Istvan György Örkeny

Background

Istvan György Örkeny was born on April 5, 1912 Budapest, Hungary to a wealthy Jewish family.

Education

István György graduated from the Piarist Gymnasium in 1930 and enrolled at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics where he studied chemistry. Two years later, he chose to specialize in pharmacology and received his degree in that subject in 1934.

Career

In 1937, Istvan György became associated with the journal Szép Szó and began traveling; to London and Paris, where he held several odd jobs. He returned to Budapest in 1940 and completed his degree in chemical engineering.

Istvan György published his first book, Ocean Dance, in 1941. In 1942, he was sent to the Russian Front on the Don River. As a Jew, he was placed in a forced-labor unit. There he was captured and detained in a labour camp near Moscow, where he wrote the play Voronesh. In 1946, he returned home to Budapest.

After 1949, Istvan György worked as a dramaturge at the Youth Theater and, after 1951, as a playwright at the People's Army Theater. In 1954, he began working as an editor for Szépirodalmi Publishing. He was prohibited from publishing after the Revolution and worked as a chemical engineer at United Pharmaceuticals until 1963.

Istvan György died of heart failure in 1979 and was buried in Farkasréti Cemetery.

Achievements

In 2004, the Madách Chamber Theatre in Budapest was renamed the Örkeny Theater in his honour.

Works

One Minute Stories by Istvan Orkeny One Minute Stories by Istvan Orkeny

book
- The Toth Family
  (English and Hungarian Edition)
- One Minute Stories by Istvan Orkeny
- Egypercesek

Connections

Istvan György Örkeny was married three times. His second wife, Angéla Nagy was a cookbook writer. They were married from 1948 to 1959. His third wife, Zsuzsa Radnóti was a prize-winning dramaturge. They were married in 1965.

Spouse:: Angéla Nagy
Spouse:: Zsuzsa Radnóti

Main Photo