Famous Hungarian Immigrants to the U'S'

1
Famous Hungarian Immigrants to the U.S.

• Craig L. Dicker, Ph.D.
• Office of English Language Programs
• U.S. Embassy, Budapest
• DickerCL_at_state.gov

2
Presentation Outline

• Hungarians and the making of motion pictures
• Hungarians and the making of the atomic bomb
• Hungarians and popular culture
• Hungarians and the fine arts
• Hungarians and big business
• Hungarians and America

3
Hungarians and the Motion Picture Industry
Adolph Zukor - (b. 1873, Ricse, Hungary, d. 1976,
Century City, CA)  "Mr. Motion Pictures" and
Oscar Winner

• Founder of Paramount Pictures
• Founder of Loews Theaters
• Produced first full length motion picture, the
  Prisoner of Zenda
• Recipient of a special academy award (l948) for
  his contributions to the industry

shown left to Right Jesse L. Lasky, Adolph
Zukor, Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn), Cecil B.
DeMille and Albert Kaufman
4
Hungarians and the Motion Picture Industry
William Fox - (born Vilmos Fried, 1/1/1879,
Tulchva, Hungary, d. 5/8/1952, New York)
Producer and Hollywood Mogul - Founder of Fox
Studios! 

• Bought his first penny arcade in 1904
• Expanded to film distribution, exhibition and
  production, creating Fox Film Corporation in 1915
• By the mid-1920s, Fox owned more than 500
  theaters in the US alone and produced many of the
  top stars
• In l935, during the height of the depression, Fox
  Film merged with 20th Century Pictures to create
  20th Century Fox
• In l936, Fox attempted to bribe the judge
  proceeding over the liquidation of his assets
  during his bankruptcy proceedings. He was
  sentence to 1 year in prison (l942-3) but never
  worked in Hollywood again.

5
Hungarians in the Motion Picture Industry
George Cukor - (b. 7/7/1899, New York, d.
1/23/1983, Los Angeles) Double Oscar Winning
Director 
One of the great all time directors nominated 5
times for best director, winning twice (for the
Wizard of Oz and My Fair Lady Directed 8
actresses to Oscar nominations for best Actress
Directed over 65 films, including A Star is
Born, Somethings got to give, Gone with the
Wind and It should happen to you
Pictured here with Audrey Hepburn accepting his
first Oscar
6
Hungarians in the Motion Picture Industry
Andrew Vajna -  born in Budapest Producer,
Hollywood Legend President of Cinergi
Productions, co-Founder of Carolco Pictures

• Fled Hungary in l956 and settled in the US
• Produced blockbuster hits like Rambo, the Music
  Box, Total Recall, Air America and Jacob's
  Ladder, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Terminator,
  Color of Night, Judge Dredd, The Scarlett Letter,
  Oliver Stone's Nixon, Evita, An Alan Smithee
  Film Burn Hollywood Burn, Shadow Conspiracy, Out
  of Order

7
Hungarians in the Motion Picture Industry
Michael Curtiz - (b. Manó Kertész Kaminer,
12/24,1898 Budapest, d. 4/10/1962, Hollywood,
California)Oscar Winning Director of
"Casablanca"
Between l912-1920, he shot 38 productions in
Hungary, including a film version of the popular
poem of Antal Farkas with the title Jön az öcsém
(1919).

• Moved to the U.S. in l926
• His films during the 30's and 40's included
  Casablanca (1942) , Mildred Pierce (1945),
  Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade,
  Angels With Dirty Faces (Oscar nomination), The
  Adventures of Robin Hood,  Four Daughters (Oscar
  nomination), The Sea Hawk, Yankee Doodle Dandy
  (Oscar nomination),  This Is the Army, Night and
  Day and White Christmas. He even directed one of
  Elvis Presley's most credible films, King Creole
  in 1958

Directing Bogart and Bacall in Casablanca
8
Hungarians in the Motion Picture Industry
Miklós Rózsa - (b. 1907, Budapest) Triple Oscar
Winning Film Composer 

• Revolutionized the art of writing film scores
  with his unconventional approach, dynamic use of
  percussion and powerful string arrangements
• Wrote hundreds of film scores, including The
  Thief of Bagdad, Hitchcocks Spellbound, Ben
  Hur, El Cid, The Jungle Book, and Julius
  Cesar

9
Hungarians and the Atomic Bomb
Edward (Ede) Teller - (b. Jan. 15, 1908,
Budapest)Physicist, instrumental in the
Manhattan Project, Father of the the
H-Bomb co-developed the Atomic Bomb and
Discovered BET equation. 

