Lidia Wysocka
Encyclopedia
Lidia Wysocka was a Polish
stage, film and voice actress, singer, cabaret performer and creative director, theatre director and costume designer, editorialist.
she replaced Madeleine Carroll
's voice (playing the leading role of Martha Cnockhaert) in British thriller film I Was a Spy
(1933
), the first movie dubbed
in Poland (Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem).
The production of her 9th movie, Szczęście przychodzi kiedy chce (directed by Mieczysław Krawicz) was cancelled by the outbreak of World War II
.
She was to star in another movie, Jacek Bławut's Lili (production title), telling the story of veteran actors, but it was still in pre-production phase at the time of her death; it was finally completed as Jeszcze nie wieczór as late as in 2008
.
(who was very reluctant to allow his students to start their acting career before they finish school). Graduated Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej (State Institute of Theatrical Arts, Warsaw) in 1936.
Debuted on stage in Polish Theatre in Warsaw
in 1936 (with Dickens
' The Pickwick Papers
as Mary, starting a three-year contract), where she performed until the war. During her stage career the roles she played were a proof of her versatility, as she would find herself both in drama and comedy.
Her movie roles included singing parts; the songs she performed were available on gramophone record
released by Syrena Record
as early as in 1936.
Her admirers could hear her not only on Polskie Radio
(e.g.: from November 1936 she was reading the first serial
ized novel written for Polish radio, Dni powszednie państwa Kowalskich (The Daily Life of the Kowalskis, released in print in 1938
) by Maria Kuncewiczowa
), but also by dialing... the speaking clock
number (she was the voice of the improved telephone device launched in Poland, in 1936).
, at that time dealing mostly with pro-Nazi propaganda
movies. Blacklisted, she was taken hostage (along with other Polish artists) by Gestapo
in 1941 and held in the Pawiak
prison (her husband Zbigniew Sawan ended up in Auschwitz concentration camp
) as a result of German retaliatory action for the Polish resistance
assassination of the Nazi spy Igo Sym
, her co-star from Złota Maska.
, where Sawan would take the manager seat. The couple returned to Warsaw in 1949 and started working in Teatr Ludowy: Sawan again as the manager, while she started directing plays. She had spent the years 1951-1953 in Buffo revue theatre, what launched her career as cabaret star.
, Bogumił Kobiela, singer Maria Koterbska, Jeremi Przybora
, Mieczysław Wojnicki, Marian Załucki, Mieczysław Czechowicz, Zbigniew Cybulski
, etc.; texts for songs, monologue
s and sketch
es supplied by Stefania Grodzieńska
or poets Julian Tuwim
and Jan Brzechwa
. Popular in Poland for over a decade, it also toured USA and Canada (1957, 1962, 1964), United Kingdom (1965, 1966), Israel (1963), USSR (1968) and Czechoslovakia (in total over 2 million tickets sold, according to its manager, W.Furman). She was its art director and a leading star, often performing sung poetry
or versions of popular songs (particularly French ones) with Polish lyrics.
Apart from TV broadcasts of her recitals (as early as in 1956, while Telewizja Polska
was still in the test stage of its second - post war - launch) and interviews, she appeared on satirical TV shows such as Teatr Rozrywki.
Her last TV interview was released by Kino Polska channel in 2011.
During her career she also worked with Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio
, taking part in concerts and other broadcasts. She appeared in radio drama
s as early as in late 1930s; listeners of Program 1
station could still catch her in 1980s/1990s reading her own editorials on cultural news, displaying literary and satirical talent.
Teacher of Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna (State Academy of Drama, today: Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy), Warsaw (teaching song at Show Business Department).
Awarded with Order of Polonia Restituta, Officer's Cross, for outstanding achievement in artistic work (1999), Gold Cross of Merit (1978) and other honors.
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...
stage, film and voice actress, singer, cabaret performer and creative director, theatre director and costume designer, editorialist.
Filmography
In 19341934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
she replaced Madeleine Carroll
Madeleine Carroll
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
's voice (playing the leading role of Martha Cnockhaert) in British thriller film I Was a Spy
I Was a Spy
I Was a Spy is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and starring Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall and Conrad Veidt. A Belgian woman who nurses injured German soldiers during World War I passes intelligence to the British....
