Zsa Zsa Gabor (; born
February 6 1917) is a
Hungarian-born American
actress and
socialite.
Early life
Zsa Zsa Gabor was born as
Sári Gábor (reportedly named after a famed Hungarian actress,
Sári Fedák) in
Budapest (then part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire), the middle daughter of Vilmos Gábor, a soldier, and
Jolie Gábor.
Zsa Zsa Gabor Biography Her sisters,
Magda and
Eva, also became actresses and socialites. Their mother, Jolie (née Jancsi Tilleman), was of Jewish descent, and was related to Annette Tilleman, the wife of California politician
Tom Lantos.
[Lantos the master storyteller, communicator]
Following studies at a Swiss boarding-school, Madame Subilia's, Gabor competed in the
Miss Hungary beauty contest in 1936, but was disqualified for being underage (according to her mother's biography). On a trip to Vienna in the same year, she was discovered by the famous tenor
Richard Tauber and was invited to sing the
soubrette role in his new
operetta Der singende Traum ("The Singing Dream") at the Theater an der Wien, her first stage appearance. Gabor
reportedly had a romance with a composer named Willi Schmidt-Kentner, according to the 1960 "bio-autobiography"
Zsa Zsa Gábor, My Story , by Gerold Frank. Her initial fame came from her work as an actress, and grew from her public appearances in the 1970s and 1980s.
Personal life
Gabor has been married nine times. She was
divorced seven times, and one marriage was
annulled. Her husbands, in chronological order, are:
In 1974, she purchased from
Elvis Presley a two-story Bel Air home with an eccentric-looking French roof, built by
Howard Hughes.
[BBC report on Gabor]
Zsa Zsa was the only sister to bear a child. According to her biography,
One Lifetime Is Not Enough, her pregnancy resulted from being raped by then-husband
Conrad Hilton.
Vanity Fair review of Gabor's book Her only child is daughter
Francesca Hilton (born
March 10 1947).
In 2005, Gabor accused her daughter of larceny and fraud, and filed a lawsuit against her in a California court.
"Zsa Zsa says daughter stole $2m"
In the late 1950s, Gabor had dinner with
Frank Sinatra at LaRue's on the
Sunset Strip and spent a "forced" romantic evening with him, also according to
One Lifetime Is Not Enough. She also had a relationship with
Porfirio Rubirosa, a noted Dominican international
playboy and sometime
diplomat. She refused to leave
George Sanders to marry Rubirosa, whereupon Rubirosa married
Barbara Hutton (for 53 days) and then renewed his relationship with Gabor, who claimed that Rubirosa proposed to her every time he could, and would change the subject when she refused. They had a four-year relationship and were at one time engaged. Gabor essentially broke the engagement when she took a part in the movie
Death of a Scoundrel, which starred her ex-husband
George Sanders, over Rubirosa's intense objections.
Legal difficulties
On
June 14 1989, Gabor was accused of slapping the face of a
Beverly Hills police officer named Paul Kramer when he stopped her for a traffic violation.
[Mugshots.net Retrieved on 2007-04-18] She was found guilty of the assault in a well-publicized trial and sentenced to three days (72 hours) in the
El Segundo jail. The judge also required her to pay $13,000 in court costs. She testified that her behavior had been provoked by the officer, who she said had behaved extremely rudely and insulted her with obscenities. This fiasco was published in the documentary, "The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor", without her consent.
Gabor also had a long-running feud with
Elke Sommer that culminated in a
libel suit.
[Pool, Bob (December 9, 1993). $3.3-Million Libel Award in Sommer-Gabor Feud. Los Angeles Times]
Appearances as herself
She poked fun at her role in the incident in various cameo appearances:
- In the 1991 film The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, Gabor was pulled over by the police car at the end of the opening credits. She then proceeded to step out of the car and slap the red light, then walked away, muttering, "Ach, this happens every fucking time when I go shopping."
- In the 1993 film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, Gabor claimed that the officer had slapped her in what was described as a "drive-by slapping."
- In A Very Brady Sequel, she was shown enjoying the notoriety she derived from the incident.
- In the November 18 1991, season 2, episode 10 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when Gabor showed up as a guest at the Banks' residence, Hilary Banks asked, "There's something that I'm just dying to know." Gabor responded by saying, "Yes, I did it ... and he deserved to be slapped." Subsequently, when Carlton Banks accidentally slapped a cop with a pair of gloves while trying to slap his cousin Will Smith, Gabor replied by saying, "I have witnesses, it wasn't me."
- She discussed the incident in an appearance on Howard Stern's show, making her the oldest celebrity to appear on Stern's program. She also debunked rumours of George Sanders' sexuality, which Stern called into question.
Recent health
Gabor was a passenger in an
automobile accident that occurred on
November 27 2002. She was initially reported as being in a
coma when she was actually conscious at the time medical assistance arrived. She left the hospital in early January 2003, but required continued physical therapy. Gabor sued and was awarded $2 million.
On
July 7 2005, she suffered a massive
stroke, leaving her in critical condition at a local hospital. She underwent
surgery to remove a blockage in her
carotid artery. She returned home on
July 15. In early September of 2007, she underwent surgery to deal with after-effects of her previous stroke. On
September 18 2007, aged 90, she underwent surgery to treat a leg infection, which developed as a result of her immobility.
