Sári Fedák (Born Sarolta Klára Mária Fedák; 27 September 1879, Beregszász present-day

Berehove Berehove ( uk, Берегове; hu, Beregszász) is a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) in western Ukraine, near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Serving as the administrativ ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

– 05 May 1955,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

) was a Hungarian actress and singer, one of the most well-known

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...

s of her time. According to American journalist and non-fiction writer

Richard Traubner Richard Traubner (November 24, 1946 – February 25, 2013) was an American journalist, author, operetta scholar and historian, and lecturer on theatre and (mostly musical) film. His best-known book, ''Operetta: A Theatrical History'', was first p ...

, Fedák and Sári Petráss remain ''"the two best-remembered Hungarian female

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

stars of all time"''. Traubner, Richard (2003)
''Operetta: a theatrical history''
Routledge, pg. 331;

Life

She studied acting with Szidi Rákosi until 1899, beginning her career the same year with the ''Magyar Színház'' theatre company. Beginning in 1900 she played in

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

(now

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

), and in several theatres in Budapest, including ''Népszínház'', ''Király Színház'', and ''

Vígszínház The Comedy Theater of Budapest ( hu, Vígszínház) is a theater in Budapest. Starting in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theater, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of ...

''. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she spoke out against the

Austro-Hungarian monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

. Later, during the era of the Hungarian Soviet Republic she agitated for joining the Red Army. After the fall of the Republic, Fedák fled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, but was captured and held in prison at

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

for a short time. As she supported the Republic, she could play in only Vienna from 1920-21. She made appearances in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1921 and 1925. In 1934, she toured several American cities.

Personal life

In 1922 she married writer

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...

, after a six-year relationship. The couple divorced in 1925 or 1926, after "he had accused her of intimacy with 42 gentlemen, and she had replied in kind with a list of 142 ladies". May 1927 ''Time'' magazine article referencing Fedak
/ref> In 1923, she became a member of the Fővárosi Operettszínház theatre. Starting in 1940, she was the leading actress in the ''Új Magyar Színház'' theatre. In 1944, working at the ''Donausender'' radio station in Vienna, she rallied for Hungary to continue the fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on the side of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and was sentenced to eight months in prison after the war. She was also banned from playing in theatres for three years. She never appeared on stage again. After being released from prison, she moved to Nyáregyháza, retiring from active life. She died in 1955, aged 75, and was interred in

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery ( hu, Farkasréti temető) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a c ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

'' (1937)

References

Sources

- Sári Fedák in the Hungarian Theatrical Lexicon (György, Székely. ''Magyar Színházművészeti Lexikon''. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994; ), freely available on mek.oszk.hu (in Hungarian) * Tibor, Bános . ''Aki szelet vet''. Budapest:Magvető 1986.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fedak, Sari 1879 births 1955 deaths People from Berehove Hungarian silent film actresses 20th-century Hungarian actresses Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery