Was supposed to play Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond-movie You Only Live Twice (1967). He even posed for publicity photos in
character, but fell ill just prior to production and Donald Pleasence
was a last-minute replacement.
Before World War II, he had a long stage partnership in Czechoslovakia (both as actor and writer) with George Voskovec. This ended when Voskovec fled to America in 1939 after the German invasion.