• His first published paper "Hydrogen Molecular
  Ion," was one of the earliest statements of what
  is still the most widely held view of the
  molecule.
• In 1941 Teller joined America's best physicists
  in the top secret Manhattan Project. Their
  mission to develop the atom bomb before the
  Germans did.
• Lead the research team on the development of the
  hydrogen bomb at Los Alamos Laboratories

Accepting the National Medal of Science from
President Kennedy
10
Hungarians and the Atomic Bomb
Leo Szilárd - (b. Feb 11, 1898, Budapest, d. May
30, 1964, La Jolla, California)Physicist  -
Co-developed the Atomic Bomb, patented the
nuclear reactor, catalyst of the Manhattan
Project

• , he convinced Einstein, the scientific
  community, and the President to start the
  Manhattan Project
• First realized the potential use of nuclear
  fission in an atomic bomb, and worked with Fermi
  on the first nuclear reaction.
• his other ideas included the electron microscope,
  cyclotron,  and linear accelerator.
• He proposed term "breeder" to describe an nuclear
  reactor and holds a joint 1955 US patent on the
  nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi
• proposed methods of reducing US-USSR tensions,
  including the Washington-Moscow "hotline." 
•  Shared Atoms for Peace Award with Eugene Wigner
  and devoted much of his life toward nuclear
  disarmament and preventing the harmful use of
  nuclear energy. 

11
Hungarians and the Atomic Bomb
John von Neumann - (b. János Lajos Margittai
Neumann on Dec 28, 1903, Budapest - d. Feb 8,
1957, Washington, DC)Legendary Mathematician,
Physicist, Logician, and Computing Pioneer

• Father of Binary Code and the Stored Program
  Computer, the keys to modern computer
  programming.
• Father of Game Theory (a tool to analyze the
  unthinkable--global nuclear war--and led to the
  doctrine of "mutually assured destruction,)
• Proposed Implosion and co-developed the Atomic
  Bomb.
• Built a solid framework for quantum mechanics.
• Played a key role in the development of the U.S.
  ballistic missile program.
• Director of the Atomic Energy Commission and
  Chaired the Atlas (later ICBM) Scientific
  Advisory Committee which monitored Atlas progress
  and sought to speed up development of
  Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

12
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Joseph Pulitzer born in Budapest, l840
Reporter, Publisher, founder of the journalism
prize bearing his name, responsible for building
of the Statue of Liberty

• After a stint in New Yorks sweatshops, became a
  reporter, saved money and bought the Westlische
  Post
• Soon acquired the St. Louis Dispatch, the Evening
  Post and the New York World where he earned a
  reputation as a fearless crusader against
  government corruption.
• Initiated a fund raising drive to assemble the
  Statue of Liberty which had been sitting,
  unassembled in New York Harbor, for years.
• Was the first to call for university level
  journalism training- Upon his death in 1904,
  bequeathed Columbia Universitys School of
  Journalism with funds to award outstanding
  journalists with prizes bearing his name.

13
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Béla Lugósi -  Actor - The Original Dracula 
Born Béla Ferenc Deszö Blaskó in Lugos, Hungary,
in the Bánát, (now Romania)

• In 1914, he enlisted in the Hungarian army. He
  was discharged in 1916 after convincing officials
  that he was "mentally unstable."
• In l917, started appearing in the movies with the
  film A Leopárd, in which he played the lead role.
  
• In l920, emigrated to the United States of
  America
• His first American film was 1923's The Silent
  Command, a suspenseful spy movie in which Bela
  played the bad guy.
• . He took on the role of Count Dracula in Horace
  Liveright's play in place of actor Raymond
  Huntley in 1929.
• After 33 smash weeks on Broadway, the rights to
  play were picked up by Universal Studios.

14
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Harry Houdini (b. 3/24/1874, Budapest)The
"Greatest Magician on Earth," Actor, Pioneer Pilot

• 1878, at the age of four, moved with his family
  to Appleton, Wisconsin (where his father became a
  rabbi
• At age15, he an autobiography by the French
  Magician named Jean Robert-Houdin. Wanting to be
  just like Robert-Houdin, he added the letter I
  which means like to his name, and became
  Houdini
• In 1926, he lay underwater over 90 minutes in a
  sealed casket to beat the world record.
• Died of a ruptured appendix from being punched
  in the stomach before having physically prepared
  himself for the blow.

15
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Gábor Csupó - (b. 1952, Budapest)Co-founder of
Klasky-Csupo, a leading independent animation
studio. 5 EMMYS and 2 CABLE ACE Awards - produced
Rugrats and the Simpsons

• received his animation education at Hungary's
  famed Pannonia studio.
• In 1975 he fled Communist Hungary by walking for
  2.5 hours through a darkened railway tunnel to
  Austria
• In l981, formed Klasky Csupo, Inc. in the spare
  room of his apartment with Arlene Klasky

16
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Tommy Ramone (b. 1/29/1952, Budapest,
Hungary)Drummer and Producer of the Legendary,
Pioneering Punk Rockers, the Ramones!