(1933
1933 in film
-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
), the first movie dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
in Poland (Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem).
- Kochaj tylko mnie (19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
), as Hanka Żarska - Papa się żeni (19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) as Lili, daughter of Mira Stella - GehennaGehenna (film)Gehenna, also known as Through Hell or Anguish is a 1938 Polish drama film directed by Michał Waszyński.-Cast:*Lidia Wysocka... Ania Tarkowska*Witold Zacharewicz ... Prince Andrzej Olekowicz*Boguslaw Samborski ... Uncle Kosciesza...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
), as Ania Tarłówna - Ostatnia brygadaOstatnia brygadaOstatnia brygada is a 1938 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński.-Cast:*Zbigniew Sawan... Dowmunt*Maria Gorczynska ... Lena*Kazimierz Junosza-Stepowski ... Kulcz*Aleksander Balcerzak ... Janek*Elzbieta Barszczewska ... Ewa...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) as Marta Rzecka - Serce matki (19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) as Lusia - Wrzos (19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) as Dębska - Doktór Murek (19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) as Tunka Czabran - Złota Maska (19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) as Magda Nieczaj - Irena do domu! (19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
), as Irena Majewska - Sprawa pilota Maresza (19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
), as Mary Godzicka - Nikodem Dyzma (19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
), as revue singer - Rozstanie (19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
), as Magdalena - Sekret (19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
), as Lena Nurkiewicz - Zaczarowane podwórko (19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
), as queen Anna Jagiellonka - W obronie własnej (19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
), as Maria's mother
The production of her 9th movie, Szczęście przychodzi kiedy chce (directed by Mieczysław Krawicz) was cancelled by the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
She was to star in another movie, Jacek Bławut's Lili (production title), telling the story of veteran actors, but it was still in pre-production phase at the time of her death; it was finally completed as Jeszcze nie wieczór as late as in 2008
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
.
Selected theatre work
(daily dates for premiere performances only)- 1936, September 26 - The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club by Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, playing Mary, at Polish Theatre in Warsaw - 1936, December 31 - The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of Figaro (play)The Marriage of Figaro ) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second installment in the Figaro Trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville and followed by The Guilty Mother. The Barber begins the story with a simple love triangle in which the Count has...
by Pierre BeaumarchaisPierre BeaumarchaisPierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
, playing Fanchette, at Polish Theatre in Warsaw - 1937, July 8 - Papa by Gaston Arman de CaillavetGaston Arman de CaillavetGaston Arman de Caillavet was a French playwright. He was the son of Albert Arman de Caillavet and Léontine Lippmann, the muse of Anatole France. In April 1893 he married Jeanne Pouquet...
, playing Jeanne Aubrin, at Polish Theatre in Warsaw - 1937, November 9 - Gałązka rozmarynu by Zygmunt Nowakowski, playing Mania, at Polish Theatre in Warsaw
- 1938, March 30 - November Night by Stanisław Wyspiański, playing Małgorzata, at Polish Theatre, Warsaw
- 1938, May 20 - Dalilla by Ferenc MolnárFerenc MolnárLanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
, playing Ilonka, at Mały Theatre, Warsaw - 1938, December 14 - Temperamenty by Antoni Cwojdziński, playing Stefcia, at Mały Theatre, Warsaw
- 1939, March 28 - The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
by Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, at Mały Theatre, Warsaw - 1944, May 27 - Due dozzine di rose scarlatte by Aldo De BenedettiAldo De BenedettiAldo De Benedetti was an Italian screenwriter. He wrote for 118 films between 1920 and 1982.He was born and died in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* What Scoundrels Men Are! * Mr...
