Character Actor Danny Klega 1923-2015 (Ivan the Cosmonaut in "Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet") - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 07-28-2015, 07:55 PM

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Danny and Doris Klega rolled double sixes during a long-life filled with love and countless movies.

Danny Klega, who died earlier this month at age 91, loved the cinema, and while he didn’t achieve matinee idol status, did build quite a resume of character actor roles from 1962 to 1970, according to the Internet Movie Data Base.

They both had an adventurous youth, and the path on which they met began forming during World War II.

Klega, who grew up in Czechoslovakia, was imprisoned in a German forced-labor camp but he escaped after a while. He made his way to France and landed a job on a cargo ship that traveled the world, his daughter Darcy wrote in a remembrance of her dad.

“It was most thrilling for him to find that the ship was eventually going to dock in America. He said he always dreamt about America! This was a chance of a lifetime, and he decided to “jump ship” and stay in New York,” she wrote.

During this period Doris, age 14, was half a world away, living with her parents in Bombay, India, where her father was the Czechoslovakian Counsel General. With war breaking out her mother brought Doris and her brother to America in 1944 and put them in a boarding school in Massachusetts.

In 1949 they both ended up in New York City. One evening both showed up at a Czech club called Sokol, Doris recalled, and it was essentially love at first sight.

He spoke English and she spoke a little Czech. They danced a bit, chatted and he asked for a date. They went to a movie in Times Square, ate hot dogs and drank Cokes.

“He was very fun to be with and he was good looking,” Doris said. “And he was a good tap dancer. He loved to tap dance.”

After a two-month courtship they married, and kept the news from their parents for a while.

Danny was a machinist and lost a job in 1951 and they, like many other young couples, decided to hit the road in search of a better life.

“We came to California on Route 66. We packed up our ‘51 Buick with our possessions. We came to Santa Monica and stayed in a motel,” Doris said.

Danny wanted to be an actor and made the rounds of the studios, but he didn’t have much luck. He got a job as a machinist at the Anheuser-Busch plant in Van Nuys and they built a little house in Topanga.

In 1959 they moved into what is now West Hills.

But Danny still had the acting bug and he kept his toe in the water, so to speak, and it finally panned out.

In 1962 he landed a character role in “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” starring Glenn Ford. He played a German Lieutenant.

And the couple that met at a club came to Tinseltown on storied Route 66 had a long loving marriage that lasted 66 years.

That adds up to double sixes and a life well lived.

PracTz · 07-29-2015, 10:49 AM

Sounds like quite a fascinating life -as in worth making into a movie!
I wonder if he, Russell Johnson and Alan Hale got together and traded WWII stories?

Marvo301 · 07-29-2015, 02:45 PM

What a lovely story and it's so cool that he and his wife were married 66 years!! Rest in peace Mr. Klega.

07-28-2015, 07:55 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,392	Character Actor Danny Klega 1923-2015 (Ivan the Cosmonaut in "Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet") Link Danny and Doris Klega rolled double sixes during a long-life filled with love and countless movies. Danny Klega, who died earlier this month at age 91, loved the cinema, and while he didn’t achieve matinee idol status, did build quite a resume of character actor roles from 1962 to 1970, according to the Internet Movie Data Base. They both had an adventurous youth, and the path on which they met began forming during World War II. Klega, who grew up in Czechoslovakia, was imprisoned in a German forced-labor camp but he escaped after a while. He made his way to France and landed a job on a cargo ship that traveled the world, his daughter Darcy wrote in a remembrance of her dad. “It was most thrilling for him to find that the ship was eventually going to dock in America. He said he always dreamt about America! This was a chance of a lifetime, and he decided to “jump ship” and stay in New York,” she wrote. During this period Doris, age 14, was half a world away, living with her parents in Bombay, India, where her father was the Czechoslovakian Counsel General. With war breaking out her mother brought Doris and her brother to America in 1944 and put them in a boarding school in Massachusetts. In 1949 they both ended up in New York City. One evening both showed up at a Czech club called Sokol, Doris recalled, and it was essentially love at first sight. He spoke English and she spoke a little Czech. They danced a bit, chatted and he asked for a date. They went to a movie in Times Square, ate hot dogs and drank Cokes. “He was very fun to be with and he was good looking,” Doris said. “And he was a good tap dancer. He loved to tap dance.” After a two-month courtship they married, and kept the news from their parents for a while. Danny was a machinist and lost a job in 1951 and they, like many other young couples, decided to hit the road in search of a better life. “We came to California on Route 66. We packed up our ‘51 Buick with our possessions. We came to Santa Monica and stayed in a motel,” Doris said. Danny wanted to be an actor and made the rounds of the studios, but he didn’t have much luck. He got a job as a machinist at the Anheuser-Busch plant in Van Nuys and they built a little house in Topanga. In 1959 they moved into what is now West Hills. But Danny still had the acting bug and he kept his toe in the water, so to speak, and it finally panned out. In 1962 he landed a character role in “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” starring Glenn Ford. He played a German Lieutenant. And the couple that met at a club came to Tinseltown on storied Route 66 had a long loving marriage that lasted 66 years. That adds up to double sixes and a life well lived.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

07-29-2015, 02:45 PM	#3
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,456	What a lovely story and it's so cool that he and his wife were married 66 years!! Rest in peace Mr. Klega.
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

07-29-2015, 10:49 AM	#2
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	Sounds like quite a fascinating life -as in worth making into a movie! I wonder if he, Russell Johnson and Alan Hale got together and traded WWII stories?