Remembering Lajos Őze: A Hungarian Legend
Well, gather round, folks, because today we’re diving into the life of a man who faced adversity like it was a warm-up act before the main event. Born in 1935 to a poor family, Őze Lajos Jászai, a name that may sound like a cocktail you’d find on a Budapest bar menu, became one of Hungary’s most celebrated actors. Four decades ago, on October 21, 1984, he exited the stage permanently, but let me tell you, the echoes of his performances still reverberate.
A Tall Order from a Short Life
Picture this: a young Lajos, shuffling around Szentes with a father who was part-time butcher and full-time uranium miner—talk about a mixed bag of genes! After his parents’ divorce, he didn’t just have to hit the stage; he had to grapple with stuttering and a childhood devoid of friends. It’s a miracle he didn’t just tap dance into the twilight! But like any good lead character, he didn’t let childhood trauma keep him from pursuing his passion. He took refuge in the world of books, proving that the pen—or in his case, the script—can indeed be mightier than the sword, or at least more entertaining.
Transformative Teachers and Timing
Now, if life teaches us anything, it’s that every hero needs a mentor. Enter the great teacher from Lajos’s vocational training school, who took him under his wing and helped him work through that whole stuttering thing. Can we get a round of applause for teachers who actually give a damn? With a little help, Lajos managed to channel his inner Shakespeare instead of just stuttering like a broken record!
By 1952, he strut his stuff into the Academy of Dramatic Arts—where, ironically, it all turned out not to be dramatic but rather a comical series of events that led him to stardom. He started off in character roles and moved up the ranks faster than most people can say, “This isn’t the Oscars!”
Working His Way to Stardom
Was he tall? Nope. Good-looking? Debatable! But boy, could he command a stage! From the Miskolc National Theater to the National Theatre of Hungary, Őze played roles like they were hot cakes. He wasn’t just a supporting actor; he was the audience’s favorite “Uncle Lajos,” and who doesn’t love an uncle? Lajos, the man of many roles, seamlessly slipped from comedic genius to dramatic heavyweight. He could play the part of a king or a humble servant with equal aplomb. If versatility were Olympic gold medals, he’d be Michael Phelps!
The Sweet and Sour of Stardom
Now, life isn’t all roses and red carpets. By the end of the 1960s, Lajos showcased his masterful grasp of acting, transforming ordinary scripts into a symphony of emotions. But lest we forget, he was also battling some demons of his own—depression being the big bad wolf lurking behind the curtain. Who would have guessed that the joyful laughter escaping his mouth came from a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders?
Notably, in the midst of his acclaimed performances was a touch of grim. That’s right; the famed actor battled cancer for over a decade—a staggering opponent that took him down at the oh-so-young age of 49. One minute you’re stealing the limelight, and the next, you’re dodging the grim reaper. Life sure knows how to throw curveballs!
Legacy and Remembrance
Despite his rather tragic end, Lajos left us with more than just tears—he left a legacy. From prestigious awards like the Jászai Mari Prize to a memorial exhibition dedicated to his life, it’s safe to say he’s still making an impact. Schools named after him? Check! A documentary about his life? Double check! Who knew dying could lead to such a flourishing afterlife in the world of arts?
Today, as we remember Lajos Őze, we’ll do so with an acknowledgment of his unmatched talent and a cheeky grin. If he’s watching over us, I hope he’s laughing, because what better way to honor a legend than through a good old-fashioned laugh?
Published by: A witty blend of humor and homage—crafted with love for all the performers who know how to make an exit!
Forty years ago, on October 21, 1984, Őze Lajos Jászai, a Mari and posthumous Kossuth award-winning actor, a worthy and excellent artist, one of the greatest Hungarian actors of the 20th century, died. He is remembered today in the SKICC section of the Press Archive of the National Archives.
Budapest, November 13, 1967. Őze Lajos Selmeczi as Géza and Ilona Béres as Gizella at the rehearsal of Iván Boldizsár’s play The Survivors at the Katona József Theater. The play will be presented on November 17, directed by István Egri. MTI Photo: Éva Keleti
He was born in Szentes on April 27, 1935 in a very poor family. His father, a casual worker, started his life as a butcher and ended his life as a uranium miner, his mother was a cook in the local state farm, then a childminder, maid, everything. After the divorce of his parents, Řze did not have a good life, at the age of ten he came to a foster mother, who often beat him, then he started stuttering. Because of his speech impediment, he had no playmates or friends, and as a lonely child he took refuge in reading.
Fortunately, there was a great teacher at the plant growing vocational training school, who took care of him during the break so that the others wouldn’t laugh at him. Eventually, he managed to overcome his stuttering by reading aloud and persistently practicing poems and rhymes. In 1952, he entered the Academy of Dramatic Arts, where Endre Gellert headed the main department.
