Ancestral Trails 2016 » Victor Oliver von SAMEK (1898-1964)

Personal data Victor Oliver von SAMEK 


Household of Victor Oliver von SAMEK

He is married to Sarah Millicent Hermione SPENCER-CHURCHILL.

They got married in the year 1936, he was 37 years old.


Notes about Victor Oliver von SAMEK

Victor Oliver von Samek (8 July 1898 - 15 August 1964), known as Vic Oliver, was an Austrian-born British actor and radio comedian.

He was born in Vienna in a jewish family, the son of Baron Viktor von Samek. He studied medicine at Vienna University but abandoned it for his first love, music. For a time he studied under Mahler. During the First World War he served in the Austrian Cavalry. After the war he worked as a banker and a textile manufacturer before returning to music. In 1926 he visited the United States as a conductor and violinist. He discovered his gift for comedy by chance when he had to apologise to his audience for something. A new career as a comedian took him all over the United States. He reached the Palace Theatre, New York in 1929 and the London Palladium two years later. This established him in the United Kingdom and with his deferential, modest humour, he became very popular. He was kept busy in musical revues, variety and pantomime.

He was Roy Plomley's very first 'castaway' guest on Desert Island Discs, on 29 January 1942. This lost broadcast was recalled in 2012 in a BBC radio documentary about Oliver's life in Britain.

He starred in the BBC radio show Hi, Gang!; and appeared in many others, including Discord in Three Flats (1962) with Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert. He played the violin (deliberately badly in his shows). He had aspirations as a conductor and founded the Vic Oliver Concert Orchestra which gave light classical concerts as well as complete opera performances. In 1953 he established Variety Playhouse as a primetime radio show featuring music, comedy and light drama. The show did not survive him.

He was a regular on Henry Hall's Guest Night and Workers' Playtime and, as a music-based comedian, has been considered a precursor of Victor Borge.

As a Jew, his name was reportedly listed on a Nazi blacklist (known as "The Black Book") of people to be arrested (and killed) immediately in the event of a successful German invasion of Britain.

Oliver married Winston Churchill's daughter, Sarah, in 1936. They had become secretly engaged when they were appearing together in a C.B. Cochran revue. Churchill did not approve of him. There was nothing whatever against Oliver's character but he had been divorced at least once, possibly twice. Some thought there was negativity also towards those involved with music halls and their folk. There is an anecdote that at a dinner party at which Oliver was present, Churchill was asked whom he most admired. Churchill replied, "Mussolini". When asked why, he replied, "Because he had the good sense to shoot his son-in-law!" Oliver and Sarah divorced in 1945. It was noted that Oliver never capitalised on his relationship with Churchill despite attractive offers. Oliver married Natalie Frances Conder in 1946 in Westminster, London and they had one daughter.

He died in Johannesburg, South Africa, aged 66. Relatives still live in Vienna.

Works
Vic Oliver wrote an autobiography: Mr Showbusiness.

Sports
Oliver played tennis, football and hockey as a youth and became junior tennis champion of Austria in 1914. After arriving in the United Kingdom in 1936, Oliver became a supporter of First Division club Brentford and was vice-president of the club in the early 1950s. He later became president of the Brentford Supporters' Club.

Portrayal
Oliver is briefly portrayed in the 2002 film The Gathering Storm. He was played by Gerrard McArthur.
SOURCE: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Oliver

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Historical events

  • The temperature on July 8, 1898 was about 15.0 °C. The airpressure was 76 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 72%. Source: KNMI
  • Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • Regentes Emma (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1898 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • In The Netherlands , there was from July 27, 1897 to August 1, 1901 the cabinet Pierson, with Mr. N.G. Pierson (unie-liberaal) as prime minister.
  • In the year 1898: Source: Wikipedia
    • The Netherlands had about 5.1 million citizens.
    • January 1 » New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
    • April 21 » Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
    • June 12 » Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.
    • June 27 » The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
    • July 3 » A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
    • December 3 » The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeated an all-star collection of early football players 16–0, in what is considered to be the very first all-star game for professional American football.
  • The temperature on August 15, 1964 was between 9.5 °C and 21.3 °C and averaged 15.7 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain during 0.3 hours. There was 10.5 hours of sunshine (71%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the north. Source: KNMI
  • Koningin Juliana (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from September 4, 1948 till April 30, 1980 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • In The Netherlands , there was from July 24, 1963 to April 14, 1965 the cabinet Marijnen, with Mr. V.G.M. Marijnen (KVP) as prime minister.
  • In the year 1964: Source: Wikipedia
    • The Netherlands had about 12.0 million citizens.
    • January 8 » President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States.
    • March 1 » Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
    • July 20 » Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children).
    • August 5 » Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers USSTiconderoga and USSConstellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
    • September 4 » Scotland's Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh officially opens.
    • October 29 » A collection of irreplaceable gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is "Murph the surf") from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.


Same birth/death day

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia


About the surname Von SAMEK


When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
Patti Lee Salter, "Ancestral Trails 2016", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/ancestral-trails-2016/I110220.php : accessed May 8, 2024), "Victor Oliver von SAMEK (1898-1964)".