biography

Eva Bartok Born Eva Szoeke in Hungary on June 18, 1927, actress Eva Bartok was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. During World War II, to escape imprisonment in a concentration camp, she was forced to marry a Nazi officer to save herself and her mother. The marriage was eventually annulled on the grounds of coercion of a minor. Taking up acting following her horrific childhood, she married producer Alex Paal, who took her to London in 1948 to study acting. Bartok met famed director Alexander Korda, who put the young actress under salary and changed her name to Bartok. It took her a few years to be cast in a credited role, which finally came in the mystery A Tale of Five Women (1951; with Gina Lollobrigida), lensed in Berlin. During the following year, she was cast in the big-budget Warner Bros. adventure The Crimson Pirate (1952; with Burt Lancaster, Dana Wynter, and Christopher Lee). Starring roles in several British films, including Spaceways (1953; with Howard Duff), the noir thriller Norman Conquest (1953; with Tom Conway), and Front Page Story (1954; with Jack Hawkins), got Bartok noticed by many producers. Yet her personal life was not as successful. She and Paal parted ways in 1950, and a brief marriage to public relations wizard William Wordsworth ended after four years. She met fourth husband, actor Curd Jurgens, while co-starring with him in the German film The Last Waltz (1953). The couple worked together often, also starring in Circus of Love (1954) and several other films, but again Bartok's marriage was short-lived.

Eva BartokEva BartokEva Bartok

LEFT: 1950s cheesecake photo. CENTER and RIGHT: Glamorous 1960s photos

Bartok earned another big break, this time in Hollywood, when she was cast in Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957; with Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dewey Martin), which was shot in Italy. Through her association with Dean Martin, Bartok met many Hollywood celebrities, including Frank Sinatra. An unexpected pregnancy following her divorce from Jurgens resulted in the 1957 birth of her daughter, Deana. In later years, Bartok claimed that Deana's father was Sinatra. While Bartok continued in her acting career with some success, she began to grow disenchanted with the profession and the roles offered her. Audiences today best know Bartok from her starring role in the Mario Bava horror flick Blood and Black Lace (1964; with Cameron Mitchell. Two years after the release of this film, she walked away from acting.

the films of eva bartok

The Assassin (1952)

Eva Bartok

Bartok as Adriana Medova in the British thriller The Assassin

The Crimson Pirate (1952)

Burt Lancaster and Eva Bartok

With Burt Lancaster in the Warner Bros. adventure The Crimson Pirate

Norman Conquest (1953)

Tom Conway and Eva Bartok

With Tom Conway in the British noir thriller Norman Conquest

Spaceways (1953)

Eva Bartok and Howard Duff

From Hammer's sci-fi flick Spaceways with Howard Duff

Circus of Love (1954)

Curd Jurgens and Eva Bartok

With frequent co-star and one-time husband Curd Jurgens in Circus of Love, shot in 3-D. This film was shot simultaneously with Carnival Story (1954; with Steve Cochran, Anne Baxter, and George Nader)

Break in the Circle (1955)

Eva Bartok and Forrest Tucker

From the Hammer drama Break in the Circle with Forrest Tucker. Interestingly, the film was shot in and released in color in Britain, but when it was released in the U.S. in 1957, only black and white prints were made available to theaters

Special Delivery (1955)

Eva Bartok

From the Columbia comedy Special Delivery

The Gamma People (1956)

Eva Bartok

Bartok portrays Paula Wendt in the campy British sci-fi flick The Gamma People

Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)

Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok, and Dewey MartinEva Bartok and Dean Martin

LEFT: From the MGM comedy Ten Thousand Bedrooms with Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Dewey Martin. RIGHT: With Dean Martin

Operation Amsterdam (1959)

Tony Britton and Eva Bartok

With Tony Britton in the war drama Operation Amsterdam

Beyond the Curtain (1960)

Marius Goring and Eva Bartok

From the cold war drama Beyond the Curtain with Marius Goring

Blood and Black Lace (1964)

Eva BartokCameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok

LEFT: Lobby card from Mario Bava's horror shocker Blood and Black Lace. Bartok portrays the stylish Contessa Cristina Como, owner of a fashion house in which models are being brutally murdered. RIGHT: With Cameron Mitchell

later years

In 1966, Eva Bartok quit her acting career at age 39, instead spending years studying with the Pak Subuh sect near Jakarta, Indonesia. In the 1970s, Bartok taught Subuh philosophy in a school she opened in Hawaii. After a lifetime of globetrotting, during her final years she retreated to London. Eva Bartok passed away on August 1, 1998, at the age of 71. She was survived by her daughter, Deana, and two grandchildren.

filmography

FILM
Sabina V'Hagvarim (1966) with George Mikell
Blood and Black Lace (1964) with Cameron Mitchell, Thomas Reiner, and Massimo Righi
Holidays Like Never Before (1963) with Carlos Thompson, Corny Collins, and Peter Vogel
Avventura al motel (1963) with Margaret Lee
Marriage Bureau Aurora (1962) with Carlos Thompson
Operation Caviar (1961) with Senta Berger
Blind Justice (1961) with Peter van Eyck, Marianne Koch, and Leon Askin
I'll See You in Hell (1960) with John Drew Barrymore, Moira Orfei, and Massimo Serato
Beyond the Curtain (1960) with Richard Greene
Ein Student ging vorbei (1960) with Luise Ullrich and Paul Dahlke
SOS Pacific (1959) with Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, John Gregson, and Eddie Constantine
Twelve Hours by the Clock (1959) with Gert Frobe
Operation Amsterdam (1959) with Peter Finch
Naked in the Night (1958) with Alexander Kerst
The Doctor of Stalingrad (1958) with O.E. Hasse
Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) with Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dewey Martin, Walter Slezak, Paul Henreid, Lisa Gaye, John Archer, Dean Jones, and Monique van Vooren
The Gamma People (1956) with Paul Douglas and Jocelyn Lane
Durch die Walder durch die Auen (1956) with Peter Arens
Ohne dich wird es Nacht (1956) with Curd Jurgens
Dunja (1955) with Gert Frobe
Special Delivery (1955) with Joseph Cotten and Gert Frobe
Break in the Circle (1955) with Forrest Tucker
Orient Express (1954) with Henri Vidal and Curd Jurgens
Victoria and Her Hussar (1954)
Circus of Love (1954) with Curd Jurgens
Meines Vaters Pferde: Lena und Nicoline (1954) with Curd Jurgens
Front Page Story (1954) with Jack Hawkins and Michael Goodliffe
Norman Conquest (1953) with Tom Conway
The Last Waltz (1953) with Curd Jurgens
Spaceways (1953) with Howard Duff
The Assassin (1952) with Richard Todd
The Crimson Pirate (1952) with Burt Lancaster, Dana Wynter, and Christopher Lee
A Tale of Five Women (1951) with Gina Lollobrigida
Mezei profeta (1947)

TELEVISION SERIES
The Midnight Men, 1964 BBC TV series. Bartok portrayed Veronique Vranja

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
ITV Play of the Week, episode Winter in Ischia, originally aired July 12, 1965
ITV Television Playhouse, episode The Macropulos Secret, originally aired March 7, 1958
The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial, episode The Case of the Abandoned Horse, originally aired April 12, 1957
G.E. True Theater, episode Bargain Bride, originally aired April 7, 1957

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Watch the trailer for Eva Bartok's 1964 horror flick Blood and Black Lace

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Watch Eva Bartok's 1956 sci-fi flick The Gamma People
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This page premiered February 10, 2012.
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