The excellent acting teacher noticed his talent and worked with him separately in the afternoons. He continued his professional practice at the National Theatre, where director Tamás Major scolded him and would have signed him, but he preferred to study in the countryside.
Lajos Őze (j) in the role of Balázs Tárczai during the filming of a scene in the TV movie The Passenger.
MTV Photo: György Tóth
After graduating, he began his career with character roles at the Miskolc National Theater in 1956. His colleagues already called him my brother Lajos, Uncle Lajos, perhaps because he looked more serious and mature than his age. In 1959, he became a member of the National Theater and remained loyal to the country’s first theater until his death. Zömmel only played supporting roles, but he was already being referred to as a great individual.
He was of average height and looks, but he always commanded attention when he entered the stage. He was intensely present in every situation, even his silent presence was emphasized. He shaped the leading characters of classic and contemporary plays, as well as many controversial figures in drama literature, at the National and Gyula Summer Games, where he was a permanent actor.
Lajos Őze at the presentation of the play The Two Bolyai at the National Theatre.
MTI Photo: Éva Keleti
By the end of the 1960s, he matured and became a great artist, his strong acting personality and acerbic humor were excellent in comedies and satires, but he also shaped his dramatic roles with extraordinary authenticity and deep experience. The versatility of his talent is proven by the fact that he played both Tiborc and Biberach in Bánk bán. He is particularly memorable for his performances in Shakespeare plays, as well as in Csongor and Tünde, The Szechuan Good Life and The Night Shelter. He contributed significantly to the stage success of the works of contemporary Hungarian writers – Gyula Illyés, László Németh, Endre Illés, Ferenc Sánta, István Örkény. He last performed on the National stage in Dürrenmatt’s comedy Physicists in the role of Professor Möbius, and in the summer of 1984 in Gyula’s Várszínház in Péter Módos’s play And here on earth.
He already appeared in a film when he was still in college (Egy pikóło įeru), which was followed by numerous character and lead roles. He played in more than 60 feature and TV films, appeared in at least 60 audio plays, and his performances are legendary in period works of Hungarian film history (Poor Boys, 20 Hours, Cold Days, I’m Here in One Hour, Megáll az szítő, Te rgyos élt). In Péter Bacsó’s 1969 satire A tanú, which has become a cult film, Comrade Virág (Árpád) came to life. The film comedy set in the 1950s was immediately banned and was only released in cinemas in 1979, its digital version was screened in 2018, and then the original uncensored version was also found, which was also shown at the 2019 Cannes festival.
Katalin Berek Regan, King Lear’s daughter, and Lajos Őze – who took over the role from the sick Tyll Attilátoll – play the role of the Prince of Cornwall in William Shakespeare’s play King Lear. The work was originally presented on May 22, 1964, directed by Endre Marton, with costumes by Nelly Vágó and sets by Josef Svoboda.
MTI Photo: Éva Keleti
In 1976, the acting legend Zoltán Fábri portrayed the watchmaker Gyuricza in The Fifth Seal. Already terminally ill, Péter Bacsó undertook How many hours, Mr. Vekker? one of the roles in his film sa, and he died during the filming period. (His scenes were eventually reshot with Tamás Jordán.)
Lajos Őze’s career and life were full of breaks, starting over, and escaping into alcohol intoxication, in which the early diagnosis of a serious illness, the pain and the awareness of the proximity of death played a decisive role. From the 1960s, the sensitive and vulnerable actor suffered from depression, he was introverted and revealed himself only in his roles.
After fifteen years of cancer, he died in Budapest at the age of 49 on October 21, 1984, and was laid to rest in the Farkasrét cemetery.
Portrait of Lajos Őze, 1973. Made by: Éva Keleti. Owner: MTVA Press and Photo Archive.
In 1970, he received the Jászai Mari and Farkas–Ratkó Prize (awarded to the actors of the Pest Hungarian Theater and the National Theater between 1884-2000), in 1975 he became a meritorious artist, in 1984 he became an excellent artist, and in 1983 he was awarded the Theater Critics Award was recognized, he was awarded the Kossuth Prize only long after his death, in 1990.
In 1988, the Gyula Castle Theater founded an award in his memory, and an art school in Budapest bears his name. His third wife, Ildikó Thoma, had two sons: cameraman Gábor, and Mari award-winning actor Áron Jászai. On the Tabán slope of Naphegy in Buda, a memorial stone and a bench erected in 2009 remind us of the place where he often learned his roles. In 2016, a memorial exhibition was opened in his honor at the Tolnay Klári Memorial Hall in Mohora, entitled I do not sell Bovlit.
The József Koszta Museum in Szentes preserves his legacy, and in 2022 he made a documentary about him. Last year, the Őze Lajos Memorial House was opened in his hometown, where a permanent exhibition presents the life and career of the artist, who likes to call himself an “actor”, and recalls one of his most memorable performances, as Comrade Virág’s room has been meticulously reconstructed.
