Anton Karas(1906-1985)

Anton Karas was a mere entertainer in an Heurige (Viennese Wine Bar), but Carol Reed selected him as the musical director of "The Third Man" (1949). He was invited to London and lived with Reed. Reed treated him very well, but Karas was in a slump - then suddenly Reed rushed into Karas' room, and lay at full length on the floor. "Now I'm dead! Only your zither can bring me back to life! Karas, play such a song as to raise me from the dead." Instantly Karas realized his intention, and tried to play a song that would satisfy him. But Reed wasn't easily satisfied, Karas exerted himself for hours - the moment he almost gave it up, he played that familiar melody.

The success of "The Third Man" changed Karas' life totally. He played all over the world, and won applause from the British Royal family and the Pope. He earned a lot of money - They called him "Mr. Cinderella".

But Vienna was the only city in which he could truly live. So he went back to Vienna, and tried to run his own Heurige. But the Austrian people were so jealous of him - most people in Austria were in poverty at that time. Besides, "The Third Man" was not a film about the glory of Hapsburg monarchy, it was about the disgrace of the defeated Austria. And the zither itself was despised there. Finally people sued Karas about his Heurige business, it sent him down to the confusion of lawsuits, and afterwards he was completely ostracized.