Erzsi Kovács

In 1948, Kovács met and began an affair with football player Sándor Szűcs. As both were already married at that time, the state did not approve of the adulterous relationship. Szűcs was not called up to the Hungary national football team after 1948 and was told that continuing the relationship would put his career in jeopardy.[2] The two made plans to escape to the west, something that other Hungarian footballers had already accomplished.[3]

The couple found someone that would help them reach the west in exchange for a half pound of gold plus $5,000, if successful.[4] On March 6, 1951, they left with their handler. Near Szombathely, they were stopped by a patrol, but made it through by showing their identification. A few minutes later, soldiers from the ÁVÓ placed both of them in custody. It turned out that the smuggler was an AVO agent and that the entire escape had been a trap.[5]

In 1951, she was sentenced to four years in prison. Szűcs was treated more harshly. As a member of Újpest FC, the police-controlled team, he was also a commissioned police officer.[5] Thus he ran afoul of a law that mandated life imprisonment or the death penalty for members of any armed service caught defecting.[2] He was executed by hanging in 1951, despite interventions by famed teammates Ferenc Puskás and Ferenc Szusza.[2]

Kovács was released from prison in 1954, and at first she worked as an administrator, then resumed her singing career. She toured with Lehel Németh and the Holéczy music group. Her first major success was with the song "Régi óra halkan jár" ("The Old Clock Ticks Softly") in 1957, but she already had a platinum record in 1955, with two and a half million of her records sold. In 1964, her record company dropped her, and she moved abroad. For the next 14 years, she sang in Germany, Sweden, and on cruise ships. After her return, she toured mainly in the countryside. She had several concerts at the Royal Park Stage, the Budapest Concert Hall and the Operetta Theatre in Budapest. On her album, Mosolyogva búcsúzom, she sang "Quand S'arrêtent les violons".

She died on 6 April 2014 at the age of 85.[6] She was reportedly suffering from lung cancer.[7]

• Dalok.hu
• Rtlhirek.hu