Arthur Somlay

Somlay, Arthur

 

Born Feb. 28, 1883, in Budapest; died there Nov. 10, 1951. Hungarian actor. People’s Artist of the People’s Republic of Hungary (1950).

Somlay graduated from the Vígszínház studio in 1900 and worked in many theaters in Budapest. His roles included the title roles in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and King Lear, Egor Bulychov in Gorky’s Egor Bulychov and Others, Tiborc and bán Petur in Katona’s Bánk Bán, and Judge Sári in Móricz’ Judge Sári. Somlay joined the National Theater in Budapest in 1946; in 1948 he became chairman of the Union of Hungarian Actors. Somlay received the Kossuth Prize in 1948 and 1951.