Vladek Sheybal | |
|---|---|
Sheybal as Kronsteen in From Russia with Love (1963)  | |
| Born | Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal 12 March 1923 Zgierz, Poland |
| Died | 16 October 1992 (aged 69) London, England |
| Resting place | Putney Vale Cemetery, London, England 51°26′12″N 0°14′34″W / 51.436588°N 0.242655°W |
| Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1957–1992 |
| Website | www |
Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions.[1] He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963), a role for which he had been personally recommended by his friend Sean Connery, and as Otto Leipzig in Smiley's People (1982).[2][3]
He became a naturalised British citizen, but remained "fiercely proud of his homeland and its culture."[1]
Life and career
Sheybal was born in Zgierz, near Łódź, in the Second Polish Republic.[4] He appeared in the film Kanał (1957, credited as Władysław Sheybal), directed by Andrzej Wajda, before emigrating to the United Kingdom, where he was typically cast in villainous roles.[5] He also appeared as Holocaust survivor Egon Sobotnik in the television mini-series QB VII.[6]
He had a dual role as "the Director" and as Pierre Louys in Ken Russell's The Debussy Film, one of Russell's composer biopics for the BBC.[7] Other Russell films in which he appeared were Billion Dollar Brain, Women in Love and The Boy Friend.[8]
His other films include Casino Royale, Doppelgänger, The Last Valley, Puppet on a Chain, Innocent Bystanders, The Wind and the Lion, The Lady Vanishes, Fire and Sword and Red Dawn.[9]
Sheybal's other TV credits include Z-Cars, Danger Man, The Troubleshooters, The Saint, The Human Jungle, The Baron, The Champions, Callan, Strange Report, UFO, The New Avengers, Supernatural, Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, Shōgun, Smiley's People,[10] and The Man in Room 17.
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In 1977, he won the Dracula Society's prestigious Hamilton Deane Award for his performance in the BBC play Night of the Marionettes, part of the Supernatural series, in which he played a sinister Austrian innkeeper whose life-size puppets supposedly inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.[11][12] Sheybal's final stage appearance was as Friedrich Nietzsche in the Pierre Bourgeade play The Eagle and the Serpent at London's Offstage Downstairs Theatre in 1988.[13]
He died in London in 1992, aged 69, from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery.[8]
Selected filmography
- Kanał (1957) - Michał 'Ogromny', the composter
- Trzy Kobiety (1957) - Gestapo Officer
- From Russia with Love (1963) - chess grandmaster Tov Kronsteen
- Return from the Ashes (1965) - Paul, Chess Club Manager
- Casino Royale (1967) - Le Chiffre's Representative
- Billion Dollar Brain (1967) - Dr. Eiwort
- The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) - Herbert von Krolock (voice)
- To Grab the Ring (1968) - Mijnheer Smith
- Deadfall (1968) - Dr. Delgado
- The Limbo Line (1968) - Oleg
- Mosquito Squadron (1969) - Lieutenant Schack
- Doppelgänger (1969) - Psychiatrist
- Women in Love (1969) - Loerke
- Leo the Last (1970) - Laszlo
- UFO (1970) - Dr. Douglas Jackson
- The Last Valley (1971) - Mathias
- Puppet on a Chain (1971) - Meegern
- The Boy Friend (1971) - De Thril
- The Spy's Wife (1972) - Vladek
- Innocent Bystanders (1972) - Aaron Kaplan
- Scorpio (1973) - Zemetkin
- Shado (1974) - Dr. Doug Jackson
- Invasion: UFO (1974) - Dr. Doug Jackson
- S*P*Y*S (1974) - Borisenko
- The Kiss (1974) - Portiere d'albergo
- UFO: Distruggete base Luna! (1974) - Dr. Doug Jackson
- The Wind and the Lion (1975) - The Bashaw
- House of Pleasure for Women (1976) - Francesco
- The Sell Out (1976) - Dutchman
- Gulliver's Travels (1977) - President of Blefuscu (voice)
- Hamlet (1979) - Player Queen / Lucianus / 1st Player
- The Lady Vanishes (1979) - Trainmaster
- Avalanche Express (1979) - Zannbin
- Shōgun (1980) - Captain Ferriera
- The Apple (1980) - Boogalow
- All About a Prima Ballerina (1980) - Marcus
- Fire and Sword (1981) - Andret
- Marco Polo (1982) - Prosecuting Reverend
- Where Is Parsifal? (1984)
- Memed My Hawk (1984) - Ali
- Red Dawn (1984) - General Bratchenko
- The Jigsaw Man (1984) - Gen. Zorin
- Strike It Rich (1990) - Kinski
- After Midnight (1990) - Hiyam El-Afi, The Hotel Manager
- Double X: The Name of the Game (1992) - Pawnbroker
References
- ^ a b Flintoff, Ian (30 October 1992). "Vladek Sheybal: A very Polish practitioner". The Guardian. Manchester.
- ^ "Home and Bio English - Vladek Sheybal Online". www.vladeksheybal.com.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Smiley's People (1982)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "Vladek Sheybal". The Times. London. 16 November 1992.
- ^ McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111968 – via Google Books.
- ^ https://movie-dude.co.uk/[TV]%20'QB%20VII'%20(1974).htm
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Debussy Film, The (1965)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ a b "Vladek Sheybal". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
- ^ "Vladek Sheybal - Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
- ^ "Vladek Sheybal". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "The Hamilton Deane Award". www.thedraculasociety.org.uk.
- ^ "Night of the Marionettes (1977)". BFI.
- ^ "Google Translate". translate.google.com.
External links
- Vladek Sheybal at IMDb