Zita Szeleczky (born Zita Klára Terézia Szeleczky 20 April 1915 – 12 July 1999) was a Hungarian stage and film actress.
Contents
Life
She graduated from theatre school in 1937 and was discovered the following year. She would go on to play in almost 30 films between then and 1944, while becoming a regular at Hungary's Nazi rallies, being described as the "darling of the Arrow Cross". In 1940 she married Gyula Haltenberger, however this marriage ended at an unknown later date. She continued to perform up until 1944, even while Soviet troops were advancing on Budapest and the allies were bombing Hungary, where she "agitated for the continuation of the war, supporting the murderous Szálasi-regime".
In December 1944, just prior to the collapse of Hungary, Szeleczky fled to Austria and later to Genoa, Italy. In 1947 she was tried in absentia "for her fascist propaganda", where she was sentenced to three years in prison. Still in exile, she fled to Argentina some time prior to 1951, where she performed in Vivir un instante. Due to the fact she couldn't speak Spanish, she was unable to continue her theatre career, and thus began touring Hungarian émigré communities. On these tours she played in a variety of performances, including operettas, poetry recitals and variety shows.
