Erzsi Paál (1912–1973) was a Hungarian

stage actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, who also appeared in several films. She was born Erzsébet Polacsek in

Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...

, then in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

but subsequently ceded to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, to Hungarian parents. After establishing herself in as a

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, she moved to Italy and appeared at the Teatro Eliseo in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the Teatro Odeon in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. She also starred alongside comedian

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il principe della risat ...

in his debut film '' Fermo con le mani'' in 1937.Pistolese p.79 She married the actor

John Bartha János Bartha (6 February 1915 – 7 March 1991), better known as John Bartha, was a Hungarian actor who appeared primarily in Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s and 1970s. He is probably most recognizable in western cinema for his role as the Sher ...

, a fellow Hungarian who was also based in Italy. Her final screen appearance was in the 1971

giallo film In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains slasher, thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural horror elements. This particular style of Italian-produced ...

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin ''A Lizard in a Woman's Skin'' () is a 1971 ''giallo'' film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci and produced by Edmondo Amati and Robert Dorfmann. It stars Florinda Bolkan, Stanley Baker, Jean Sorel, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Monti, ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Vica the Canoeist ''Vica the Canoeist'' (Hungarian: ''Vica, a vadevezös'') is a 1933 Hungarian comedy film directed by Béla Gaál and starring Erzsi Paál, Sándor Radó (actor), Sándor Radó and Dezsõ Kertész.''Filmévkönyv''. Magyar Filmtudományi Intézet ...

'' (1933) * ''

Romance of Ida ''Romance of Ida'' (Hungarian: ''Ida regénye'') is a 1934 Hungarian drama film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Gábor Rajnay, Irén Ágay and Pál Jávor.Bolton & Wright p.53 It is based on a novel by Géza Gárdonyi. It was shot at th ...

'' (1934) * ''

'' (1971)

References

Bibliography

* Enyedi, Sándor. ''Rivalda nélkül: a határon túli magyar színjátszás kislexikona''. Teleki László Alapítvány, 1999. *Pistolese, Paolo . ''Totò, Stars & Stripes''. Cinecittà, 2000.

External links

* *https://www.hangosfilm.hu/filmenciklopedia/paal-erzsi 1912 births 1973 deaths Hungarian stage actresses Hungarian film actresses Hungarian emigrants to Italy People from Lugoj {{Hungary-actor-stub