Zsa Zsa Gabor
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Eastern name order Template:Infobox person Zsa Zsa Gabor (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell, Template:IPA; born Sári Gábor Template:IPA; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were socialites and actresses Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor.
Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she placed as second runner-up, and began her stage career in Vienna the following year.<ref name=Staggs>Staggs (2019), pp. 48–52</ref> She emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1941, and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style." She was considered to have a personality that "exuded charm and grace".<ref>Barris, George. Barris Cars of the Stars, MBI Publishing (2008), p. 71</ref> Her first film role was a supporting role in Lovely to Look At, released in 1952. The same year, she appeared in We're Not Married!, and played one of her few leading roles in Moulin Rouge, directed by John Huston. Huston later described Gabor as a "creditable" actress.<ref>Huston, John. John Huston: Interviews, Univ. Press of Mississippi (2001), p. 11</ref>
Outside her acting career, Gabor was known for her extravagant Hollywood lifestyle, her glamorous personality, and her many marriages. In total, Gabor had nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders. She once stated, "Men have always liked me and I have always liked men. But I like a mannish man, a man who knows how to talk to and treat a woman—not just a man with muscles."<ref>"Love Hints from Zsa Zsa", Life Magazine, October 15, 1951 (cover story).</ref>
Template:AnchorEarly life
[edit]Zsa Zsa Gabor was born Sári Gábor on February 6, 1917,Template:Efn in Budapest, Hungary, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.<ref name="yearofbirth" /> The middle of three daughters, her parents were Jolie (née Janszieka Tillemann) and Vilmos Gábor (né Grün),<ref name="Grün-Gábor">
</ref><ref name="nytimes/vilmos-81">
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- Template:Cite news</ref> owner of a jewellery shop<ref name="encyclopedia/gabors">Template:Cite web</ref> store in Budapest,<ref name="fdrlibrary/wrb0210">Template:Cite web</ref> a Royal Hungarian Army officer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Jolie Gabor's date of birth was September 30, 1896, although most sources cite September 29, but September 30 date and her name at birth as "Janka" not "Jansci" are supported by her birth certificate.</ref> Her parents were both of Jewish ancestry.
Gabor was named after Sári Fedák, an actress. Gabor was called ZsaZsa because, as a little girl, she couldn't pronounce her own name.
In 1941, Gabor left Hungary for the United States. During a layover at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska en route to Hollywood, she made headlines by telling the Associated Press that she had danced with Adolf Hitler twice.<ref>The Tampa Tribune. June 22, 1941. p. 3.</ref><ref>The Lincoln Star. June 20, 1941. p. 2.</ref>Template:Efn
On July 8, 1944, aided by Gabor's husband, Conrad Hilton,<ref name="dday-overlord/8-july-1944">Template:Cite web</ref> Gabor's parents fled Budapest during the Nazi invasion and occupation of Hungary.<ref name="fdrlibrary/wrb0210"/><ref name=JPost>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Adams, Cindy. Jolie Gabor, Mason/Charter Publ. (1975), pp. 135–49</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Bennetts>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Gabor's elder sister, Magda, later became an American socialite and her younger sister, Eva, became an American actress and businesswoman. The Gabor sisters were first cousins of Annette Lantos, wife of California Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
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In January 1933, following her time as a student at a Swiss boarding school, Gabor placed second runner-up in the fifth Miss Hungary pageant, behind Lilly Radó and crown winner Júlia Gál.<ref name="Staggs"/> On August 31, 1934, she sang the soubrette role in Richard Tauber's operetta, Der singende Traum (The Singing Dream), at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.<ref name="Staggs"/> This would mark her first stage appearance.
