Vladek Sheybal

Vladek Sheybal
Sheybal in 1965
Born
Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal

(1923-03-12)12 March 1923
Zgierz, Poland
Died16 October 1992(1992-10-16) (aged 69)
London, United Kingdom
Resting place
Putney Vale Cemetery, London
Citizenship
  • Polish
  • British
Alma materMerton College, Oxford
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active1957–1992
Websitevladeksheybal.com

Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992)[1] was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions.[2] 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).[3][4] He also had notable recurring roles as Dr. Douglas Jackson in Gerry Anderson's UFO, Captain Ferreira in the NBC miniseries Shōgun, and Gen. Bratchenko in the 1984 version of Red Dawn.

He became a naturalised British citizen, but remained "fiercely proud of his homeland and its culture".[2]

Life and career

A granite headstone with a cross inscribed on it and a bunch of red and white flowers next to it, among many other gravestones
Sheybal's grave at Putney Vale Cemetery, London, in 2015

Sheybal was born in Zgierz, near Łódź, in the Second Polish Republic.[5] The son of a university professor, he was attracted to acting at an early age.[1] At the age of 16, he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during the occupation of Poland; escaping twice only to be recaptured and subjected to torture as punishment.[1] After World War II ended, he began performing in Polish theatres and cinemas, earning a reputation as a skilled actor.[1] He appeared in the film Kanał (1957, credited as Władysław Sheybal), directed by Andrzej Wajda, before departing for Paris and then Vienna in 1958 owing to his political opposition to the Communist Party.[6][1]

Having difficulty finding work, he emigrated to Britain in 1959 where his reputation from Polish films lent him enough credibility to support himself teaching acting.[6] He was soon appearing on the London stage, and was hired as the director of the Bromley Little Theatre in 1960.[1] That same year, he directed a production of Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina at Oxford University.[1] This production was seen by executives of the BBC, and it led to work as a director for opera and theatre adaptations on British television in the early 1960s, including works for ITV Play of the Week in 1961 and 1962 and as well as productions for the BBC.[1] In 1964, he had a triumphant success on the British stage as "He" in Leonid Andreyev's He Who Gets Slapped at the Hampstead Theatre.[1]

In 1963, he made his British cinema debut playing the evil secret agent Kronsteen in the James Bond film From Russia with Love.[1] He appeared often in villainous roles or character parts in British cinema up until his death in 1992.[6] He also appeared as Holocaust survivor Egon Sobotnik in the television mini-series QB VII.[7] He had a dual role as "the Director" and as Pierre Louys in Ken Russell's The Debussy Film (1965), one of Russell's composer biopics for the BBC.[8] Other Russell films in which he appeared were Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Women in Love (1969), and The Boy Friend (1971).[9]

His other films include Casino Royale (1967), Doppelgänger (1969), The Last Valley, Puppet on a Chain, Innocent Bystanders, The Wind and the Lion, The Lady Vanishes (1979), Fire and Sword, and Red Dawn.[10]

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 (1977), Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, Shōgun, Smiley's People,[11] and The Man in Room 17.

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.[12][13] 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.[14]

In years 1950–1957,[15] he was in a relationship with actress Irena Eichlerówna. In England, Sheybal dated both men and women, but formed no long-term relationship.[16]

He died in London in 1992, aged 69, from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery.[9]

Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1957 Kanał Michał 'Ogromny'
1963 From Russia with Love Tov Kronsteen
1965 Return from the Ashes Paul
1967 Casino Royale Le Chiffre's Representative
Billion Dollar Brain Dr. Eiwort
The Fearless Vampire Killers Herbert von Krolock Voice only
1968 To Grab the Ring Mijnheer Smith
Deadfall Dr. Delgado
The Limbo Line Oleg
1969 Mosquito Squadron Lieutenant Shack
Doppelgänger Psychiatrist
Women in Love Loerke
1970 Leo the Last Lazslow
Puppet on a Chain Meegeren
1971 The Last Valley Mathias
The Boy Friend De Thril
1972 Pilate and Others Caiaphas
The Spy's Wife Vladek
Innocent Bystanders Aaron Kaplan
1973 Scorpio Zemetkin
1974 S*P*Y*S Borisenko
The Kiss Portiere d'albergo
1975 The Wind and the Lion The Bashaw
1976 House of Pleasure for Women Francesco
The Sell Out Dutchman
1977 Gulliver's Travels President of Blefuscu Voice only
1979 The Lady Vanishes Trainmaster
Avalanche Express Zannbin
1980 The Apple Mr. Boogalow
1981 Fire and Sword Andret
1983 The Jigsaw Man Gen. Zorin
1984 Where Is Parsifal? George
Memed My Hawk Ali
Red Dawn General Bratchenko
1990 Strike It Rich Kinski
After Midnight Hiyam El-Afi
1992 Double X: The Name of the Game Pawnbroker
Sheybal as Kronsteen in From Russia with Love (1963)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1961–1963 ITV Play of the Week Various 3 episodes
1963 The Sentimental Agent Arva Episode: "Meet My Son, Henry"
Z-Cars Yador Episode: "Daylight Robbery"
1964 The Human Jungle William Jones Episode: "Wild Goose Chase"
Danger Man Tewfick Episode: "Fish on the Hook"
1965 The Troubleshooters Herr Lenz Episode: "The Schloss Belt"
1966 The Baron Frederick Reiner Episode: "And Suddenly You're Dead"
The Saint Nikita Roskin Episode: "The Helpful Pirate"
Theatre 625 Narrator Episode: "Amerika"
1968 The Champions Max Kellor Episode: "The Dark Island"
1969 Callan Dicer Episode: "The Little Bits and Pieces of Love"
Strange Report Kulik Episode: "REPORT 7931 SNIPER 'When is your cousin not?'"
1970 Omnibus Joseph Goebbels Episode: "Dance of the Seven Veils"
Play for Today Hans Weider Episode: "A Distant Thunder"
1970–1971 UFO Dr. Doug Jackson 10 episodes
1972 The Protectors Sandor Karleon Episode: "Brother Hood"
1974 BBC Play of the Month Mr. Miller Episode: "The Deep Blue Sea"
Napoleon and Love Prince Poniatowski Episode: "Maria Walewska"
QB VII Sobotnik Miniseries
No, Honestly Giovanni Episode: "Only Make Believe"
1975 Rogue's Rock Boris Lubchenko 5 episodes
1976 The New Avengers Zacardi Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons"
1977 Supernatural Herr Hubert Episode: "Night of the Marionettes"
1980 Shōgun Captain Ferriera Miniseries
1982 Smiley's People Otto Leipzig
1983 Marco Polo Prosecuting Reverend Episode 8
1989 Champagne Charlie Count Plasky TV film
1992 The Bill Mr. Lederman Episode: "Sympathy for the Devil"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Obituaries: Vladek Sheybal". The Stage and Television Today. 11 February 1993. p. 29.
  2. 1 2 Flintoff, Ian (30 October 1992). "Vladek Sheybal: A very Polish practitioner". The Guardian. Manchester.
  3. ↑ "Home and Bio English – Vladek Sheybal Online". vladeksheybal.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Smiley's People (1982)". screenonline.org.uk.
  5. ↑ "Vladek Sheybal". The Times. London. 16 November 1992.
  6. 1 2 3 McFarlane, Brian (16 May 2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781526111968.
  7. ↑ "'Qb Vii' (1974)". Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Debussy Film, The (1965)". screenonline.org.uk.
  9. 1 2 "Vladek Sheybal". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "Vladek Sheybal – Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  11. ↑ "Vladek Sheybal". aveleyman.com.
  12. ↑ "The Hamilton Deane Award". thedraculasociety.org.uk.
  13. ↑ "Night of the Marionettes (1977)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019.
  14. ↑ "Google Translate". translate.google.com.
  15. ↑ Bobka, Leslav. "Vladek o Lenie; Irena Eichlerówna we wspomnieniu Władysława Sheybala" [Vladek about Lena; Irena Eichlerówna in Władysław Sheybal's memory] (PDF). Teatr (in Polish). No. 12. pp. 40–42.
  16. ↑ Dajbor, Rafał (2022). "Powstaniec, aktor, gej". Replika (in Polish). No. 98. p. 29. ISSN 1896-3617. (Vladek był biseksualny; jeszcze w Polsce związany był z Ireną Eichlerówną, w Anglii z nikim nie związał się na stałe, miał romanse zarówno z kobietami, jak i mężczyznami).
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.