Erzsi Galambos, who passed away at the age of 92, was an actress who won the Kossuth and Jászai Mari awards, a worthy and excellent artist, a permanent member of the Society of the Immortals and the József Attila Theater.
According to a statement from the József Attila Theater, the actor died on Thursday of an illness he bore with dignity.
Erzsi Galambos, who previously was a member of the Budapest Operetta Theater for almost two decades, achieved success mainly in soubrette and prima donna roles in musical plays and operettas, but also appeared on stage in significant prose roles.
He was one of the first Hungarian performers of the musical genre, and received the Kossuth Award for the introduction and recognition of the musical genre in Hungary, for his acting performances combined with excellent dancing skills.
Erzsi Galambos was born on December 5, 1931 in Budapest. His father was a porter at the famous Arizona Mulato, which operated across from the Operetta Theatre, and his mother worked as a ticket taker at the Operetta Theatre. As a little girl, she was admitted to both popular institutions, and she also wrote her school lessons in Operetta.
At the age of four, she decided that she too would become a prima donna or a soubrette, played in Bácsi Lakner's Children's Theatre, and did ballet for eight years.
He graduated from the Actors' Training School of the National Actors' Association, and as a college student he worked as a statistician with Bajor Gizi. Later, he performed with the greatest of the century, from Artúr Somlay to Lajos Básti to Kálmán Latabár and Hanna Honthy.
In 1955, he signed a contract with the National Theater in Miskolc, then in 1958 with the József Katona Theater in Kecskemét. In 1962, it moved to Budapest, to the Petőfi Theater, located on the site of today's Thália Theater.
Two years later, his big dream came true: he became a member of the Operettsthínház. He was one of the number one stars on Nagymező Street for almost two decades.
In 1983, he signed a contract with the József Attila Theater, of which he became a permanent member. The company of the József Attila theater celebrated his 90th birthday with a gala show in 2021. He last appeared on stage last year, on September 9, 2022, in the play The Two Lives of Aunt Mici, in which he played together with Cecília Esztergályos and Gyula Bodrogi.
Her greatest successes were in leading roles in modern musical plays: she was Eliza (Loewe: My Fair Lady), Dulcinea (Leigh-Wassermann: Knight of La Mancha), Anita (Bernstein: West Side Story), Jenny Kocsma (Brecht-Weil: Beggar's Opera). He considered his most memorable role to be Georg Kreisler's musical monodrama Lola Blau.
Her successful prose performances include Marosiné (Ferenc Molnár: The Doctor), Breitmayerné (Dezső Szomory: Incident in the Ingeborg concert) and Muskátné (Ferenc Molnár: Liliom).
He was also employed in films and TV films, he played in Rákóczi's Lieutenant, Quiet Home, Widow Brides, The Murderer is in the House, The Canterville Ghost, and Love to the First Blood.
Erzsi Galambos was an extremely versatile artist, excelling in both dancer, singer and prose roles, and even introduced herself as a choreographer. In an interview, he said that he feels the best in the world on stage.
He considered it his duty to provide what the audience expected of him in the limelight, and he liked to listen most when they applauded him.
His daughter named Eszter, who was born from Petrovic's marriage to the composer Emil, became a TV director.
The artistic work of Erzsi Galambos was recognized with numerous awards: in 1968 he received the Jászai Mari Award, in 1973 he became a meritorious artist, and in 1981 he was an excellent artist. In 1993, he received the Déryné Award, and since 1998 he has been a permanent member of the Society of the Immortals.
He received the Kossuth Prize in 2002. In 2013, he was awarded the Attila József ring, and in 2016, he was awarded the Flórián Kaló award. In 2020, Sztankay received the István and Voice of the People award and was elected honorary citizen of the 13th district.
MTI
Cover photo: Erzsi Galambos Kossuth and Jászai Mari prize-winning actress, worthy and excellent artist, permanent member of the Society of the Immortals and the József Attila Theater.
The recording was made on April 29, 2015, in Budapest. Source: MTI/MTVA/Zsolt Zih
