ...

at the

Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest The Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest ( hu, Színház- és Filmművészeti Egyetem, SZFE) is an educational institution founded in 1865 in Budapest, Hungary. It became a university in 2000 and the name was changed to University of Theatre and F ...

. In her classes, she met other types of artists such as Berek Kati and

Imre Soós Imre Soós (12 February 1930 – 20 June 1957) was a Hungarian actor, mostly known for his roles in communist propaganda films during the 1950s. He played the leading role in the 1956 film '' Körhinta''. Career Early years Imre Soós was b ...

. She was for a long time married to

Ferenc Bessenyei Ferenc Bessenyei (10 February 1919 – 27 December 2004) was a Hungarian actor and singer. He began his career in the choir at National Theatre of Szeged in 1940 and became one of Hungary's most respected stage performers. As singer he appe ...

, but the couple later divorced. After refusing life-saving surgery, she later died from a serious illness. She was laid to rest at the

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

in Budapest.

Personal life

After 1952, Hédi started working in the Madách Theatre in Budapest, and from 1964, she worked in the National Theatre until her death. Her forceful personality and deep, catching style of play made excellent comedy and drama roles. She was famous for her role in Shakespeare's comedy play ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' as Titania.

Major theatre roles

* ''

Romeo and Juilet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' - Juliet * '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' - Cleopatra (1955) * ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'' - Mira * ''

The Tragedy of Man ''The Tragedy of Man'' ( hu, Az ember tragédiája) is a play written by the Hungarian author Imre Madách. It was first published in 1861. The play is considered to be one of the major works of Hungarian literature and is one of the most often ...

'' - Eve * '' After the Fall'' - Maggie * ''Yegor Bulychov and Others'' - Kszenyija

Acting roles

Filmography

* ''Dalolva szép az élet'' (1950) * ''Kiskrajcár'' (1953) * ''Föltámadott a tenger (parts I-II''. (1953) * ''Ifjú szívvel'' (1953) * ''Mese a tizenkét találatról'' (1956) * ''A tettes ismeretlen'' (1957) * ''Gerolsteini kaland'' (1957) * ''Éjfélkor'' (1957) * ''Vasvirág'' (1958) * ''Micsoda éjszaka'' (1958) * ''Kölyök'' (1959) * ''Fapados szerelem'' (1959) * ''Egy régi villamos'' (1960) * '' Alba Regia'' (1961) * ''Puskák és galambok'' (1961) * ''Délibáb minden mennyiségben'' (1961) * ''Meztelen diplomata'' (1963) * ''Már nem olyan időket élünk'' (1963) * ''Az orvos halála'' (1965) * ''Harlekin és szerelmese'' (1966) * ''Kötelék'' (1967) * ''Dóra jelenti'' (1968) * ''Pokolrév''(1969) * ''Az örökös'' (1969) * ''Nápolyt látni és...'' (1972) * ''Az utolsó kézirat'' (1986)

Television films

* ''A mama'' (1958) * ''Vihar a Sycomore utcában'' (1960) * ''Hotel Germánia'' (1962) * ''Ne éljek, ha nem igaz'' (1962) * ''Gömböc'' (1962) * ''Utak'' (1963) * ''Az utolsó budai pasa'' (1963) * ''Hivatalos utazás'' (1963) * ''Menazséria'' (1964) * ''Amerikából jöttem'' (1965) * ''Az asszony és az igazság'' (1966) * ''Oly korban éltünk 1-5''. (1966–67) * ''Germán vakáció'' (1967) * ''Könnyű kis gyilkosság'' (1967) * ''Három találkozás'' (1968) * ''Nyomozók társasága'' (1969) * ''Tévedni isteni dolog'' (1970) * ''Asszonyok mesélik'' (1970) * ''Kérem a következőt!'' (1974) * ''Egy gazdag hölgy szeszélye'' (1986)

Animated films

* ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'' (1937)

Honours

On 11 April 2003, the 16th anniversary of Hédi's death, Deputy Mayor John Schiffer inaugurated a memorial ceremony to the actress at her former residence in the Hercegprímás District of Budapest on Second Street.

References

External links

*
Official page on Színészkönyvtár
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varadi, Hedi 1929 births 1987 deaths People from Újpest 20th-century Hungarian actresses Hungarian film actresses Hungarian stage actresses Hungarian television actresses Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery