Sebris, Karl

Sebris, Karl Karlovich 

(Kārlis Sebris). Born Feb. 5 (18), 1914, in the settlement of Sinole, in what is now Gulbene Raion. Soviet Latvian actor. People’s Artist of the USSR (1974).

In 1938, upon completing E. Zeltmatis’ drama courses, Sebris joined the troupe of the National Theater in Riga (now the A. Upīts Latvian Drama Theater). His brilliant portrayals, which reflect a mastery of the art of re-creating a character, include Satin in Gorky’s The Lower Depths, Porfirii Petrovich in a dramatization of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Sir Toby Belch and Falstaff in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Henry IV, Philip II in Schiller’s Don Carlos, the title role in a dramatization of Rolland’s Colas Breugnon, Bernard Shaw in Kilty’s Dear Liar, and the title role in Smuul’s Jens, Savage Captain From the Island of Kihnu. Since 1948, Sebris has also appeared in films, playing such roles as Kviesis in The “Tobago” Changes Course (1965), Gloucester in King Lear (1970), and Bering in The Ballad of Bering (1970).