In 1944, she co-wrote a novel with writer Victoria Wolf entitled Every Man For Himself. According to Gabor, the fictional story was derived, in small part, from Gabor's life experiences. The book was subsequently bought by an American magazine.<ref name="Novel">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1949, Gabor declined an offer to play the leading role in a film version of the classic book Lady Chatterley's Lover. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, she turned down the role of Lady Chatterley due to the story's controversial theme.<ref name="Chatterley">Template:Cite web</ref>
Her more serious film acting credits include Moulin Rouge, Lovely to Look At, and We're Not Married!, all from 1952, and 1953's Lili. In 1958, she ran the gamut of moviemaking, from Touch of Evil to the camp oddity Queen of Outer Space. Later, she appeared in such films as Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) and Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (1984). She did cameos for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), and A Very Brady Sequel (1996), as well as voicing a character in the animated Happily Ever After (1989).Template:Citation needed
She was also a regular guest on television shows, appearing with Milton Berle,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Howard Stern,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> David Frost, Arsenio Hall, Phil Donahue,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Joan Rivers.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> She was a guest on the Bob Hope specials,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Dean Martin Roasts, Hollywood Squares, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and It's Garry Shandling's Show.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1968, she appeared in the role of Minerva on an episode of Batman, becoming the show's final "special guest villain" before it was cancelled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1973, she was the guest roastee on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> She appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987, where she told host David Letterman about her blind date with Henry Kissinger, which was arranged by Richard Nixon.<ref>Zsa Zsa Gabor on Late Night, February 11, 1987</ref>
Author Gerold Frank, who helped Gabor write her autobiography in 1960, described his impressions of her:
In his autobiography, television host Merv Griffin, who was known to spend time with Gabor's younger sister Eva socially, wrote of the Gabor sisters' arrival in New York and Hollywood: Template:Blockquote
In 1998, film historian Neal Gabler called her kind of celebrity "The Zsa Zsa Factor".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
[edit]Gabor was married nine times. She was divorced seven times, and one marriage was annulled. She wrote in her autobiography, Template:Blockquote
Her husbands, in chronological order, were:
- Burhan Belge (May 17, 1935Template:SndDecember 4, 1941; divorced)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Gerold Frank 1960">Gabor, Zsa Zsa; Frank, Gerold. Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story, The World Publishing Company, 1960.</ref>
- Conrad Hilton (April 10, 1942 – October 28, 1947; divorced)<ref name="Gerold Frank 1960" /><ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite news</ref>
- "Conrad's decision to change my name from Zsa Zsa to Georgia symbolized everything my marriage to him would eventually become. My Hungarian roots were to be ripped out and my background ignored. ... I soon discovered that my marriage to Conrad meant the end of my freedom. My own needs were completely ignored: I belonged to Conrad."<ref name=foxnews />
- George Sanders (April 2, 1949 – April 2, 1954; divorced)<ref name="Gerold Frank 1960" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Herbert Hutner (November 5, 1962 – March 3, 1966; divorced)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- "Herbert took away my will to work. With his kindness and generosity, he almost annihilated my drive. I have always been the kind of woman who could never be satisfied by money – only excitement and achievement."<ref name=foxnews>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Photo of Zsa Gabor and husband Herbert Hutner Template:Webarchive</ref>
- Joshua S. Cosden Jr. (March 9, 1966 – October 18, 1967; divorced)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Jack Ryan (January 21, 1975 – August 24, 1976; divorced)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Michael O'Hara (August 27, 1976 – November 30, 1982; divorced)<ref>Gabor, Zsa Zsa (and Wendy Leigh). One Life is Not Enough (Delacorte Press, 1991), p. 311.</ref>
- Felipe de Alba (April 13–14, 1983; annulled)<ref>Current Biography Yearbook (H. W. Wilson Company, 1989), p. 177.</ref>
- Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt (August 14, 1986 – December 18, 2016; her death)
