Turhan Bey

Turhan Bey
Born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy
(1922-03-30)30 March 1922
Vienna, Austria
Died 30 September 2012(2012-09-30) (aged 90)
Vienna, Austria
Years active 1941–1953 and 1990–1998

Turhan Bey (30 March 1922 – 30 September 2012)[1] was an Austrian-born[2] actor. Turhan was active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953. He was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans.[3] After his return to Austria, he pursued careers as a photographer and stage director. Returning briefly to Hollywood to receive an award, he made several guest appearances in 1990s television series including SeaQuest DSV, Murder, She Wrote and Babylon 5 as well as a number of films. After retiring he appeared in a number of documentaries, including a German-language documentary on his life.

Life and career

Turhan was born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy in Vienna, Austria, on 30 March 1922, as the son of a Turkish diplomat and a Czechoslovakian Jewish mother.[3][4] After the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany and his parents' divorce, he and his mother emigrated to the U.S. in 1940, settling in Los Angeles.[5]

Bey was an acting student at Ben Bard's School of Dramatic Art and was active in the Pasadena Playhouse.[6]

When he enrolled in classes to improve his English, he also was asked to play a role in a teacher's play. A talent scout from Warner Brothers was in the audience, was impressed and signed him to a contract, under the name of Turhan Bey.[5]

He often appeared with María Montez; they appeared in the Universal films Raiders of the Desert, Arabian Nights, White Savage, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Bowery to Broadway, Follow the Boys, and Sudan. He also had roles in Night in Paradise, The Amazing Mr. X and Out of the Blue. In 1944 a poll by exhibitors of "Stars of Tomorrow" listed him at number nine.[7]

Turhan's career faded by the late 1940s and, after filming Sam Katzman's Prisoners of the Casbah in 1953, and facing an unknown scandal,[8] he moved back to Vienna and lived with his mother while working as a photographer for girlie magazines.[8] Turhan returned to the United States in the early 1990s and appeared in two episodes of the science fiction TV series Babylon 5: first as the Emperor of the Centauri Republic (who also had the name Turhan), and later as a Minbari Ranger named Turval. A documentary film about Turhan, Vom Glück verfolgt. Wien - Hollywood - Retour, was made in 2002 by Andrea Eckert.

Death

Turhan died on 30 September 2012 from Parkinson's disease.[9]

Turhan Bey's long absence from Hollywood was referenced in the first part of the 1969 Get Smart episode To Sire, With Love. Maxwell Smart claims that after appearing in an unspecified movie involving mummies, Bey was cursed and his career never recovered. Obviously, this occurred before the mid-1990's resurgence of Bey's career.

Filmography

Actor
Year Film Role Notes
1941 Shadows on the Stairs Ram Singh
1941 Footsteps in the Dark Ahmed
1941 Raiders of the Desert Hassen Mohammed
1941 Burma Convoy Mr. Yuchau
1941 The Gay Falcon Manuel Retana
1941 Bombay Clipper Captain Chundra
1942 Unseen Enemy Ito
1942 Junior G-Men of the Air Henchman Araka
1942 The Falcon Takes Over Jules Amthor Uncredited
1942 Danger in the Pacific Tagani
1942 Drums of the Congo Juma, Henchman
1942 Destination Unknown Captain Muto
1942 The Mummy's Tomb Mehemet Bey
1942 Arabian Nights Captain of the Guard
1943 The Adventures of Smilin' Jack Kageyama Serial film
1943 White Savage Tamara
1943 Captive Wild Woman End Narrator Voice, Uncredited
1943 Background to Danger Hassan
1943 Crazy House Turhan Bey Uncredited
1943 The Mad Ghoul Eric Iverson
1944 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Jamiel
1944 Dragon Seed Lao Er Tan - Middle Son
1944 The Climax Franz Munzer
1944 Bowery to Broadway Ted Barrie
1945 Frisco Sal Dude Forante
1945 Sudan Herua
1946 Night in Paradise Aesop
1947 Out of the Blue David Gelleo
1948 Adventures of Casanova Lorenzo
1948 The Amazing Mr. X Alexis
1948 Parole, Inc. Barney Rodescu
1949 Song of India Gopal
1953 Prisoners of the Casbah Ahmed
1993 SeaQuest DSV Dimitri Rossovich TV series (one episode: "Treasure of the Mind")
1994 Possessed by the Night Calvin
1994 Healer Igor Vostovich
1995 Murder, She Wrote Sherif Faris TV series (one episode: "Death 'N Denial")
1995 VR.5 Abernathy TV series (one episode: "Reunion")
1995 Grid Runners Dr. Cameron
1997 The Visitor TV series (one episode: "The Black Box")
1995, 1998 Babylon 5 Centauri Emperor Turhan / Turval TV series (two episodes: "The Coming of Shadows" and "Learning Curve" )
2000 The Skateboard Kid II Zeno, an Angel
2002 Vom Glück verfolgt. Wien - Hollywood - Retour Himself TV documentary
Producer
Year Film Notes
1953 Stolen Identity Producer

References

  1. ↑ Garrett 2005, 28.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 Feramisco & Koster 2008, 167.
  4. ↑ http://thegardenisland.com/news/world/s-hollywood-actor-dies-in-austria/article_59f223f6-b319-5a22-93fd-8d56e76a154d.html
  5. 1 2 Hevesi, Dennis (13 October 2012). "Turhan Bey, 90, Screen's 'Turkish Delight'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. P.118.
  7. ↑ "SAGA OF THE HIGH SEAS.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania: 1860-1954). Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. November 11, 1944. p. 9. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Lamparski, p.93.
  9. ↑ Hevesi, Dennis (11 October 2012). "Turhan Bey, Actor, Dies at 90". The New York Times.

Bibliography

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