Rainer Hlacha

Slovenian-American singer and actor (b. January 18, 1881 Istria, Austria Hungary – d. June 1943 New York, NY, USA) Hlacha had been a popular comedic actor in Ljubljana, journalistic director of the government agency in Trieste, and head of the Slovenian theater in Trieste before he emigrated to the United States in 1914. In New York, he worked as a journalist, heading the Jugoslav Information Bureau and writing for the Foreign Language Information Service. He also was Vice Chairman of the Americans of Jugo-Slav Lineage Executive Committee and a member of the Slovenian division of the Common Council for American Unity. In 1940, he was employed with the New York Department of Labor. In the 1920s, he made several recordings for Victor and Columbia as the bass vocalist of the Moški Kvartet Jadran.