Lech Owron (6 July 1893 – 9 June 1965) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

stage and film actor whose career began in the 1920s during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

era.

Early life

Born in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

, Lech Owron graduated from the Edward Rontaler Gymnasium in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, he then studied mining engineering in Mons,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. During the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was in Russia and returned to Poland in 1919 where he became the director of the newly formed Quid Pro Quo Theater in Warsaw. He also worked as bank clerk in the early 1920s.

Acting career

Owron began his career in film with the role of the villainous Baron Kamiłow in the

Wiktor Biegański Wiktor Julian Biegański (16 November 1892 – 19 January 1974) was a Polish actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 24 films between 1919 and 1966. He also directed eleven films between 1921 and 1929. Selected filmography Act ...

directed 1925

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

'' Vampires of Warsaw''. The film was a financial and critical success in Poland. However, Owron soon found himself typecast within the film industry and for a number of years many of his film roles were that of villains and scoundrels. He worked steadily through the late 1920s and early 1930s in film, but soon found himself discouraged by the roles he was receiving. One of his more successful roles of the era was the 1926 Biegański directed comedy drama ''Orlę'' (English release title: '' The Little Eagle''), in which he played the role of the brigand Janosik; a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

-like character of the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the hi ...

. Following a small role in the 1933

Mieczysław Krawicz Mieczysław Krawicz (2 February 1893, Warsaw – 17 September 1944, Warsaw) was a Polish film director from Warsaw. Life He was born on 1 January 1893 in Warsaw, in the Catholic family of Juliusz and Antonina (1857–1941). He graduated from hi ...

directed drama ''Szpieg w masce'' (English release title: ''Spy''), he temporarily retired from film and began to concentrate on roles on the stage. He returned to the screen in two films in 1937 before once again retiring. Following the end of World War II, Owron returned to the stage sporadically with various theater engagements. He made one final film in 1960, ''Krzyżacy'' (''Knights of the Teutonic Order''), directed by

Aleksander Ford Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, U.S.) was a Polish film director; and head of the Polish People's Army Film Crew in the Soviet Union during World War II. Follow ...

before permanently retiring from acting altogether. He died in Katowice in 1965.Charles Ford, Robert Hammond: ''Polish Film: A Twentieth Century History''. McFarland, 2005. p. 39.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1893 births 1965 deaths People from Radom People from Radom Governorate Polish male film actors Polish male silent film actors Polish male stage actors 20th-century Polish male actors {{Poland-actor-stub