Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions. He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963), a role for which he had been personally recommended by his friend Sean Connery, and as Otto Leipzig in Smiley's People (1982). He also had notable recurring roles as Dr. Douglas Jackson in Gerry Anderson's UFO, Captain Ferreira in the NBC miniseries Shōgun, and Gen. Bratchenko in the 1984 version of Red Dawn.
He became a naturalised British citizen, but remained "fiercely proud of his homeland and its culture".
Life and career
Sheybal was born in Zgierz, near Łódź, in the Second Polish Republic. The son of a university professor, he was attracted to acting at an early age. At the age of 16, he was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during the occupation of Poland; escaping twice only to be recaptured and subjected to torture as punishment. After World War II ended, he began performing in Polish theatres and cinemas, earning a reputation as a skilled actor. He appeared in the film Kanał (1957, credited as Władysław Sheybal), directed by Andrzej Wajda, before departing for Paris and then Vienna in 1958 owing to his political opposition to the Communist Party.
Having difficulty finding work, he emigrated to Britain in 1959 where his reputation from Polish films lent him enough credibility to support himself teaching acting. He was soon appearing on the London stage, and was hired as the director of the Bromley Little Theatre in 1960. That same year, he directed a production of Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina at Oxford University. This production was seen by executives of the BBC, and it led to work as a director for opera and theatre adaptations on British television in the early 1960s, including works for ITV Play of the Week in 1961 and 1962 and as well as productions for the BBC. In 1964, he had a triumphant success on the British stage as "He" in Leonid Andreyev's He Who Gets Slapped at the Hampstead Theatre.
In 1963, he made his British cinema debut playing the evil secret agent Kronsteen in the James Bond film From Russia with Love. He appeared often in villainous roles or character parts in British cinema up until his death in 1992. He also appeared as Holocaust survivor Egon Sobotnik in the television mini-series QB VII. He had a dual role as "the Director" and as Pierre Louys in Ken Russell's The Debussy Film (1965), one of Russell's composer biopics for the BBC. Other Russell films in which he appeared were Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Women in Love (1969), and The Boy Friend (1971).
His other films include Casino Royale (1967), Doppelgänger (1969), The Last Valley, Puppet on a Chain, Innocent Bystanders, The Wind and the Lion, The Lady Vanishes (1979), Fire and Sword, and Red Dawn.
Sheybal's other TV credits include Z-Cars, Danger Man, The Troubleshooters, The Saint, The Human Jungle, The Baron, The Champions, Callan, Strange Report, UFO, The New Avengers, Supernatural (1977), Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy, Shōgun, Smiley's People, and The Man in Room 17.
In 1977, he won the Dracula Society's prestigious Hamilton Deane Award for his performance in the BBC play Night of the Marionettes, part of the Supernatural series, in which he played a sinister Austrian innkeeper whose life-size puppets supposedly inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Sheybal's final stage appearance was as Friedrich Nietzsche in the Pierre Bourgeade play The Eagle and the Serpent at London's Offstage Downstairs Theatre in 1988.
In years 1950–1957, he was in a relationship with actress Irena Eichlerówna. In England, Sheybal dated both men and women, but formed no long-term relationship.
He died in London in 1992, aged 69, from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery.
Selected filmography +YearTitleRoleNotes1957KanałMichał 'Ogromny'1963From Russia with Love Tov Kronsteen1965Return from the Ashes Paul1967Casino RoyaleLe Chiffre's RepresentativeBillion Dollar BrainDr. EiwortThe Fearless Vampire Killers Herbert von KrolockVoice only1968To Grab the RingMijnheer SmithDeadfallDr. DelgadoThe Limbo Line Oleg1969Mosquito SquadronLieutenant ShackDoppelgänger PsychiatristWomen in Love Loerke1970Leo the Last LazslowPuppet on a Chain Meegeren1971The Last ValleyMathiasThe Boy Friend De Thril1972Pilate and Others CaiaphasThe Spy's Wife VladekInnocent Bystanders Aaron Kaplan1973ScorpioZemetkin1974S*P*Y*S BorisenkoThe Kiss Portiere d'albergo1975The Wind and the Lion The Bashaw1976House of Pleasure for WomenFrancescoThe Sell Out Dutchman1977Gulliver's TravelsPresident of Blefuscu Voice only1979The Lady VanishesTrainmasterAvalanche Express Zannbin1980The AppleMr. Boogalow1981Fire and Sword Andret1983The Jigsaw ManGen. Zorin1984Where Is Parsifal? GeorgeMemed My HawkAliRed Dawn General Bratchenko1990Strike It RichKinskiAfter Midnight Hiyam El-Afi1992Double X: The Name of the GamePawnbroker
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes1961–1963ITV Play of the WeekVarious3 episodes1963The Sentimental AgentArvaEpisode: "Meet My Son, Henry"Z-CarsYadorEpisode: "Daylight Robbery"1964The Human JungleWilliam JonesEpisode: "Wild Goose Chase"Danger ManTewfickEpisode: "Fish on the Hook"1965The TroubleshootersHerr LenzEpisode: "The Schloss Belt"1966The BaronFrederick ReinerEpisode: "And Suddenly You're Dead"The SaintNikita RoskinEpisode: "The Helpful Pirate"Theatre 625NarratorEpisode: "Amerika"1968The ChampionsMax KellorEpisode: "The Dark Island"1969CallanDicerEpisode: "The Little Bits and Pieces of Love"Strange ReportKulikEpisode: "REPORT 7931 SNIPER 'When is your cousin not?'"1970OmnibusJoseph GoebbelsEpisode: "Dance of the Seven Veils"Play for TodayHans WeiderEpisode: "A Distant Thunder"1970–1971UFO Dr. Doug Jackson10 episodes1972The ProtectorsSandor KarleonEpisode: "Brother Hood"1974BBC Play of the MonthMr. MillerEpisode: "The Deep Blue Sea"Napoleon and LovePrince PoniatowskiEpisode: "Maria Walewska"QB VIISobotnikMiniseriesNo, HonestlyGiovanniEpisode: "Only Make Believe"1975Rogue's RockBoris Lubchenko5 episodes1976The New AvengersZacardiEpisode: "Cat Among the Pigeons"1977SupernaturalHerr HubertEpisode: "Night of the Marionettes"1980ShōgunCaptain FerrieraMiniseries1982Smiley's PeopleOtto Leipzig1983Marco Polo Prosecuting ReverendEpisode 81989Champagne CharlieCount PlaskyTV film1992The BillMr. LedermanEpisode: "Sympathy for the Devil"
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