, playing Maria Verani, at Teatr Małych Form Miniatury, Warsaw - 1946, February 12 - Freuda teoria snów by Antoni Cwojdziński, playing She, at Mały Theatre (MTD), Warsaw
- 1946, July 2 - Village wooing by George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, at Mały Theatre (MTD), Warsaw - 1947, May 24 - Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, playing Beatrice, at Mały Theatre (MTD), Warsaw - 1948, January 13 - Man and Wife by Aleksander FredroAleksander FredroAleksander Fredro was a Polish poet, playwright and author.-Life:Count Aleksander Fredro, of the Bończa coat of arms, was born in the village of Surochów near Jarosław, then a crown territory of Austria. A landowner's son, he was educated at home. He entered the Polish army at age 16 and saw...
, playing Justysia, at Teatr Miniatury (MTD), Warsaw - 1948, May 26 - Jadzia wdowa by Ryszard Ruszkowski, playing Jadwiga, at New Theatre, Warsaw
- 1949, January 22, Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, playing Beatrice, at Polish Theatre in Szczecin - 1949, March 9 - Norwegian spring by Stuart Engstrand, at Polish Theatre in Szczecin - directing
- 1949, April 18 - Jadzia wdowa by Ryszard Ruszkowski, playing Jadwiga, at Polish Theatre in Szczecin - also costume designer
- 1949, August 16 - Blithe Spirit by Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, at Polish Theatre in Szczecin - costume designer - 1949, October 27 - Сказка by Mikhail Arkadyevich SvetlovMikhail Arkadyevich SvetlovMikhail Arkadyevich Svetlov , born Scheinkman , was a Soviet Russian poet.-Biography:Svetlov was born into a poor Jewish family. He has been published since 1917. A member of Komsomol since 1919, Svetlov was sent to the First Congress of Proletarian Writers in Moscow in 1920 and took part in the...
, playing Katia, at Polish Theatre in Szczecin - 1950, January 16 - Germans by Leon KruczkowskiLeon KruczkowskiLeon Kruczkowski was a Polish writer and publicist, and a prominent figure of the Polish theatre in the post-WWII period. He wrote books and dramas. His best known work is the drama "Niemcy" written in 1949....
, at Teatry Dramatyczne (Teatr Współczesny) in Szczecin - costume designer - 1951, January 6 - Sir Gil of the Green Stockings by Tirso de MolinaTirso de MolinaTirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
, playing Donna Diana, at Teatr Nowy (Scena Komediowo-Muzyczna), Warsaw - 1951, July 28 - Ojciec debiutantki by D. Leński, at Ludowy Teatr Muzyczny, Warsaw - directing
- 1951, October 8 - Sir Gil of the Green Stockings by Tirso de MolinaTirso de MolinaTirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
, at Aleksander Wegierka Theatre, Bialystok - directing - 1952, September 17 - Biuro docinków, Teatr Satyryków, Warsaw
- 1959, January 11 - Man and Wife by Aleksander FredroAleksander FredroAleksander Fredro was a Polish poet, playwright and author.-Life:Count Aleksander Fredro, of the Bończa coat of arms, was born in the village of Surochów near Jarosław, then a crown territory of Austria. A landowner's son, he was educated at home. He entered the Polish army at age 16 and saw...
, playing Justysia - also directing - 1961, February 15 - Les petites têtes by Max Régnier, playing Irene, at Comedy Theatre, Warsaw
- 1977, April 24 - Będziemy obrażać!, at Syrena Theatre in Warsaw
- 1979, January 17 - Wielki Dodek by Witold Filler & Jonasz KoftaJonasz KoftaJonasz Kofta, really name: Janusz Kofta was a Polish songwriter and poet....
, playing Miss Stefania, at Syrena Theatre in Warsaw - 1980, July 5 - Warto byś wpadł by Ryszard Marek Groński & Antoni Marianowicz, at Syrena Theatre in Warsaw
- 1981, February 27 - The Good Soldier ŠvejkThe Good Soldier ŠvejkThe Good Soldier Švejk , also spelled Schweik or Schwejk, is the abbreviated title of a unfinished satirical/dark comedy novel by Jaroslav Hašek. It was illustrated by Josef Lada and George Grosz after Hašek's death...
by Jaroslav HašekJaroslav HašekJaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and socialist anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty...
, playing Mamon, at Syrena Theatre in Warsaw - 1981, July 16 - Wizyta młodszej pani by Ryszard Marek Groński & Michal Komar, playing Ms. Loda, at Syrena Theatre in Warsaw
Early career
One of the top finalists of the beauty contest organized by the Kino magazine in 1933. After recording a dubbing, she debuted on film in 1935 while she was still studying acting under Aleksander ZelwerowiczAleksander Zelwerowicz
Aleksander Zelwerowicz was a Polish actor, director, theatre president and a teacher. He received the Order of Polonia Restituta and is one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations....
(who was very reluctant to allow his students to start their acting career before they finish school). Graduated Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej (State Institute of Theatrical Arts, Warsaw) in 1936.
Debuted on stage in Polish Theatre in Warsaw
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 1936 (with Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' The Pickwick Papers
The Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is the first novel by Charles Dickens. After the publication, the widow of the illustrator Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any...
as Mary, starting a three-year contract), where she performed until the war. During her stage career the roles she played were a proof of her versatility, as she would find herself both in drama and comedy.
Her movie roles included singing parts; the songs she performed were available on gramophone record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
released by Syrena Record
Syrena Rekord
Syrena Record was a Polish record company.The company was established in 1904 by Juliusz Fejgenbaum. It took the name of Syrena Rekord in 1908. The company produced gramophone records till the invasion of Poland in 1939. The company's discography includes around 14,000 titles....
as early as in 1936.
Her admirers could hear her not only on Polskie Radio
Polskie Radio
Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization.- History :Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making regular broadcasts from Warsaw on 18 April 1926....
(e.g.: from November 1936 she was reading the first serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
ized novel written for Polish radio, Dni powszednie państwa Kowalskich (The Daily Life of the Kowalskis, released in print in 1938
1938 in literature
The year 1938 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The trilogy, U.S.A. by John Dos Passos, is published containing his three novels The 42nd Parallel , 1919 , and The Big Money ....
) by Maria Kuncewiczowa
Maria Kuncewiczowa
Maria Kuncewiczowa was a Polish writer born in Samara, Russia.- Biography :She studied music and literature in Cracow, Warsaw and Paris. She had published under pseudonyms for the magazine Le Lierre. In 1938 she was awarded gold laureate by the Academy of Literature. After 1939 she lived in...
), but also by dialing... the speaking clock
Speaking clock
A speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observatory on 14 February 1933.The format of the service is...
number (she was the voice of the improved telephone device launched in Poland, in 1936).
World War II
As most of the actors who boycotted German-controlled theatres during the war, she had to find another way to make a living: she worked as waitress in "Na Antresoli" café. She rejected offers to start working for German UFAUniversum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
, at that time dealing mostly with pro-Nazi propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
movies. Blacklisted, she was taken hostage (along with other Polish artists) by Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1941 and held in the Pawiak
Pawiak
Pawiak was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Poland.During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia....
prison (her husband Zbigniew Sawan ended up in Auschwitz concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
) as a result of German retaliatory action for the Polish resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
assassination of the Nazi spy Igo Sym
Igo Sym
Karol Juliusz "Igo" Sym was an Austrian-born Polish actor and collaborator with Nazi Germany. He was killed in Warsaw by members of the Polish resistance movement.-Early career:...
, her co-star from Złota Maska.
Post-war years
After the war she started performing in Teatr Mały in Warsaw alongside her husband, later also in Teatr Miniatura in Warsaw and Teatr Nowy. They moved next (1947–1949) to Polish Theatre in SzczecinSzczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, where Sawan would take the manager seat. The couple returned to Warsaw in 1949 and started working in Teatr Ludowy: Sawan again as the manager, while she started directing plays. She had spent the years 1951-1953 in Buffo revue theatre, what launched her career as cabaret star.
Wagabunda Cabaret
In 1956 she created the Wagabunda cabaret (in Poland meaning: a mixture of stand up comedy, theatre and music, with a prominent addition of political satire), which gathered such actors and satirists as Edward Dziewoński, Wiesław Michnikowski, Kazimierz Rudzki, Jacek FedorowiczJacek Fedorowicz
- Early life :Fedorowicz was born in pre-war Gdynia, Poland to a family of Varsovians. His parents worked for the newly developed Polish maritime economy. As a 7-year-old boy he survived the Warsaw Uprising...