[Report on Zsa Zsa Gabor's health]
Filmography
div col
- Lovely to Look At (LeRoy, 1952)
- We're Not Married (Goulding, 1952)
- Moulin Rouge (Huston, 1952)
- The Million Dollar Nickel (1952) (short subject)
- The Story of Three Loves (Minnelli, 1953)
- Lili (Walters, 1953)
- L'ennemi public no.1 ("The Most Wanted Man") (Verneuil, 1953)
- Sangre y luces ("Love in a Hot Climate") (Rouquier/Suey, 1954)
- Ball der Nationen ("Ball of the Nations") (Ritter, 1954)
- 3 Ring Circus (Pevney, 1954)
- Death of a Scoundrel (Martin, 1956)
- The Girl in the Kremlin (Birdwell, 1957)
- The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (Wilcox, 1958)
- Country Music Holiday (Ganzer, 1958)
- Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958) (as a "guest star")
- Queen of Outer Space (Bernds, 1958)
- For the First Time (Maté, 1959)
- La contessa azzurra ("The Blue Countess") (Gora, 1960)
- Pepe (Sidney, 1960) (Cameo)
- Lykke og krone (Helander/Sælen, 1962) (documentary)
- The Road to Hong Kong (Panama, 1962) (unbilled cameo)
- Boys' Night Out (Gordon, 1962)
- Picture Mommy Dead (Gordon, 1966)
- Drop Dead Darling (1966)
- Arrivederci, Baby! (Hughes, 1966)
- Jack of Diamonds (Taylor, 1967) (cameo)
- Up the Front (Kellett, 1972)
- Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (Winner, 1976)
- Every Girl Should Have One (Hyatt, 1978)
- Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (Gold, 1984)
- Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment (1986)
- Smart Alec (Wilson, 1986)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Russell, 1987) (cameo)
- Johann Strauß: Der König ohne Krone ("Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown") (Antel, 1987)
- "The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor" (1991) (documentary)
- The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (Zucker, 1991) (cameo)
- The Naked Truth (Mastorakis, 1992)
- Est & Ouest: Les paradis perdus ("East & West: Paradises Lost") (Rival, 1993)
- Happily Ever After (Howley, 1993) (voice only)
- The Beverly Hillbillies (Spheeris, 1993) (cameo)
- A Very Brady Sequel (Sanford, 1996) (cameo)
- "The Gabors: Fame, Fortune and Romance" (2000) (documentary)
div col end
Television
div col
- "The Red Skelton Show" (1955), as Movie Star
- "Climax" (1955), as Mme. Florizel, Princess Stephanie
- "The Milton Berle Show" (1956)
- "Sneak Preview" (1956)
- "The Ford Television Theatre" (1956), as Dara Szabo
- "General Electric Theater" (1956-1961), as Gloria
- "Matinee Theatre" (1956-1958), as Eugenia
- "The Life of Riley" (1957), as Gigi
- "Playhouse 90" (1957), as Erika Segnitz, Marta Lorenz
- "Shower of Stars" (1958)
- "Lux Playhouse" (1959), as Helen
- "Ninotchka" (1960)
- "Make Room for Daddy" (1960), as Lisa Laslow
- "The Dick Powell Show" (1963), Girl
- "Burke's Law" (1963-1964), as Anna, the Maid
- "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1965), Pilot
- "Gilligan's Island" (1965), as Erika Tiffany Smith
- Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1966), as The Queen of Hearts (voice)
- "The Rounders" (1966), as Ilona Hobson
- "F Troop" (1966), as Marika
- "Bonanza" (1967), as Madame Marova
- "The Name of the Game" (1968), as Mira Retzyk
- "Batman" (1968), as Minerva
- "Bracken's World" (1969), Cameo
- "Mooch Goes to Hollywood" (1971), as Narrator
- "Night Gallery" (1971), as Mrs. Moore
- Let's Make a Deal (1976) (playing for a home viewer)
- "3 Girls 3" (1977)
- "Supertrain" (1979), as Audrey
- "The Love Boat" (1980), as Annette
- Hollywood, ich komme (1980), as Stargast
- "The Facts of Life" (1981), as world-renowned beautician Countess Calvet
- "As the World Turns" (cast member in 1981), as Lydia Marlowe
- "Matt Houston" (1983)
- "California Girls" (1985)
- "Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment" (1986)
- "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" (1988)
- City(1990), Oil Tanker
- "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1991), as Sonya Lamor
- "The Late Show with David Letterman" (1994), as herself in a sketch
div col end
Plays
Gabor appeared in several plays, most notably
Forty Carats on Broadway and
Blithe Spirit, as Elvira in the off-broadway national tour.
Bibliography
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, My Story Written for Me by Gerold Frank, The World Publishing Company, 1960.
- How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, and How to Get Rid of a Man, by Zsa Zsa Gabor, Doubleday, 1970.
- One Lifetime Is Not Enough, by Zsa Zsa Gabor, assisted by, edited by, and put into proper English by Wendy Leigh, Delacorte Press, 1991. ISBN 0-385-29882-X
- Gaborabilia, by Anthony Turtu and Donald F Reuter, Three Rivers Press, 2001. ISBN 0-609-80759-5