Leon Stanisław Niemczyk (15 December 1923 – 29 November 2006) was a Polish

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Niemczyk developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1960s, known for serious dramas, including historical dramas and war films. He appeared in over 500 films and television shows over the course of his career. His most memorable roles were Fulko de Lorche in

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 ...

's '' The Teutonic Knights'', Andrzej in

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's ''

Knife in the Water ''Knife in the Water'' ( pl, Nóż w wodzie) is a 1962 Polish psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Roman Polanski in his feature debut, and starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz. Its plot follows a husb ...

'' and Jerzy in

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

's '' Night Train''. Niemczyk became an international star through positive reception for his leading role in ''

'' (1962), earning Polish cinema's first nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. 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 opposing ...

, he served under Gen.

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

in the

U.S. 3rd Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

.100 lat ŁKS
/ref> He died of cancer.

Selected filmography

* '' Inland Empire'' (2006) * ''Boys Don't Cry'' (''Chłopaki nie płaczą'', 2000) * '' A Trap'' (1997) * ''

Conversation with a Cupboard Man ''Conversation with a Cupboard Man'' ( pl, Rozmowa z człowiekiem z szafy, also known as ''The Conversation with the Man from the Closet'') is a 1993 Polish drama film written and directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek and loosely based on a short story ...

'' (1993) * '' The Last Ferry'' (1989) * '' Republika nadziei'' (1988) * '' O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization'' (''O-bi, o-ba: Koniec cywilizacji'', 1985) * '' Woman Doctors'' (1984) * ''Die schwarze Mühle'' (1975) * ''

The Deluge The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

'' (''Potop'', 1975) * '' Remember Your Name'' (''Zapamiętaj imię swoje'', 1974) * '' Tecumseh'' (1972) * '' KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra'' (1971) * ''

Znaki na drodze ''Znaki na drodze'' is a 1970 Polish drama film directed by . The film won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. Cast * Tadeusz Janczar as Michal Biel * Galina Polskikh as Jadwiga * Leon Niemczyk as Paslawski * Lesze ...

'' (1970) * '' Frozen Flashes'' (1967) * '' Katastrofa'' (1965) * ''

The Saragossa Manuscript ''The Manuscript Found in Saragossa'' (; also known in English as ''The Saragossa Manuscript'') is a frame-tale novel written in French at the turn of 18th and 19th centuries by the Polish author Count Jan Potocki (1761–1815). It is narrated ...

'' (''Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie'', 1965) * ''

'' (''Nóż w wodzie'', 1962) * ''

Na białym szlaku ''Na białym szlaku'' is a 1962 Polish drama film directed by Jarosław Brzozowski and Andrzej Wróbel. Cast * Leon Niemczyk as Sikora * Emil Karewicz as Oberleutnant Weber * Ryszard Kotys as Bjorn * Kazimierz Talarczyk as Olaf Peterson * ...

'' (1962) * '' Mandrin'' (1962) * '' The Teutonic Knights'' (''Krzyżacy'', 1960) * '' Night Train'' (''Pociąg'', 1959) * '' The Eighth Day of the Week'' (''Ósmy dzień tygodnia'', 1958) * ''

Heroism A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'' (''Eroica'', 1958) * '' Man on the Tracks'' (''Człowiek na torze'', 1957) * '' Nikodem Dyzma'' (1956) * '' Sprawa pilota Maresza'' (1956)

TV series

* '' Ranczo'' (2006–2007) - Japycz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niemczyk, Leon 1923 births 2006 deaths Male actors from Warsaw Polish male film actors Polish male television actors Polish male stage actors 20th-century Polish male actors 21st-century Polish male actors Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Poland