Slezak, Walter (Leo)

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

Slezak, Walter [Leo] (1902–83), actor and singer. The son of the famed opera singer Leo Slezak, he was born in Vienna and had a successful career there in musicals before being brought to this country to appear in the musical Meet My Sister (1930). Actually, Lee Shubert had seen Oscar Karlweis in a show, but when an emissary was sent to engage him, Slezak was substituting and was signed by mistake. The pudgy, beady‐eyed actor proved a surprise success and was seen in numerous plays and musicals, the most memorable being Music in the Air (1932), in which he introduced “I've Told Every Little Star”; I Married an Angel (1938); My Three Angels (1953); and Fanny (1954). He was long popular in films. Autobiography: What Time's the Next Swan?, 1962.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Slezak, Walter (Leo)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Slezak, Walter (Leo)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-SlezakWalterLeo.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Slezak, Walter (Leo)." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-SlezakWalterLeo.html

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