Gabor's divorces inspired her to make numerous quotable puns and innuendos about her marital and extramarital history. She commented: "I am a marvelous housekeeper: Every time I leave a man I keep his house."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When asked how many husbands she had had, she used to say: "You mean other than my own?"<ref>"Zsa Zsa Gabor knew femininity was a performance. She played it perfectly". The Guardian.</ref> Gabor dated German composer Willy Schmidt-Gentner,<ref>Staggs (2019), p. 57</ref> and Dominican diplomat Porfirio Rubirosa.<ref name=Bennetts /> She also claimed to have had sexual encounters with her stepson Nicky<ref name=Bennetts /> and with the founder of the Republic of Turkiye and the first Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.<ref>Gabor's romance with Atatürk:
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In 1973, Gabor purchased a nearly 9,000-square-foot Hollywood Regency-style home in Bel Air. It was originally built for Howard Hughes in 1955 and featured a copper French style roof.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gabor's only child, daughter Constance Francesca Hilton, was born on March 10, 1947.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Gabor's 1991 autobiography, One Lifetime Is Not Enough, her pregnancy resulted from rape by then-husband Conrad Hilton.Template:Sfn She was the only Gabor sister who had a child.<ref name="Bennetts" /> In 2005, a lawsuit was filed accusing Constance of larceny and fraud. She allegedly forged her mother's signature to get a US$2 million loan by using her mother's Bel Air house as collateral. However, the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Santa Monica, threw out the case due to Gabor's failure to appear in court, or to sign an affidavit that she indeed was a co-plaintiff on the original lawsuit filed by her husband, Frédéric von Anhalt. Francesca Hilton died in 2015 at the age of 67 from a stroke.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gabor's husband never told her about her daughter's death, out of concern for her physical and emotional state.<ref name="last wish">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gabor and her last husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, adopted at least ten adult men who paid them a fee of up to $2 million to legally become descendants of Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt. Prinz von Anhalt had himself paid Marie-Auguste to adopt him when he was 36 years old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
While Gabor's parents were Jewish,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> she was a practicing Catholic.<ref name=JPost/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legal and financial difficulties
[edit]On June 14, 1989, in Beverly Hills, California, Gabor was accused of slapping the face of Beverly Hills police officer Paul Kramer when he stopped her for a traffic violation at 8551 Olympic Boulevard.<ref>Profile, Mugshots.net Template:Webarchive; retrieved April 18, 2007</ref> At trial three months later, a jury convicted her of slapping Kramer. They also found her guilty of driving without a license and possessing an open container of alcohol—a flask of Jack Daniel's—in her $215,000 Rolls-Royce, but acquitted her of the charge of disobeying Kramer when she drove away from the traffic stop.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 25, 1989, Beverly Hills Municipal Judge Charles G. Rubin sentenced Gabor to serve three days in jail, to pay fines and restitution totaling $12,937, to perform 120 hours of community service, and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On June 14, 1990, Gabor dropped her conviction appeal and agreed to serve her sentence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, she refused to take part in community service and served three days in jail from July 27 to 30, 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gabor had a long-running feud with German-born actress Elke Sommer beginning in 1984 when both appeared on Circus of the Stars, and escalating into a multimillion-dollar libel suit by 1993. The suit resulted in an order for Gabor and her husband to pay Sommer $3.3 million in general and punitive damages.<ref name="pool1993">Pool, Bob. "$3.3 million libel award in Sommer-Gabor Feud", Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1993; accessed January 15, 2011.</ref>
On January 25, 2009, the Associated Press reported that her attorney stated that forensic accountants determined that Gabor may have lost as much as $10 million invested in Bernie Madoff's company, possibly through a third-party money manager.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Later life and health
