Biography
Charles Korvin (born Géza Kárpáthi) was a Hungarian-American actor who worked in film, television and theatre. Born on 21 November 1907 in Piestany, Austria-Hungary (now Piešťany, Slovakia), he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and spent ten years in France as a still and motion-picture photographer. In 1937 he co-directed the documentary Heart of Spain, filmed on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War.
Korvin moved to the United States in 1940. He trained at the Barter Theatre in Virginia and made his Broadway debut in 1943 under the name Géza Korvin in the play Dark Eyes. After signing with Universal Pictures he adopted the stage name Charles Korvin. He appeared in several 1940s films, including three with Merle Oberon. Around 1951 he was blacklisted after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee and turned to television, with roles in series such as Zorro (as The Eagle) and The Honeymooners.
He returned to feature films as Capt. Thiele in Stanley Kramer’s Ship of Fools (1965). Korvin remained active in television and voice work until the 1990s. He died in New York City on 18 June 1998.
