Gábor Faludi

Gábor Faludi was born in Tét on 1 May 1846 as Gábor Waltersdorf, according to an entry in the Jewish parish register of Téthszentkút (later known as Téth or Tét). His parents were Salamon Waltersdorf and Rozália (Szali) Klein, both local merchants. His sons Miklós, Jenő, and Sándor later became involved in the family theatre business while his daughter, Hermina, married Jenő Vázsonyi, the President of the Hungarian State Railway. The original family name suggests that the family may have had roots in the Austrian town of Bad Waltersdorf, located about 150 kilometers west of Tét.

Not much is known about Faludi's early life, only that he was a businessman in Devecser until 1878, and in that same year moved to Budapest and developed the first theatre ticket booth system in the country, which he leased out. In 1896, along with Count István Keglevich and the writer Ferenc Szécsi, he founded the Vígszínház and received a considerable stake in the theatre, while at the same time managing the theatre's financial aspects. When Keglevich and Szécsi decided to cut their ties to the theatre after disagreements, Faludi took over full control of managing the theatre. In 1917, he also leased the Városi Színház (Erkel Theatre).

Starting with its founding in 1896, the Vígszínház played an important part in Hungarian theatrical life. In the beginning, it was the novelty of the theatre's plays' styles and the frivolity of its plays that garnered attention. In 1907, the theatre became influential in literary life as it grew to be the home of the contemporary Hungarian modern drama. The theatre slowly came to be regarded as a national cultural establishment. The Vígszínház became the representative symbol of Lipótváros, which was the cultural epicenter and residence of the city's quickly assimilating German and Jewish residents.

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