Klári Tolnay

Klári Tolnay (born Rozália Klára Tolnay; 17 July 1914 – 27 October 1998) was a Hungarian actress. She received the Kossuth Prize in 1951 and 1952.

Life
Klári Tolnay (born Rózsi Tolnay) was born on 17 July 1914 in Budapest, as the daughter of István Tolnay and Eleonóra Siess. She spent her childhood in the small village of Mohora, Nógrád County, on the estate of her father. Finishing elementary school there, she continued secondary school studies in Balassagyarmat, two years at the school operated by Institutum Beatae Mariae Virginis in Nyíregyháza, finishing high school in Debrecen's School of Business. Singing and playing music since childhood, she followed the advice of newspaper editor János Bókay, and auditioned herself to prominent actors of the time, Gábor Rajnai, Jenő Heltai, and Sándor Hevesi. After these early attempts were not followed by desired results, she was mentored by Béla Gaál, thus starting her career as a film actress at the Hunnia Film Studio.

Her first notable role was in Meseautó, after which she was hired by the Comedy Theatre of Budapest theatre in 1934, to perform smaller roles. In 1936 she married Ákos Ráthonyi, a director, giving birth to daughter Zsuzsanna 4 years later. After World War II ended in 1945, Ákos Ráthonyi left Hungary, with their daughter following after the 1956 revolution. Leaving the Comedy Theatre for the Művész Theatre in 1946-7, she met Iván Darvas, whom she later married (but divorced in 1958). In 1947, together with Gyula Benkő and István Somló, she was appointed as the co-manager of the Comedy Theatre, where she was a major participant in restoring the institution to its pre-war glory. After the theatre was disbanded by the government in 1950, she joined the Madách Theatre, where she worked until her death on 27 October 1998. In later years, she also became a much sought-after dubbing actress, lending her voice to a great number of elderly female characters.

Filmography

 * Hacsek és Sajő – A két ültetvényes (1934, short)
 * The New Relative (1934)
 * The Dream Car (1934)
 * 1934 Lila akác
 * The Wise Mother (1935)
 * Be True Until Death (1936)
 * There Are Exceptions (1937)
 * My Daughter Is Different (1937)
 * The Borrowed Castle (1937)
 * Magda Expelled (1938)
 * 1938 Döntő pillanat
 * 1938 Azurexpressz
 * The Lady Is a Bit Cracked (1938)
 * Flower of the Tisza (1938)
 * Wildflowers of Gyimes (1939)
 * Istvan Bors (1939)
 * Wedding in Toprin (1939)
 * Six Weeks of Happiness (1939)
 * 1939 A nőnek mindig sikerül
 * The Unquiet Night (1940)
 * Queen Elizabeth (1940)
 * 1940 Egy csók és más semmi
 * Mirage by the Lake (1940)
 * 1940 Vissza az úton
 * 1940 A szerelem nem szégyen
 * 1941 Havasi napsütés
 * Silent Monastery (1941)
 * Three Bells (1941)
 * The Devil Doesn't Sleep (1941)
 * 1941 Gentryfészek
 * Kádár Versus Kerekes (1942)
 * Male Fidelity (1942)
 * At the Crossroads (1942)
 * 1942 Pista tekintetes úr
 * Katyi (1942)
 * 1943 Szerencsés flótás
 * 1943 Palócvirág (short)
 * 1943 Féltékenység
 * 1943 Menekülő ember
 * The Song of Rákóczi (1943)
 * 1943 Ágrólszakadt úrilány
 * Strange Roads (1944)
 * Renee XIV (1946)
 * The Siege of Beszterce (1948)
 * 1948 Tűz
 * A Woman Gets a Start (1949)
 * Déryné (1951)
 * Relatives (1954)
 * 1956 Ünnepi vacsora
 * Tale on the Twelve Points (1957)
 * Dani (1957)
 * Danse Macabre (1958)
 * What a Night! (1958)
 * For Whom the Larks Sing (1959)
 * 1960 Fűre lépni szabad
 * 1960 Virrad
 * 1961 Mindenki ártatlan?
 * 1961 Nem ér a nevem
 * Land of Angels (1962)
 * 1962 Fagyosszentek
 * 1963 Pacsirta
 * 1963 Fáklyaláng (TV film)
 * 1963 Hogy állunk, fiatalember?
 * 1964 Ők tudják, mi a szerelem (TV film)
 * 1964 Ezer év
 * 1966 Apa
 * 1966 Utószezon
 * 1967 The Testament of Aga Koppanyi
 * 1967 Az özvegy és a százados
 * 1968 Családi tűzhely (TV film)
 * 1968 Elsietett házasság
 * 1970 Hatholdas rózsakert
 * 1970 Szemtől szemben
 * 1970 Szerelmi álmok
 * 1971 A Danaida (TV film)
 * 1971 Reménykedők
 * 1972 Jó estét nyár, jó estét szerelem
 * 1972 Volt egyszer egy család
 * 1975 Asszony a viharban (TV film)
 * 1975 Hogyan viseljük el szerelmi bánatunkat? (TV film)
 * 1976 Ballagó idő
 * 1976 Fekete gyémántok
 * 1976 Mélosz pusztulása (TV film)
 * 1978 Drága kisfiam
 * 1978 Legato
 * 1978 Nem élhetek muzsikaszó nélkül
 * 1980 Kojak Budapesten
 * 1983 A csoda vége
 * 1983 Ők tudják, mi a szerelem (TV film)
 * 1983 Reumavalcer (TV film)
 * 1984 A vörös grófnő
 * 1985 The Red Countess
 * 1985 Bevégezetlen ragozás (TV film)
 * 1989 Vili, a veréb (voice)
 * 1994 Drága kisfiam