Karel Štěpánek (29 October 1899 – 25 December 1980), sometimes credited as Karl Stepanek, was a Czech actor and singer. He spent many years in Austria and Germany, and generally played German-speaking roles onscreen. In 1939 he moved to the United Kingdom as a refugee from Nazism, and spent much of the rest of his career there.
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Life and career
Štěpánek was born in Brno (in present-day Czech Republic), then a part of Austria-Hungary, to František Štěpánek and Marie Dworzak. After training in acting and classical singing, he began his stage career there in 1920. A year later he moved to Vienna, where he worked at the Raimund Theater and Graz Opera.
In 1927, he moved to Berlin, working in theatre, opera, and cabaret. He made his film debut in 1928's silent romance A Love, A Thief, A Department Store, and in 1931 appeared in his first sound film. He appeared in a number of German films during the decade, typically in supporting roles, where he was typically billed as Karl Stepanek ('Karl' is the German form of the Czech 'Karel').
In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Štěpánek emigrated to Great Britain as a refugee from Nazi Germany. He was employed the BBC's overseas section, writing and recording propaganda broadcasts in German and Czech, and acted on the West End. Beginning with 1942's Secret Mission, Štěpánek found a successful second career playing villainous Nazis in war films, joining a community of other German-speaking emigre actors like Conrad Veidt and Herbert Lom.
After the war, Štěpánek elected to remain in the UK and went on to appear in dozens of film and television roles, usually as a villain or other malefactor. He did make some appearances in West German films and TV during the 1960s. In 1951, he played the lead role of Napoleon in a West End run of George Bernard Shaw's The Man of Destiny.
Personal life
Štěpánek was married to Hungarian-born actress Marianne Deeming (1899–1984).
Death
Štěpánek died in London in 1980, at the age of 81. He was buried at North Sheen Cemetery in Kew.