Tomasz Beksinski
Encyclopedia
Tomasz Beksiński was a popular Polish
radio presenter, music journalist and movie translator. He was the son of painter Zdzisław Beksiński. On 24 December 1999 he committed suicide
.
, Poland. Since he was 12 he was interested in music, especially rock music (progressive rock, gothic rock) and horror films. In one of his essays he wrote about how scared he was while watching his first horror movie (The Reptile
) in 1970. He admitted it was the first and the last time he felt that way watching a horror film.
He studied English philology in Katowice
.
He debuted on air in Marek Niedźwiedzki's programme in 1982. At the beginning he worked together with Polskie Radio
and presented programmes Romantycy muzyki rockowej, and Wieczór płytowy.
He also wrote feature articles and reviews for Tylko Rock and Magazyn muzyczny magazines. From 1998 he wrote a column Opowieści z Krypty in Tylko Rock magazine, where his features were published. He also wrote for Machina magazine.
and Harry Callahan films and Monty Python's Flying Circus
comedy sketches and many other films e.g. Wild at Heart
, Silence of the Lambs, Apocalypse Now
, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
, Birdy
, Die Hard
, Don't Look Now
, Frankenstein, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, The Swarm, Someone's watching me!, Lethal Weapon, 1941, Pet Semetary, Reservoir dogs.
He also translated some lyrics of Marillion, Iron Maiden, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Joy Division and The Sisters of Mercy.
in Rzeszów, in which one person was killed and several others severely injured. He never travelled by plane again.
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...
radio presenter, music journalist and movie translator. He was the son of painter Zdzisław Beksiński. On 24 December 1999 he committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Biography
He was born in SanokSanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
, Poland. Since he was 12 he was interested in music, especially rock music (progressive rock, gothic rock) and horror films. In one of his essays he wrote about how scared he was while watching his first horror movie (The Reptile
The Reptile
The Reptile is a 1966 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by John Gilling, and starred Noel Willman, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel and Michael Ripper.-Plot synopsis:...
) in 1970. He admitted it was the first and the last time he felt that way watching a horror film.
He studied English philology in Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
.
Music journalist
In the late '70s he became a music journalist and was one of the most charismatic Polish radio presenters. It was not a coincidence he chose such a career; he was known to be a music lover, who had an impressive collection of LP-records.He debuted on air in Marek Niedźwiedzki's programme in 1982. At the beginning he worked together with 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....
and presented programmes Romantycy muzyki rockowej, and Wieczór płytowy.
He also wrote feature articles and reviews for Tylko Rock and Magazyn muzyczny magazines. From 1998 he wrote a column Opowieści z Krypty in Tylko Rock magazine, where his features were published. He also wrote for Machina magazine.
Translations
Tomasz Beksiński was also an English-Polish translator. He translated most of the James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and Harry Callahan films and Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
comedy sketches and many other films e.g. Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula is a 1990 pulp, "neo-noir" novel by Barry Gifford which was adapted to film in 1990.The novel begins the adventures of two sex-driven, star crossed protagonists on the road, Sailor and Lula...
, Silence of the Lambs, Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...
, Birdy
Birdy
Birdy may refer to:*Birdy , stage name for UK singer/songwriter Jasmine van den Bogaerde**Birdy *Birdy , by William Wharton*Birdy , starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, based on the book...
, Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now is a 1973 thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland star as a married couple whose lives become complicated after meeting two elderly sisters in Venice, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their recently deceased daughter is...
, Frankenstein, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, The Swarm, Someone's watching me!, Lethal Weapon, 1941, Pet Semetary, Reservoir dogs.
He also translated some lyrics of Marillion, Iron Maiden, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Joy Division and The Sisters of Mercy.
Suicide
On 24 December 1999 Tomasz Beksiński committed suicide. Shortly before his death he wrote a feature about modern culture, in which he unambiguously forewarned about his intention. He had showed some inclinations towards suicide much earlier; at the age of 16 he tried to poison himself with sleeping pills.Trivia
On 2 November 1988 he survived a plane accidentLOT Polish Airlines Flight 703
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703 was a plane that crash-landed about north of Rogóżno railway station, on 2 November 1988. In the accident one person was killed and several were seriously injured.- Flight :...
in Rzeszów, in which one person was killed and several others severely injured. He never travelled by plane again.