Farkas, Karl |
| ACTOR, HUMORIST, DIRECTOR (AUSTRIA) |
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BORN 28 Oct 1893, Wien - DIED 16 May 1971, Wien CAUSE OF DEATH stomach cancer GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, Simmering (Gruppe 32 C, Nummer 34) |
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Karl Farkas'parents wanted him to study law, but he decided to become an actor. He was educated in Vienna and debuted in Olmütz. After working in Austria and Moravia, in 1921 he was engaged by Egon Dorn for the Simpl cabaret. There he appeared in conferences with Fritz Grünbaum. In 1922 he directed the comedy "Consul Max" at the Kammerspiele in Vienna. The young actress Anna Han (1896-1979) played a small part and asked for a day off for filming. He refused an they had a heated argument. After they reconciled they became close and on 17 July 1924 he married her. Because she was a Roman Catholic and he was Jewish they could not have church wedding. In Anna ended her career after the marriage. 1926 he took over the Wiener Stadttheater together with Grünbaum and he was its director until 1931. In 1927 he became the leader of the cabaret Simpl as well. On 26 February 1934 he married Anna in a Catholic church ceremony after this became possible in Austria. In 1938 Farkas forced to leave Austria. He travelled to Brno and then Paris, where he worked with Oskar Karlweis. when he was forced to leave France as well he went to the USA where he performed for exiles together with Karlweis. His sister Elisabeth Korff-Farkas was taken to Litzmannsdorf concentration camp in October 1941 and murdered there. He divorced Anna on 24 February to protect her and their intellectualy disabled son Robert (1928-2009). In 1946 he went back to Vienna and on 28 November 1946 he and Anna remarried. In 1950 he returned to Simpl and he was its director until his death in 1971. He also worked as a writer for other revues. From 1957 onwards he appeared regularly on Austrian television. He died in 1971 of stomach cancer in Vienna. He was buried at the Zantralfriedhof in Vienna. Anna died in 1979 and she was buried in his grave. Robert Farkas was buried there as well in 2009. Related persons • cooperated with Karlweiss, Oskar • had a relationship with Martens, Valerie von • cooperated with Wolf, Gusti |
| Images |
 The grave of Karl Farkas at the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna. Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2007) |
Sources • Budig, Robert S. et al, Ehrengräber am Wiener Zentralfriedhof, Compress Verlag Wien, Wien • Karl Farkas - Wikipedia (EN) • Farkas, Karl |
