FROM BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD

Upon his return to the United States in 1950, Voskovec was accused of being a Communist sympathizer and detained at Ellis Island for eleven months. In his detainment, he looked out on the Statue of Liberty and vowed to never visit it. He became a US citizen in 1955 and a successful actor. Over a span of twenty-five years, he was popular on Broadway, playing in Hamlet next to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and won an Obie award for his title role in Uncle Vanya. His most famous American movie role, alongside Henry Fonda, was as the 11th juror in 12 Angry Men (1957), a role that allowed his immigrant character to show appreciation for democratic rights and freedoms. Other films included Butterfield 8 and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. Throughout his career, Voskovec performed in 72 films. Voskovec was also a presence during the "Golden Age of Television" during the 1950s as well as in 1960s. Widowed from his second wife, Voskovec married for the third time, an actress he met in Paris years before. Despite his new life, he proudly said, "I am a born and bred Czech.”