Sandor Elès

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title: "Sandor Elès" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1936-births", "2002-deaths", "british-male-film-actors", "british-male-television-actors", "british-male-stage-actors", "hungarian-male-film-actors", "hungarian-emigrants-to-england", "male-actors-from-budapest", "naturalised-citizens-of-the-united-kingdom"] description: "Hungarian actor (1936–2002)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandor_Elès" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Hungarian actor (1936–2002) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Sándor Éles
image	Sandor Elès in One Step Beyond (The Prisoner).jpg
caption	Éles in an episode of One Step Beyond (1961)
birth_name	Sándor József Éles
birth_date
birth_place	Tatabánya, Hungary
death_date
death_place	Kilburn, London, England
occupation	Actor
years_active	1958–1996
::

| name = Sándor Éles | image = Sandor Elès in One Step Beyond (The Prisoner).jpg | caption = Éles in an episode of One Step Beyond (1961) | birth_name = Sándor József Éles | birth_date = | birth_place = Tatabánya, Hungary | death_date = | death_place = Kilburn, London, England | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1958–1996 József Sándor Éles (15 June 1936 – 10 September 2002), sometimes credited simply as Sándor Éles, was a Hungarian actor. He started his career in theatre, but was best known latterly for TV and film work.

Early life

Born in Tatabánya, 60 km from Budapest, Éles was orphaned during World War II, and emigrated to Britain during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Career

He began his acting career on stage, and went on to appear in a host of television roles, the majority on ITV. These included the ITC series The Avengers, Danger Man, The Baron, The Saint, Timeslip and Jason King.

He appeared as a storyteller on the BBC children's programme Jackanory in ten episodes between 1970 and 1972, and he also made appearances in The Avengers, The Professionals, Strange Report and Upstairs, Downstairs. Often cast in generic 'foreigner' roles (diplomats, waiters, desk clerks), he most often played Frenchmen. Éles became a British citizen on 10 January 1977.

One of his most memorable film roles was as the mysterious Paul in the Brian Clemens thriller And Soon the Darkness (1970). He also had major roles in the Hammer Horror movies Countess Dracula (1971) and The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) as well as appearing for four years in the 1980s as the scheming restaurant manager, Paul Ross, in the British TV soap opera Crossroads.

In 1996, Éles returned to his cultural roots, appearing as the narrator in the Bartók opera, Bluebeard's Castle. The concert performances, given by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, were recorded for CD.

Death

Éles died in Kilburn, London on 10 September 2002, aged 66, apparently from a heart attack.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	The Rebel	Artist
1961	The Naked Edge	Manfridi St John
1962	Guns of Darkness	Lt. Gomez
1964	French Dressing	Vladek
1964	The Evil of Frankenstein	Hans
1965	San Ferry Ann	Shop Attendant
1967	The Magnificent Two	Armandez
1970	The Kremlin Letter	Lt. Grodin
1970	And Soon the Darkness	Paul
1971	Countess Dracula	Lt. Imre Toth
1971	Fun and Games	Paul Floret
1973	Scorpio	Malkin
1975	Love and Death	Soldier 2
1977	The Assignment	Clerk
1978	The Greek Tycoon	Lawrence
1991	Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady	Maitre D'
1996	Surviving Picasso	Party Guest	(final film role)
::

References

References

1. Services, Good Stuff IT. "Jozsef Sandor Eles died in Kilburn London NW6 on Tuesday 10 September 2002 (Unclaimed Estate Reference BV2032832/1) - Bona Vacantia List". unclaimedestates.info.
2. "Sandor Elès".
3. "Sandor Eles biography". allmovie.com.
4. "Crossroads Online: A resource for all Crossroads fans". crossroads2001.co.uk.
5. "Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11 (Bluebeard's Castle; A kékszakállú herceg vára) on CD, SACD, DVD & download (MP3 & FLAC)". prestoclassical.co.uk.
6. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3rGCwAAQBAJ&dq=sandor+eles+2002&pg=PA91 ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts'']

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