[edit]On November 27, 2002, Gabor was a front seat passenger in an automobile crash on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, from which she remained partially paralyzed and reliant on a wheelchair for mobility.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She survived strokes in 2005 and 2007 and underwent surgeries. In 2010, she fractured her hip and underwent a successful hip replacement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In August 2010, Gabor was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in serious condition and received last rites from a Catholic priest, but survived.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2011, her right leg was amputated above the knee to save her life from an infection.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was hospitalized again in 2011 for a number of emergencies, and fell into a coma.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On February 8, 2016, two days after her 99th birthday, Gabor was rushed to hospital after suffering from breathing difficulties. She was diagnosed with a feeding tube-related lung infection and was scheduled to undergo surgery to have her feeding tube removed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2016, it was reported that Prinz von Anhalt was arranging to move with Gabor to Hungary in time for her 100th birthday in 2017, in accordance with her wishes that she return to the country and spend the rest of her life there.<ref name="last wish" />
Death
[edit]While in a coma, Gabor died from cardiac arrest at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on December 18, 2016, at the age of 99. On her death certificate, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease are listed as contributing causes.<ref name=ZSACertificate>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She had been on life support for the previous five years.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Her funeral was held on December 30 in a Catholic ceremony at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, where around 100 mourners attended.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her ashes, placed in a gold rectangular box, were interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in July 2021, Prinz von Anhalt had them reinterred in the artists' section of Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest in order to fulfil her wish to return to Hungary. He said that the remains were transported in their own first-class airline seat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Series | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–1960 | What's My Line? | Mystery guest | Recurring role (4 episodes) | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1953–1964 | Jukebox Jury | Musical Judge | Recurring role (3 episodes) | |
| 1955 | The Red Skelton Show | Movie Star | Episode: "Cookie and Zsa Zsa Gabor" | |
| Climax! | Mme Florizel, Princess Stephanie |
Episodes: "A Man of Taste", "The Great Impersonation" | <ref name=":2" /> | |
| December Bride | Herself | Episode: "The Zsa Zsa Gabor Show" | <ref name=":2" /> | |
| 1950–1956 | The Milton Berle Show | Herself | Recurring role (3 episodes) | <ref>Template:Citation</ref> |
| 1956 | Sneak Preview | Episode: "Just Plain Folks" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=ctva>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 1956 | The Ford Television Theatre | Dara Szabo | Episode: "Autumn Fever" | |
| 1956–1961 | General Electric Theater | Various | Recurring role (5 episodes) | |
| 1956–1958 | Matinee Theatre | Various | Recurring role (3 episodes) | |
| 1957–1960 | The Arthur Murray Party | Herself | Recurring role (4 episodes) | |
| 1957 | The Life of Riley | Gigi | Episode: "Foreign Intrigue" | |
| 1957 | Playhouse 90 | Erika Segnitz, Marita Lorenz | Recurring role (2 episodes) | |
| The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom | Herself | |||
| 1958 | Shower of Stars | Herself | March 20, 1958 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1959 | Lux Video Theatre | Helen | ||
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Herself | Recurring guest (2 episodes) | ||
| 1960 | Ninotchka | Herself | Television film | |
| Make Room for Daddy | Lisa Laslow | Episode: "Kathy and the Glamour Girl" | ||
| 1962 | Mister Ed | Herself | Episode: "Zsa Zsa" | <ref name=":2" /> |
| 1962–1977 | The Merv Griffin Show | Herself | Recurring guest (42 episodes) | |
| 1963–1980 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself | Recurring guest (31 episodes) | |
| 1963 | The Dick Powell Show | Girl | ||
| 1963–1964 | Burke's Law | Anna, the Maid | Recurring role (2 episodes) | |
| 1964 | The Joey Bishop Show | Herself | Episode: "Zsa Zsa Redecorates the Nursery" | |
| 1965 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Pilot | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" | |
| Gilligan's Island | Erika Tiffany Smith | Episode: "Erika Tiffany-Smith to the Rescue" | ||
| 1966 | Alice in Wonderland... | The Queen of Hearts (voice) | Television special | <ref name=":1" /> |