• . Emigrated to the US at the age of 4 in l956
• The Ramones formed in 1974, after the foursome
  graduated or left high school in Forest Hills,
  New York.
• In the mid-'70s, the Ramones shaped the sound of
  punk rock in New York with simple, fast songs,
  deadpan lyrics, no solos, and an impenetrable
  wall of guitar chords
• . The Ramones have released 14 studio albums

17
Hungarians in Popular Culture
George Pál (b. 1/2/1908, Cegléd, Hungary, d.
5/2/1980 -Cartoonist - Winner of SIX Oscars, and
pioneer of stop-action animation

• Developed methods for integrating animated
  special effects with live action
• George graduated with an architectural degree
  when Hungary was in no need of architects, but
  there were jobs for animation illustrators at
  Hunnia films
• Fled the Nazis just before WWII and moved to the
  US
• In the '50s Pal turned to live-action films as a
  producer starting with "Destination Moon,"
  (Oscar) 
• He later brought to the screen such classics as
  H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" (Oscar) and
  "The Time Machine" (Oscar), and "When World
  Collide" (Oscar)..

18
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Sylvia Plachy - (b. 1943, Budapest)Acclaimed
Photographer, Mother of Actor Adrien Brody

• Escaped Hungary during the 1956 revolution
• Ended up becoming a photojournalist for the
  Village Voice
• Won the International Center for Photography
  Prize in l990
• Her pictures can be found in the Guggenheim
  Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the
  Metropolitan Museum and the San Francisco Museum
  of Modern Art.

19
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Eva Gábor (b. 2/11/1920, Budapest, d.
7/4/1995)Actress
Zsa Zsa Gábor - (b. 2/6/1918, Budapest)
Best known for her role as Lisa Douglas on the
popular TV sitcom Green Acres (1965-70).

• known for roles in "Moulin Rouge," 1952 "The
  Story of Three Loves," 1953 "The Girl in the
  Kremlin," 1957 and Orson Welles' classic "Touch
  of Evil," 1958.

20
Hungarians in Popular Culture
Gene Simmons of KISSLegendary Rock-n-Roller! Born
Chaim Witz in Haifa Israel in 1949, his mother
Florence was a Hungarian survivor of a Nazi
concentration camp, and his father Yechiel was a
carpenter

• Settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn,
  NY at the age of 9
• Taught school in Spanish Harlem
• Speaks Hungarian, Turkish, Hebrew, Spanish and
  English
• Started playing the guitar at age 15
• Style (particularly dress and make up) influenced
  by the comic books he read when young and trying
  to master the English language

21
Hungarians in High Culture
Eugene (Jenö) Ormándy - (b.11/18/1899, Budapest,
Hungary, d. 3/12/1985, Philadelphia)  Renowned
Conductor (Philadelphia)

• Graduate of the Budapest Royal Academy- became a
  professor of Violin himself at the age of 17
• In l921, while supposedly beginning a concert
  tour of America, he canceled the tour and took a
  job with the orchestra of the Capitol Theatre in
  New York
• 1931-6 was the conductor of the Minnesota
  Symphony Orchestra
• 1936- went to Philadelphia and shared
  conductorship with Leopold Stokowski
• 1938-1980- principal conductor for the
  Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra (which became
  known for its warm, textured sound and velvety
  string feeling)

22
Hungarians in High Culture
George Széll - (b. Budapest 6/7/1897, d.
Cleveland, Ohio 1970)Legendary Conductor

• A child prodigy, was performing in public by 11,
  conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at 16 and
  the Berlin Symphony (also playing the piano) at
  17
• Is credited for having transformed the Cleveland
  Symphony Orchestra into one of the greatest in
  the world (among the U.S.s big five)
• In l939, he made his way to NYC where he started
  to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra
• In the early 1940s, he often conducted
  Metropolitan Opera in NYC
• In l946, he became the principal conductor of the
  Cleveland Symphony

23
Hungarians and Big Business
Charles Simonyi (b. 9/10/1948, Budapest)Billionai
re Computer Scientist and Chief Architect,
Microsoft Corporation

• led a team of programmers in the development of
  Bravo, the first WYSIWYG (What You See Is What
  You Get, pronounced wizzywig, i.e. MS Word) word
  processing editor
• worked for the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
  from 1972-80 and joined Microsoft in 1981 to
  start the development of microcomputer
  application programs
• . He hired and managed teams who developed
  Microsoft Multiplan, Word, Excel, and other
  applications

24
Hungarians and Big Business
Peter Carl Goldmark - (b. 12/2/1906, Budapest
d. Westchester County, NY, 12/7/1977)Engineer,
CBS Chief Scientist - Invented the Color
Television, 33 1/3 LP Record, and the Electronic
Video Recorder 

