Oscar Beregi Jr.

Oscar Beregi Jr.
Born	(1918-05-12)May 12, 1918 Budapest, Hungary
Died	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Grand View Memorial Park
Occupation	Film, television actor
Years active	1959-1976
Parent(s)	Oscar Beregi Sr.

Oscar Beregi Jr. (May 12, 1918 – November 1, 1976) was a Hungarian-born film and television actor. He was the son of actor Oscar Beregi Sr. but was often billed simply as Oscar Beregi. Beregi was most famous for his roles in the American anthology series, The Twilight Zone.

Career

Television

Despite a major recurring role as fictional gang lord Joe Kulak on The Untouchables, Beregi may be best remembered as Captain Gunther Lutze in the classic Twilight Zone episode "Deaths-Head Revisited." The show featured Beregi as a former Dachau commandant who returns to the concentration camp to relive old memories, only to be confronted by the spirits of prisoners he brutalized. The episode is memorably stark and graphic, and, despite the presence of the eminent actor Joseph Schildkraut as the prisoner who accuses him, it is a rare showcase for Beregi as he faces his accuser and descends into insanity. Creator of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling, was so impressed with their performances that he named Beregi along with Schildkraut when promoting the episode. This was an unusual career distinction, as he often played minor roles and was billed accordingly. Serling also didn't usually name his stars by name the week before the episode aired.

He also appeared in the Twilight Zone episodes "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" and "Mute" and in dozens of shows that used his distinctively paradoxical heavy-set European urbanity to comic effect, including Hogan's Heroes, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Blue Light, The Wild Wild West, and Get Smart. He also appeared in an episode of The Lucy Show, which featured Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, and a cameo by John Banner, in character as Stalag 13's Sergeant Schultz.

Film

Beregi's film career included small roles in several major films, including Judgement at Nuremberg (1961), The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), My Fair Lady (1964), Ship of Fools (1965), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) and Young Frankenstein (1974).

Death

Beregi died of a heart attack on November 1, 1976 in Los Angeles, California. He was buried in Glendale's Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery.

External links

• Oscar Beregi Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
• Oscar Beregi at AllMovie
• Oscar Beregi Jr. at Find a Grave