| The Rounders | Ilona Hobson | Episode: "The Scavenger Hunt" | ||
| F Troop | Marika | Episode: "Play, Gypsy, Play" | ||
| 1966–1975 | Hollywood Squares | Herself | Recurring guest (64 episodes) | |
| 1967 | Bonanza | Madame Marova | Episode: "Maestro Hoss" | <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
| 1968 | My Three Sons | Herself | Episode: "Ernie and Zsa Zsa" | <ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Herself | Recurring role (8 episodes) | <ref name=":3" /> | |
| The Name of the Game | Mira Retzyk | Episode: "Fear of High Places" | ||
| Batman | Minerva | Recurring role (2 episodes) | <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | |
| 1969 | Bracken's World | Herself | Episode: "King David" | |
| 1971 | Mooch Goes to Hollywood | Narrator | Television film | |
| Night Gallery | Mrs. Moore | Episode: "The Messiah on Mott Street/The Painted Mirror" | ||
| 1974–1976 | Dinah! | Self | Recurring role (10 episodes) | |
| 1976 | Let's Make a Deal | Home Viewer | ||
| 1977 | Hollywood Connection | Self | Recurring role (8 episodes) | |
| 3 Girls 3 | Self | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| 1979 | Supertrain | Audrey | Episode: "A Very Formal Heist" | |
| 1980 | The Love Boat | Annette | Episode: "She Stole His Heart/Return of the Captain's Brother/Swag and Mag" | |
| Hollywood, ich komme | Stargast | Television film | ||
| 1981 | The Facts of Life | Countess Calvet | Episode: "Bought and Sold" | |
| As the World Turns | Lydia Marlowe | Series regular | ||
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Zizi | Episode: "The Purrfect Crime" | |
| California Girls | Herself | Television film | ||
| 1986 | Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment | "Star Hungry" Celebrity | Television special | |
| 1986–1989 | The New Hollywood Squares | Panelist | Recurring role (12 episodes) | |
| 1988 | Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special | Princess Zsa Zsa | Television film | |
| 1989 | It's Garry Shandling's Show | Goddess of Commitment | Episode: "It's Garry and Angelica's Show: Part 1" | <ref name=":0" /> |
| 1989 | The Munsters Today | Herself | Episode: "Threehundredsomething" | <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
| 1990 | City | Babette Croquette | Episode: "Oil and Water" | |
| 1991 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Sonya Lamor | Episode: "Hi-Ho Silver" | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 1994 | Late Show with David Letterman | Herself | Sketch | <ref name=":2" /> |
| 1994 | Ricki Lake | Herself | Expert | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1994 | This Is Your Life | Herself | Tribute | Template:Citation needed |
| 1995 | Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills | Herself | Episode "The Glitch" | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Theatre
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Der singende Traum | Theater an der Wien | ||
| 1961–1970 | Blithe Spirit | Elvira | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| 1968–1970 | Forty Carats | Ann Stanley | Broadway; 780 performances | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1975 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Aunt Abby Brewster | Arlington Heights, Illinois | <ref name=":3" /> |
| 1993 | Cinderella | Fairy Godmother | UCLA | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Bell, Book and CandleTemplate:Citation needed | ||||
| Finders Will ReturnTemplate:Citation needed | ||||
| NinotchkaTemplate:Citation needed |
Notes
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes Template:Reflist
Bibliography
Further reading
- An abridged audio-cassette of the book, read by Gabor and produced by Susan E. Perrin, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1991.
External links
[edit]- Pages with broken file links
- 1917 births
- 2016 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century Hungarian actresses
- 20th-century Roman Catholics
- 21st-century Roman Catholics
- Actresses from Budapest
- Age controversies
- American amputees
- American film actresses
- American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
- American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
- American Roman Catholics
- American socialites
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Beauty pageant contestants with disabilities
- Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery
- Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- Catholics from California
- Hilton family
- Deaths from coronary artery disease
- Gabor family
- House of Ascania
- Hungarian beauty pageant winners
- Hungarian emigrants to the United States
- Hungarian film actresses
- Hungarian people of Jewish descent
- Hungarian Roman Catholics
- Hungarian socialites
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Bel Air, Los Angeles
- People with disorders of consciousness