• Emigrated to the U.S. in l933 and began working
  for CBS Broadcasting in l936
• developed the first commercial color television
  system, which used a rotating three-color disk,
  and announced in 1940 that CBS had a marketable
  color television and broadcasted in New York
• Developed the 33 1/3 LP, greatly expanding the
  length of disk play and made the disk of vinyl,
  rather than the shellac-and-clay blend previously
  employed.
• developed the first electronic video recording
  systemthe forerunner for the VCR in your home
  today
• developed a scanning system used by the Lunar
  Orbiter spacecraft in 1966 to transmit
  photographs to the earth from the moon.
• CBS received credit for all of his work. As a
  result, Goldmark has not been given the
  recognition he deserves.

25
Hungarians and Big Business
Andy Grove (b 1936, Budapest)Former
President/CEO, and Chairman of Intel.  Time's Man
of the Year for 1998

• In July 1968, Dr. Grove participated in the
  founding of Intel Corporation
• In 1979 he was named its President, and in 1987
  he was named Chief Executive Officer.
• Andy's goal to get a computer in front of
  everyone skyrocketed.
• In May 1997 he was named Chairman and CEO, and in
  May 1998 he relinquished his CEO title and
  remains as Chairman of the Board.
• . He has written many books, including Only the
  Paranoid Survive, and patented several
  semiconductor technologies

26
Hungarians and Big Business
Agoston Haraszthy (1812-1869) Father of Modern
Vinaculture Born in Pest, Hungary

• 1840 emigrated to Wisconsin, becoming one of the
  first Hungarians to settle there permanently.
• 1849- due to asthma and debt, moved to California

• 1857. purchased land at Sonoma, named it Buena
  Vista, and put his son Attila in charge.
  Initially planted 25 acres of grapes, more than
  doubling the total vines at Sonoma. Another 60
  acres were planted the following year.
• He experimented with new techniques, such as
  using redwood for barrels, planting on hillsides,
  hiring Chinese workers, digging tunnels for
  storage, and planting vines closer together.
• 1864. Buena Vista was incorporated as the Buena
  Vista Viticultural Society in order to gain the
  support of new investors for capital
  improvements.
• 1866. Haraszthy's innovative planting methods
  were blamed for damage actually caused by the
  root louse and forced to resign. New management
  promptly destroyed every other row of vines in
  order to return to the original eight foot
  spacing.
• 1869. Haraszthy set out alone on a mule to
  discuss the construction progress of a new
  sawmill. He never returned home and no trace of
  him was ever found.

27
Hungarians and Big Business
George Soros -"The world's greatest money
manager" and Great Progressive, Controversial
Philanthropist.

• Soros founded the multi-million dollar "Soros
  Fund
• actively develops and supports philanthropic
  endeavors throughout the world, including Hungary
  and former Hungarian lands
• has also established educational institutions
  such as the Central European University
• achieved his lasting fame in 1981 he was hailed
  as "the world's greatest money manager" by the
  bible of the trade, Institutional Investor

28
Hungarians and America
Tom Lantos - (b. 2/1/1928, Budapest,
Hungary)11-term U.S. Congressman from California
(D)

• was a member of the anti-Nazi underground as a
  teenger and later of the anti-Communist student
  movement
• was awarded an academic scholarship to study in
  the United States, and he arrived in 1947
• received a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from the
  University of Washington in Seattle and later
  earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University
  of California, Berkeley
• For three decades before his election to Congress
  (1950-1980), was a professor of economics, an
  international affairs analyst for public
  television, and a consultant to a number
  businesses
• He also served in senior advisory roles to
  members of the United States
• first elected on 13th of January, 1981 at the age
  of  52. 

29
Why such outstanding productivity?

• Financial support? Incentives?
• Intellectual freedom?
• Self selection artifact? (who immigrated?)
• Promise of social mobility in America (i.e. the
  ideal of the self-made made)?
• The strength of heterogeneous, multi-ethnic
  societies?

30
Garston Ashs nationalism vs. patriotism

• A nation goes beyond political borders
• A nation is united by a common language, history,
  culture, literature
• A nation is something you must be born into
• Nationalism is love for your nation

• patriotism is respect and loyalty to a
  political state
• patriotism implies dedication to and respect
  for a set of legal, political and economic
  institutions
• You dont have to be born into a society to be
  patriotic

31
The Ornament of the World

• Multi-ethnic societies (like medieval Spain) have
  been hotbeds of creativity and intellectual
  development
• The potential of cross fertilization of ideas
  from different societies creates a dynamic that
  is hard to replicate in mono-ethnic societies
• The U.S., in some senses, epitomizes the
  potential of such multiethnic societies through
  its fluid social structure, focus on individual
  achievement and openness.