Biography
S.Z. Sakall, born Jakab Grünwald on 2 February 1883 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, was a Hungarian-American character actor. He began his career on the Hungarian stage in the 1910s under the name Szőke Szakáll and appeared in films in Hungary, Austria and Germany before fleeing Nazi persecution. He arrived in the United States in 1940 and worked in Hollywood until 1954.
Sakall is best known for his supporting roles in 1940s Hollywood films, including Carl the head waiter in Casablanca (1942), Professor Magenbruch in Ball of Fire (1941), Schwab in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Felix Bassenak in Christmas in Connecticut (1945) and Otto Oberkugen in In the Good Old Summertime (1949). He was often billed as S.Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall and died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on 12 February 1955.
