Oskar Seliaru
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June 18, 1906
Oskar Seliaru | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oskar Leenart Schelbach June 18, 1906 Rakvere, Estonia |
| Died | June 14, 1978 (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery (Lakewood Township, New Jersey) |
| Occupations | Actor, director, and puppeteer |
| Spouse | Lo Tui |
Oskar Leenart Seliaru (born Oskar Leenart Schelbach;[1][2] June 18, 1906 – June 14, 1978 New York) was an Estonian actor, director, and puppeteer.[3][4]
Oskar Seliaru was born in Rakvere, Estonia,[5] the son of Jüri Schelbach (later Seliaru, 1875–1944)[6][7] and Marie Schelbach (later Seliaru, née Vilu, 1875–?). He attended at Rakvere High School, and he participated in the Estonian War of Independence as a schoolboy. In his youth he was also engaged in journalism and was an athlete (shooting and equestrianism).
Career
Seliaru started performing on the stage in 1926 in the Rakvere Actors' Circle,[3] and he was an actor at the Drama Theater from 1936 to 1944, where he directed a puppet troupe and a was a puppet technician.[8]
In 1944, he fled to Germany. He founded the puppet troupe Sel's Marionettes (Estonian: Seli marionetid) there,[3] and he performed from 1945 to 1950 with his own puppet plays, including See oli unenägu (It Was a Dream) and Seitse ühe hoobiga (Seven in One Blow).[5] He relocated to New York in 1950[4] and directed and acted at the New York Estonian Theater.[5]
Productions
- 1943: Pöialpoiss (The Dwarf) by Anna Brigadere[9]
- 1944: Haldjas Kastetilk (The Fairy Dewdrop) by Lo Tui[10]
- 1952: Mees merelt (The Man from the Sea) by August Mälk
- 1955: Püve talus (At the Püve Farm) by August Kitzberg
- 1960: Mikumärdi by Hugo Raudsepp
- 1963: Oskar Lutsu õhtu (An Evening of Oskar Luts)
