John Ratzenberger
Ratzenberger in 2013, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: John Dezso Ratzenberger
Place of Birth: Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Date of Birth: April 6, 1947
Ethnicity:
*father – Hungarian, possibly some Austrian
*mother – Polish
John Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, director, producer, writer, and entrepreneur.
John is the son of Bertha Veronica (Grochowski) and Dezso Alexander Ratzenberger. He is married to Julie Blichfeldt. He has two children with his former wife Georgia Stiny.
John’s paternal grandfather was named Dezso/Alfred S. Ratzenberger. Dezso was born in Hungary.
John’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth V. Toth (the daughter of Michael Toth and Anna Brodnar). Elizabeth was born in New Jersey, to parents from Hungary.
John’s maternal grandfather was named Casimir Grochowski.
John’s maternal grandmother was named Bronislawa Salomin.
Sources: Genealogy of John Ratzenberger (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
John’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of John’s father – https://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of John’s mother – http://www.legacy.com
I would put his father as just Hungarian, since no Austrian ancestry is confirmed.
“Ratzenberger” isn’t a very Hungarian name.
Yes , but by which way did he come up with that name. I know in Banat that families of non-German origin would get a German last name if they lived and worked on a German’s land. It was called a Spitzname (nickname, translated from German), and these families would adopt it as their last name.
Both Deszo and Elizabeth appear to be of Hungarian persuasion.
According to Joseph John Boyce, Denzo Ratzenberger was born in Vienna, and was Austrian: https://www.geni.com/people/Denzo-Ratzenberger/6000000111373976831?through=6000000111373351849