Janusz Zakrzeński was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 film and theatrical actor.

Zakrzeński was born at Przededworze

Przededworze

Przededworze is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chmielnik, within Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Chmielnik and south of the regional capital Kielce....

. He graduated from high school III LO in Wrocław, Poland, in 1953. He was an actor in the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre of Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 (1960–1967), the Polski

Polish Theatre in Warsaw

Polish Theatre in Warsaw The theatre was initiated by Arnold Szyfman and designed by Czesław Przybylski. Finished in 1913, the facility featured Poland's first revolving stage. It a private enterprise staging Polish and foreign classics, contemporary drama, as well as popular plays.The theater was ...

 (1967–1974), the Nowy (1974–1984), and the Narodowy

Teatr Narodowy

The National Theatre in Warsaw, Poland, was founded in 1765, during the Polish Enlightenment, by that country's last monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski.-History:...

 (1984–1985) theatres of Warsaw. He acted at the Polski

Polish Theatre in Warsaw

Polish Theatre in Warsaw The theatre was initiated by Arnold Szyfman and designed by Czesław Przybylski. Finished in 1913, the facility featured Poland's first revolving stage. It a private enterprise staging Polish and foreign classics, contemporary drama, as well as popular plays.The theater was ...

 in Warsaw from 1985 until his death in 2010. He wrote the books Moje spotkania z Marszałkiem and Gawędy o potędze słowa.

In 2008, the Polish organization Międzynarodowy Zjazd Sybiraków (World Congress of the Sybiraks) awarded him the prize "Ambassador of Sybiraks" for his role in the play Silent Scream. In 2009, the Congress also granted him the title "Ambassador of Sybiraks" for lifetime achievement.

He was awarded numerous film and state awards, including the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Zakrzeński was among those killed in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash

The 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred on 10 April 2010, when a Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board...

 in Smolensk

Smolensk

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

.

Honours and awards

• Gold Medal of the Gloria Artis (2010, posthumously)
• Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2010, posthumously; previously awarded the Officer's Cross in 2009)
• Gold and Silver Crosses of Merit (1974 and 1967, respectively)
• Bronze Medal for his contribution to national defence (1973)
• Order of Merit for the Nation and the Church, awarded by the Polish Roman Catholic Primate

External links

• Janusz Zakrzeński at filmpolski.pl