József Sas (born József Polacsek; 3 January 1939 – 17 January 2021) was a Hungarian actor, comedian and theatre manager. He was director of the Mikroszkóp Theatre from 1985 to 2009.

Early life and career

József Sas was born into a family of Jewish origin as the son of Izidor Polacsek, who was an actor under the stage name Imre Sas. His father was deported to the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, where he was killed in 1944. Sas finished the private drama school of

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 ...

in 1957. Thereafter he joined the Kisfaludy Károly Theatre in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

. He was a member of the Békés County Jókai Theatre since 1958, the

National Theatre of Pécs The National Theatre of Pécs is the main theatre of Pécs, Hungary. History Theatrical plays became a regular attraction in the city from the beginning of the 19th century in German and Hungarian language. Most often they were arranged in larger ...

since 1959, the Hungarian People's Army Art Ensemble since 1960 and the Katona József Theatre of

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

since 1966. He joined the Mikroszkóp Theatre of

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 ...

in 1973, the most influential cabaret theatre in Socialist Hungary. He served as long-time director of the theatre from 1985 to 2009. In this capacity, Sas was a regular contributor to the radio and TV cabaret, released several major albums, and was the author and performer of several solo evenings.

Criminal charge

In June 2009, József Sas was legally sentenced to one-year prison with two-year period of probation, and a fine of HUF 300.000 on charges of seven counts of tax fraud, so, although nominated for the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...

in that year, the submission was withdrawn. According to the data of the prosecutor's office, between 1998 and 2001 he did not pay about HUF 35 million as a tax, and he was also a debtor with a health contribution of HUF 7 million and a social security contribution of HUF 4 million, for a total of HUF 46.1 million. Sas resigned from his position of director after the verdict.

Personal life

Sas married Zsuzsa Komjáti in 1977. They had a daughter Ágnes and a son Tamás. Sas announced his retirement from theatrical performance in November 2018, due to declining health. He was on vacation with his wife in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in early 2019, when he had a severe bilateral stroke. A special plane transferred him to Hungary for further medical treatment. He was treated for months in the rehabilitation institute in Budakeszi, then in the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) Charity Hospital. At the end of 2020, Sas was infected during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary The COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). On 4 March 2020, the first cases in Hungary were announced. The first coronavir ...

. He died on 17 January 2021, of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sas, Jozsef 1939 births 2021 deaths People from Békéscsaba Hungarian Jews Hungarian comedians Hungarian male stage actors Hungarian theatre managers and producers Merited artists of the Republic of Hungary 20th-century comedians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary