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S. Z. Sakall
S. Z. Sakall
	Sakall in 1937
Born	Jakab Grünwald; February 2, 1883; Budapest, Austria-Hungary (present-day Budapest, Hungary)
Died	February 12, 1955 (aged 72); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Other names	S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall; Szőke Szakáll; Gerő Jenő; Jacob Gerő; Jacob Gero; Grünwald Jakab; Gärtner Sándor
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1916–1954
Spouses	; Giza Grossner; (m. 1916; died 1918) ; Anne Kardos; (m. 1920)

Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, other names: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 – February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in many prominent movies, including Casablanca (1942), in which he played Carl, the head waiter; Christmas in Connecticut (1945); In the Good Old Summertime (1949); and Lullaby of Broadway (1951). Sakall played numerous supporting roles in 'classic' type Hollywood productions including musicals and other films of the 1940s and 1950s. His rotund body type and overall cuteness, coupled with his caring personal character, caused studio magnate Jack L. Warner to bestow on Sakall the affectionate nickname "Cuddles".

Besides his unique moniker, by which he was "known throughout the movie business", Sakall also earned a reputation as one of the "stalwart character-acting veterans" of his day, particularly given his "choice", "significant role" in Casablanca. That garnered his performing skills lasting praise despite his "brief" involvement in the movie's storyline. Author and media analyst Harlan Lebo of the University of Southern California later noted Sakall's "bubbly" and "colorful" nature on screen in the book Casablanca: Behind the Scenes.^[1]

Early life and career

Gerő Jenő (later transcribed in English as Jacob Gero)^[2] was born in Budapest to a Jewish family.^[3] A sculptor's son, he was invalided out of the Hungarian army in World War I after a Russian bayonet wounded him in the chest.^[4] During his schooldays, he wrote sketches for Budapest vaudeville shows under the pen name Szőke Szakáll, meaning "blond beard", in reference to his own beard, grown to make him look older, which he affected when, at the age of 18, he turned to acting. In 1946, he became a United States citizen under the name of Jacob Gero (aka Szőke Szakáll).^[2]

The actor became a star of the Hungarian stage and screen in the 1910s and 1920s. At the beginning of the 1920s he moved to Vienna, where he appeared in Hermann Leopoldi's Kabarett Leopoldi-Wiesenthal. In the 1930s he was, next to Hans Moser, the most significant representative of Wiener Film, the Viennese light romantic comedy genre. He also appeared in Berlin. He appeared in Familientag im Hause Prellstein (1927), Ihre Majestät die Liebe (1929, which was remade in Hollywood as Her Majesty, Love, with W.C. Fields in Sakall's role) and Two Hearts in Waltz Time (1930). For a brief period during this time, he ran his own production company.

Return to and emigration from Hungary

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Sakall was forced to return to Hungary. He was involved in over 40 movies in his native land. When Hungary joined the Axis in 1940, he left for Hollywood with his wife. Many of Sakall's close relatives were later murdered in Nazi concentration camps, including all three of his sisters and a niece, as well as his wife's brother and sister.

Hollywood

Sakall began a Hollywood career that included "an endless succession of excitable theatrical impresarios, lovable European uncles and befuddled shopkeepers".^[5] His first American film role was in the comedy It's a Date (1940) with Deanna Durbin. The first big hit of his American career was Ball of Fire (1941) with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Later, he signed a contract with Warner Bros., where he had a number of other small roles, including one in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) with James Cagney.

Later the same year, at the age of 59, he portrayed his best remembered character, Carl the head waiter in Casablanca (1942). Producer Hal B. Wallis signed Sakall for the role three weeks after filming had begun. When he was first offered the part, Sakall hated it and turned it down. Sakall finally agreed to take the role provided they gave him four weeks of work. The two sides eventually agreed on three weeks. He received $1,750 per week for a total of $5,250. He actually had more screen time than either Peter Lorre or Sydney Greenstreet.

Sakall appeared in 30 further movies, including Christmas in Connecticut (1945), reuniting with Barbara Stanwyck. Sakall appeared in four films released in 1948: the drama Embraceable You, followed by April Showers, Michael Curtiz's Romance on the High Seas (Doris Day's film debut), and Whiplash. He was in four top movies in 1949. First Sakall played Felix Hofer in Doris Day's second film, My Dream Is Yours. Later that year, he supported June Haver and Ray Bolger in Look for the Silver Lining. Next, he played Otto Oberkugen in In the Good Old Summertime, with Judy Garland and Van Johnson. This was a remake of Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Finally, Sakall was given the principal role of songwriter Fred Fisher in Oh, You Beautiful Doll, though top billing went to June Haver.

Sakall appeared in nine more movies during the 1950s, two of them musicals with Doris Day, playing J. Maxwell Bloomhaus in Tea for Two (1950) and Adolph Hubbell in Lullaby of Broadway (1951). His other roles included Poppa Schultz in the Errol Flynn western Montana (1950); Miklos Teretzky in the June Haver musical The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (also 1950); Don Miguel in the Randolph Scott western Sugarfoot; Uncle Felix in the musical Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) with Virginia Mayo, and one of the episodes in the movie It's a Big Country (also 1951) featuring Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Gary Cooper, Janet Leigh, Fredric March and Ethel Barrymore. His last movie was The Student Prince (1954).

Death

Sakall died of a heart attack in Hollywood on February 12, 1955, shortly after filming The Student Prince, ten days after his 72nd birthday. He is buried in the Garden of Memory in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Partial filmography

Complete credits from 1940 on.

Az újszülött apa (1916)
A dollárnéni (1917)
Professor Imhof (1926) as Dr. Hecht
The Master of Death (1926) as Bordoni
Hello Caesar! (1927, written)
Heaven on Earth (1927) as Geschäftsführer
Family Gathering in the House of Prellstein (1927) as Sami Bambus
Da hält die Welt den Atem an (1928) as Theaterdirektor
Mary Lou (1928) as Der Jongleur
Whirl of Youth (1928) as Sam, ein Artist
Pavement Butterfly (1929) as Paul Bennet – Maler
The Merry Farmer (1927) as Dorfpolizist
Why Cry at Parting? (1929) as Gottgetreu, Kassierer von Harder & Co.
Two Hearts in Waltz Time, originally titled Zwei Herzen im 3/4 Takt or Zwei Herzen im Dreiviertel Takt (1930) as Der Theaterdirektor
Twice Married (1930) as Grafenberg's brother-in-law
Rendezvous (1930) as Crepin
Susanne Cleans Up (1930) as Dr. Fuchs, juristischer Berater
The Jumping Jack (1930) as Eickmeyer – Parfümfabrikant
Her Majesty the Barmaid (1931) as Bela Török / Lias Vater
Headfirst into Happiness (1931) as Baron Monteuil
Die Faschingsfee (1931) as Matthias, Diener
Ihr Junge (1931)
Walzerparadies (1931) as Schwartz, Theateragent
Ich heirate meinen Mann (1931) as Adolphe
Der Stumme von Portici (1931) as Ehemann
The Squeaker (1931) as Bill "Billy" Anerley
My Cousin from Warsaw (1931) as Burel, Lucienne's spouse
The Woman They Talk About (1931) as Salewski Moretti
The Soaring Maiden (1931) as Onkel Lampe
The Unknown Guest (1931) as Leopold Kuhlmann
Girls to Marry (1932) as Alois Novak
Melody of Love (1932) as Bernhard
I Do Not Want to Know Who You Are (1932) as Ottokar
Countess Mariza (1932) as Lampe
Overnight Sensation (1932) as Haase
Tokajerglut (1933) as Schmidt, Pressephotograph
A City Upside Down (1933) as Der Bürgermeister
The Emperor's Waltz (1933) as Leitner – Fabrikant aus Budapest
A Woman Like You (1933) as Theobald Roehn, Fabrikant
Es war einmal ein Musikus (1933) as Häberlein
Must We Get Divorced? (1933) as Professor Friedrich Hornung
Grand Duchess Alexandra (1933) as Dimitri, Chefkoch im Hause der Großfürstin
Romance in Budapest (1933) as Strangel úr, Murray menedzsere
Adventures on the Lido (1933) as Michael
Scandal in Budapest (1933) as Stangl
Voices of Spring (1933) as Krüger, Schuldiener
Stolen Wednesday (1933) as Schmidz, fotóriporter
Wenn du jung bist, gehört dir die Welt (1934) as Beppo
Everything for the Woman (1934)
Helyet az öregeknek [hu] (1934) as Polgár papírkereskedõ
Ende schlecht, alles gut [de] (1934) as Anton Polgar, Stationery Shop Owner
Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten (1935) as Franz Novak
Viereinhalb Musketiere (1935) as Sattler, drummer
Tagebuch der Geliebten (1935) as Dr. Walitzky
Il diario di una donna amata (1935)
Barátságos arcot kérek (1936) as Blazsek Mátyás fényképész
Fräulein Lilli (1936) as Prokurist Seidl
The Lilac Domino (1937) as Sandor
Bubi (1937) as Moller
It's a Date (1940) as Karl Ober
Florian (1940) as Max
My Love Came Back (1940) as Geza Peyer
Spring Parade (1940) as Latislav Teschek – the Baker
The Man Who Lost Himself (1941) as Paul
The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) as George
That Night in Rio (1941) as Penna
Ball of Fire (1941) as Prof. Magenbruch
Broadway (1942) as Nick
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) as Schwab
Seven Sweethearts (1942) as Mr. Van Maaster, the Father
Casablanca (1942) as Carl, the waiter
Wintertime (1943) as Hjalmar Ostgaard
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) as Dr. Schlenna
Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944) as Poppa Carl
Hollywood Canteen (1944) as Himself (cameo)
Wonder Man (1945) as Schmidt
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) as Felix Bassenak
The Dolly Sisters (1945) as Uncle Latsie Dolly
San Antonio (1945) as Sacha Bozic
Cinderella Jones (1946) as Gabriel Popik
Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946) as Count Oswald
Never Say Goodbye (1946) as Luigi
The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) as Ladislaus Cassel
Cynthia (1947) as Professor Rosenkrantz
April Showers (1948) as Mr. Curley
Romance on the High Seas (1948) as Uncle Lazlo Lazlo
Embraceable You (1948) as Sammy
Whiplash (1948) as Sam
My Dream Is Yours (1949) as Felix Hofer
Look for the Silver Lining (1949) as Shendorf
In the Good Old Summertime (1949) as Otto Oberkugen
Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) as Fred Fisher aka Alfred Breitenbach
Montana (1950) as Papa Otto Schultz
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950) as Miklos 'Mike' Teretzky
Tea for Two (1950) as J. Maxwell Bloomhaus
Sugarfoot (1951) as Don Miguel Wormser
Lullaby of Broadway (1951) as Adolph Hubbell
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) as Uncle Felix
It's a Big Country (1951) as Stefan Szabo
Small Town Girl (1953) as Papa Eric Schlemmer
The Student Prince (1954) as Joseph Ruder (final film role)

References

^ Lebo, Harlan (October 1992). Casablanca: Behind the Scenes. Touchstone. pp. 121–123. ISBN 9780671769819.
^ ^a ^b Paula (September 21, 2012). "What A Character: S.Z. Sakall". Paulascinemaclub.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
^ Thomson, David (2017). Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio (Jewish Lives) (softcover) (first ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-300-19760-0.
^ "S.Z. Sakall Dies; Hollywood Actor". Wilmington (Delaware) Morning News. Associated Press. February 14, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved March 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Hal Erickson, Rovi. "S.Z. Sakall : Biography". Fandango.com. Retrieved June 9, 2019.

Bibliography

Sakall, S. Z. (1954). The Story of Cuddles: My Life under the Emperor Francis Joseph, Adolf Hitler and the Warner Brothers (hardcover). Translated by Tabori, Paul (First ed.). London: Cassell.