Guido Lorraine (2 September 1912 – 31 December 2009) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

-born actor, musician and singer, known primarily for his roles in

war films War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war f ...

. He was also sometimes known by the stage name Guy Borucki. Lorraine appeared in twenty-eight films during his career, as well as many theatre productions. Lorraine was born Gwidon Alfred Gottlieb in present-day

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in 1912. He studied at the School of Foreign Trade in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

(Lviv), where he sang in restaurants to earn money. He learned to play the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

and piano as a child. Lorraine founded a military theatre group during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is credited as the first singer to perform the song, "Red Poppy Flowers of Monte Cassino", in public. He adopted the pseudonym Guy Borucki after World War II and moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He appeared on BBC radio, television and film. His film credits during the era included ''

Hotel Sahara ''Hotel Sahara'' is a 1951 British war comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov and David Tomlinson. It was produced and co-written by George Hambley Brown. Plot The Hotel Sahara, situated in a desert oasi ...

'' in 1951, 1955's ''

The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...

'' and ''

Blue Murder at St Trinian's ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis; the film also includ ...

'' in 1957. He also starred in a number of

musical comedies Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and other British productions during the 1950s. He arrived in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1959 with the performance of a musical operetta '' Grab Me a Gondola'' in which he had the main role, and made his home in Melbourne to pursue his acting career. Much of his career centred on entertainment for the Polish community living in Australia, including a series of theatre performances,

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

s. He also starred in his own television show in 1960 called '' Tea for Two'', a musical programme on Melbourne station

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melb ...

. Guido Lorraine died in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, on 31 December 2009, at the age of 97.

Filmography

References

External links

''The Telegraph'': Lives Remembered - Guido Lorraine
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorraine, Guido 1912 births 2009 deaths British male film actors British male stage actors Australian male stage actors Polish male stage actors Polish male film actors Male actors from Melbourne Male actors from London Male actors from Kraków Actors from Lviv Polish emigrants to Australia Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Musicians from London Musicians from Melbourne 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century English musicians Knights of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Polish military personnel of World War II