We recently wrote about the Famous Hungarian Beauties From The Past, but what about those irresistible gentlemen? Many bright shining stars, musicians and actors have Hungarian origins too. The list seems to be endless, but here is a short but rich one about the heroes of this small yet very special country.
Hungarian Womanizers From The Past: 19th Century Handsome
Harry Houdini
(1874-1926)
Houdini was one of the greatest performers of the modern era. Actor, escape artist, stunt performer Harry “Handcuff” Houdini was born in Budapest. According to George Bernard Shaw his name is the most mentioned in the world besides Jesus and Sherlock Holmes. Houdini became widely known as “The Handcuff King.” He toured England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Russia.
He also served as President of the Society of American Magicians from 1917. Later in his life Harry Houdini hired H. P. Lovecraft and his friend C. M. Eddy, Jr., to write an entire book about debunking religious miracles, which was to be called The Cancer of Superstition.
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Michael Curtiz
(1886–1962)
He may not be the most classically handsome man but leaving out one of the most famous films of all time, Casablanca and Academy Award winning director Michael Curtiz’ name from this list would be simply wrong.
Curtiz was born Manó Kaminer in Budapest. He directed more than 50 films in Europe and more than 100 in the United States, many of them cinema classics, including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Dodge City, The Sea Hawk, The Sea Wolf, Angels with Dirty Faces and of course Casablanca, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director.
And in addition to all this, he competed in the 1912 Olympics as a member of the Hungarian fencing team.
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Paul Lukas
(1891 – 1971)
Academy Award winning actor Paul Lukas was born Pál Lukács in Budapest. He arrived in Hollywood in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States ten years later.
His major film success came in Watch on the Rhine (1943) opposite Bette Davis and he won a Best Actor Academy Award for the role. In 1963 Lukas starred in Fun in Acapulco with Elvis Presley. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.
Hungarian Womanizers From The Past: Dapper 20th Century Gentlemen
Paul Newman
(1925 –2008)
American actor, film director, entrepreneur, professional racing driver and team owner, environmentalist, activist and philanthropist, Academy Award winner Newman’s paternal grandparents, Simon Newman and Hannah Cohn, were immigrants from Hungary and Poland.
In addition to his many film roles and awards, Newman was one of the founders of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), a membership organization of CEOs and corporate chairpersons committed to raising the level and quality of global corporate philanthropy.
Robert Capa
(1913-1954)
One of the most noteworthy geniuses in the world of photography, Robert Capa was born Endre Friedmann to Jewish parents in Budapest in 1913.
On 3 December 1938 Picture Post introduced ‘The Greatest War Photographer in the World: Robert Capa’ with a spread of 26 photographs taken during the Spanish Civil War. But Capa hated war.
The love of his life Gerda Taro, was killed in Spain during the civil war. As a correspondent in Europe, he photographed the Second World War, covering the landing of American troops on Omaha beach on D-Day, the liberation of Paris and the Battle of the Bulge. The French army awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Palm posthumously.
The Robert Capa Gold Medal Award was established in 1955 to reward exceptional professional merit. He also gave inspiration to many artists in popular culture, e.g. in Philip Kaufman’s 2012 film about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn and her husband, writer Ernest Hemingway, Capa was played by Santiago Cabrera.
Mickey Hargitay
(1926-2006)
Actor and Mr. Universe Miklós “Mickey” Hargitay was born in Budapest and moved to the United States in 1947. He was married to the legendary actress Jayne Mansfield, and is the father of the famous actress Mariska Hargitay.
Hargitay was a great sportsman, he competed in speed skating and in 1946, he won the Middle European championship at 500 and 1,500 meters, and placed second in the 5,000 metre race. He was also a proficient football player, and was an underground fighter. In the US he began bodybuilding and became NABBA Mr. Universe in 1955. He also starred in four films with Jayne Mansfield.
Who else, but Arnold Schwarzenegger played the role of Mickey Hargitay in the 1980 TV-movie The Jayne Mansfield Story.