Eva Bartok(1927-1998)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Eva Bartok was both a beautiful lady and a talented actor whose roots
were in classical theater. Her first and only film in Hungary,
Mezei próféta (1947) ("Prophet of
the Fields"), was banned by communist censorship. Actually her life up
to that point had been marked by confusion and tragedy. Her father,a
Jew who had married a Catholic lady, disappeared without a trace during
the rise of Nazism in Europe and Eva, herself, was forced to marry a
Nazi officer at age 15 in order to avoid being sent to a concentration
camp.
Having survived the horrors of Nazism and World War II, she found her
vocation in acting but was soon threatened and persecuted by the new
Communist regime. Hollywood-based producer
Alexander Paal helped her escape from
Hungary by marrying her and taking her to England, where she made her
screen debut in Paal's production of
A Tale of Five Women (1951),
filmed in 1948 but shelved for several years due to financial
difficulties. After divorcing Paal, Eva received valuable support from
film mogul and fellow Hungarian
expatriate,Alexander Korda, who
was then president of MGM-England. He placed her under contract to
London Films which provided a small salary, an English language coach
and the opportunity to audition for developing film projects at the
studio.
In spite of this, Eva spent months without finding real work and was
becoming quite desperate. William Wordsworth, a public relations man
who became her third husband, suggested that she attend as many
premieres and theater opening nights as possible in order to bring
attention to herself. Unable to buy the proper wardrobe and accessories
to make a decent showing at these social events, Eva began designing
and making her own gowns and hats from pieces of cheap materials. Soon
the media took notice of this beautiful brunette dressed in weird
costumes and Eva Bartok became a local celebrity most notable for her
hats.
The publicity caught the eye of an Italian promoter who offered Eva a
contract to perform in a vaudeville show. With Korda's permission, Eva
flew to Italy and had great success reciting monologues on the stages
of Milan, Florence and Rome. Meanwhile, in England, the film,
A Tale of Five Women (1951)
had finally reached movie houses and was seen by producer-actor
Burt Lancaster, who was looking for a
leading lady for his next film,
The Crimson Pirate (1952).
Impressed by Eva's beauty and talent, he wired her in Italy and she
accepted promptly, sensing the importance of the project.
Thanks to the publicity and worldwide distribution of this film, Eva
was perceived as a real movie queen but her next vehicles were not what
you would expect from a rising superstar. It is understandable that Eva
was a young woman marked by the horrendous experiences of her early
years which might explain that, over time, she would become more
concerned with spirituality than with the quality of the projects she
took on all over Europe. Somehow, she became more famous for her
off-camera antics than for her screen work. Eva's long lasting affair
with David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven and
related to the Royal Family, made headlines everywhere especially when
David's wife, the Machioness, filed for divorce and named Eva Bartok as
the culprit in her failed marriage. For a long time, the actress seemed
to be divided between her image as a glamorous carefree playgirl among
the European rich and a real human in desperate need to find the
meaning of her own existence.
Her filmography in the 1950s is prolific both in England and in West
Germany but it includes lots of low-budget turkeys (now "cult
classics"), some decent vehicles and a few top productions. She also
made a series of films that paired her with popular actor-director,
Curd Jürgens, who became her fourth
husband. Besides her work in movies, she appeared on London stages and
on television in the UK and in the US. After turning down a Hollywood
contract in 1956, Miss Bartok faced a serious health crisis when she
was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor and was found pregnant at the same
time. An Indonesian mystic helped her out of this predicament with a
new spirituality called Subud. Eva reported later that she had been
healed and was successful in giving birth to a "miraculous" baby girl
in 1957. (see 'Deana Jürgens').
From then on, she was totally committed to Subud although she made half
a dozen more films before retiring from movies altogether in 1967 at
age 40. In later years, she revealed that daughter Deana had been
fathered by Frank Sinatra but the claim
went ignored by Sinatra and family. She continued her Subud activities
during residencies in Indonesia, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles and
London where she died quietly in 1998.
were in classical theater. Her first and only film in Hungary,
Mezei próféta (1947) ("Prophet of
the Fields"), was banned by communist censorship. Actually her life up
to that point had been marked by confusion and tragedy. Her father,a
Jew who had married a Catholic lady, disappeared without a trace during
the rise of Nazism in Europe and Eva, herself, was forced to marry a
Nazi officer at age 15 in order to avoid being sent to a concentration
camp.
Having survived the horrors of Nazism and World War II, she found her
vocation in acting but was soon threatened and persecuted by the new
Communist regime. Hollywood-based producer
Alexander Paal helped her escape from
Hungary by marrying her and taking her to England, where she made her
screen debut in Paal's production of
A Tale of Five Women (1951),
filmed in 1948 but shelved for several years due to financial
difficulties. After divorcing Paal, Eva received valuable support from
film mogul and fellow Hungarian
expatriate,Alexander Korda, who
was then president of MGM-England. He placed her under contract to
London Films which provided a small salary, an English language coach
and the opportunity to audition for developing film projects at the
studio.
In spite of this, Eva spent months without finding real work and was
becoming quite desperate. William Wordsworth, a public relations man
who became her third husband, suggested that she attend as many
premieres and theater opening nights as possible in order to bring
attention to herself. Unable to buy the proper wardrobe and accessories
to make a decent showing at these social events, Eva began designing
and making her own gowns and hats from pieces of cheap materials. Soon
the media took notice of this beautiful brunette dressed in weird
costumes and Eva Bartok became a local celebrity most notable for her
hats.
The publicity caught the eye of an Italian promoter who offered Eva a
contract to perform in a vaudeville show. With Korda's permission, Eva
flew to Italy and had great success reciting monologues on the stages
of Milan, Florence and Rome. Meanwhile, in England, the film,
A Tale of Five Women (1951)
had finally reached movie houses and was seen by producer-actor
Burt Lancaster, who was looking for a
leading lady for his next film,
The Crimson Pirate (1952).
Impressed by Eva's beauty and talent, he wired her in Italy and she
accepted promptly, sensing the importance of the project.
Thanks to the publicity and worldwide distribution of this film, Eva
was perceived as a real movie queen but her next vehicles were not what
you would expect from a rising superstar. It is understandable that Eva
was a young woman marked by the horrendous experiences of her early
years which might explain that, over time, she would become more
concerned with spirituality than with the quality of the projects she
took on all over Europe. Somehow, she became more famous for her
off-camera antics than for her screen work. Eva's long lasting affair
with David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven and
related to the Royal Family, made headlines everywhere especially when
David's wife, the Machioness, filed for divorce and named Eva Bartok as
the culprit in her failed marriage. For a long time, the actress seemed
to be divided between her image as a glamorous carefree playgirl among
the European rich and a real human in desperate need to find the
meaning of her own existence.
Her filmography in the 1950s is prolific both in England and in West
Germany but it includes lots of low-budget turkeys (now "cult
classics"), some decent vehicles and a few top productions. She also
made a series of films that paired her with popular actor-director,
Curd Jürgens, who became her fourth
husband. Besides her work in movies, she appeared on London stages and
on television in the UK and in the US. After turning down a Hollywood
contract in 1956, Miss Bartok faced a serious health crisis when she
was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor and was found pregnant at the same
time. An Indonesian mystic helped her out of this predicament with a
new spirituality called Subud. Eva reported later that she had been
healed and was successful in giving birth to a "miraculous" baby girl
in 1957. (see 'Deana Jürgens').
From then on, she was totally committed to Subud although she made half
a dozen more films before retiring from movies altogether in 1967 at
age 40. In later years, she revealed that daughter Deana had been
fathered by Frank Sinatra but the claim
went ignored by Sinatra and family. She continued her Subud activities
during residencies in Indonesia, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles and
London where she died quietly in 1998.