Kurt Kasznar

Having appeared in over 80 screen productions and dozens of stage plays throughout his impressive career, Kurt Kasznar may be most noted for a role at the end of his of life, as Alexander B. Fitzhugh on the sci-fi TV series "Land of the Giants." Born in Austria-Hungary, he immigrated to the United States during the mid-1930s and was drafted in 1941. After the war, Kasznar made his way to Broadway, where he played Uncle Louis in the coming-of-age family play "The Happy Time," a role that won him a Golden Globe nod when he recreated it for Richard Fleischer's 1952 screen version. This kick-started his film career, and soon he was playing Jacquot alongside Zsa Zsa Gabor and Leslie Caron in the circus musical "Lili," and appearing with Elizabeth Taylor in the romantic drama "The Last Time I Saw Paris." He worked steadily in film into the 1960s while making a huge name on the Great White Way, winning a Tony nomination for his stage performance in "The Sound of Music." In 1968 he played the part of Fitzhugh on "Land of the Giants," which followed the members of a space crew that landed on a planet inhabited by, yes, giants. After the show's two-year run Kasznar appeared mostly on TV, putting in one-off appearances and cameos on popular prime-time dramas including the mystery series "McMillan & Wife" and the geriatric-detective show "Barnaby Jones."