, Bogumił Kobiela, singer Maria Koterbska, Jeremi Przybora
Jeremi Przybora
Jeremi Przybora was a popular Polish poet, writer, actor and singer, best known for creating TV-series "Kabaret Starszych Panów" with Jerzy Wasowski and for his ballads and sung poetry, a popular music genre in Poland.-External links:*...
, Mieczysław Wojnicki, Marian Załucki, Mieczysław Czechowicz, Zbigniew Cybulski
Zbigniew Cybulski
Zbigniew Cybulski was a Polish actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland.-Life:...
, etc.; texts for songs, monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s and sketch
Sketch
Sketch may refer to:Drawing and other visual arts* Sketch , a drawing or other composition that is not intended as a finished work, but a preliminary exploration.* SketchUp, a 3D modeling program.* iSketch, an online drawing game....
es supplied by Stefania Grodzieńska
Stefania Grodzieńska
Stefania Grodzieńska was a Polish writer, stage and theatrical actress, and satirist.-Biography:She spent her young years in Łódź, where she attended ballet school. She moved to Warsaw in 1933...
or poets Julian Tuwim
Julian Tuwim
Julian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University...
and Jan Brzechwa
Jan Brzechwa
Jan Brzechwa , , born Jan Wiktor Lesman in Żmerynka, Podolia to a Polish family of Jewish descent was a Polish poet and author, mostly known for his contribution to children's literature....
. Popular in Poland for over a decade, it also toured USA and Canada (1957, 1962, 1964), United Kingdom (1965, 1966), Israel (1963), USSR (1968) and Czechoslovakia (in total over 2 million tickets sold, according to its manager, W.Furman). She was its art director and a leading star, often performing sung poetry
Sung poetry
Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise music genre widespread in Eastern European countries, such as Poland and the Baltic States, to describe songs consisting of a poem and music written specially for that text. The compositions usually feature a delicate melody and scarce musical background, often...
or versions of popular songs (particularly French ones) with Polish lyrics.
Late career
After Wagabunda dissolved in 1968 she had problem finding work in Warsaw's theatres despite her experience and fame. Finally she found her way to the stage of Teatr Syrena in Warsaw, where she played in revues in 1974 through 1981. She also toured USA with it.Apart from TV broadcasts of her recitals (as early as in 1956, while Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's public broadcasting corporation...
was still in the test stage of its second - post war - launch) and interviews, she appeared on satirical TV shows such as Teatr Rozrywki.
Her last TV interview was released by Kino Polska channel in 2011.
During her career she also worked with Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio
Polskie Radio
Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization.- History :Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making regular broadcasts from Warsaw on 18 April 1926....
, taking part in concerts and other broadcasts. She appeared in radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s as early as in late 1930s; listeners of Program 1
Program 1 Polskiego Radia
Polskie Radio Program I, known also as PR1 or radiowa Jedynka is a radio channel broadcast by the Polish public broadcaster, Polskie Radio. It is dedicated to information and easy listening music...
station could still catch her in 1980s/1990s reading her own editorials on cultural news, displaying literary and satirical talent.
Teacher of Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna (State Academy of Drama, today: Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy), Warsaw (teaching song at Show Business Department).
Awarded with Order of Polonia Restituta, Officer's Cross, for outstanding achievement in artistic work (1999), Gold Cross of Merit (1978) and other honors.
External links
- Filmography at filmpolski.pl : http://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php/211653 & http://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php/11379
- http://www.e-teatr.pl/pl/osoby/10089,karierateatr.html - partial list regarding her theatrical work
- http://www.audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/142069/ - studio publicity still from 1935 for the movie Kochaj tylko mnie (note pre-1936 spelling of her first name in signature)
- http://www.fotohistoria.pl/main.php?g2_itemId=108860 - portrait shot from 1948, premiere of Jadzia wdowa stage play
- http://www.audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/7441/ - portrait shot from 1950, Sir Gil of the Green Stockings stage play, Teatr Nowy, Warsaw