Mitică Popescu (; 2 December 1936 – 3 January 2023) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n actor.

Biography

Popescu was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

on 2 December 1936. He started his studies in the mid-1950s at the Institute of Theatrical and Cinematographic Art, but he was arrested by the

Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...

in 1958, allegedly for planning to flee the country, and was sentenced to 3 years of prison. First detained at Malmaison Prison in Bucharest, he was transferred to

Jilava Prison Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin (Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ''j ...

, and then to the labor camps at Periprava and Salcia on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Upon release,

Radu Beligan Radu Beligan (; 14 December 1918 – 20 July 2016) was a Romanian actor, director, and essayist, with an activity of over 70 years in theatre, film, television, and radio. On 15 December 2013, confirmed by Guinness World Records, the actor receiv ...

and helped him find a job at , and in 1963 he resumed his acting studies. After graduating in 1967, he worked at Teatrul Tineretului in

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; german: Kreuzburg an der Bistrița (Siret), Bistritz; hu, Karácsonkő) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Easter ...

, where he stayed until 1973, when he transferred to in Bucharest, on whose stage he played until 2010. In 2002 he was awarded the

National Order of Faithful Service The National Order of Faithful Service ( ro, Ordinul Național "Serviciul Credincios") is the second highest national order of Romania, with the Order of the Star of Romania being the highest national order. Originally it was established as the M ...

, knight rank. In 2009 he received a lifetime career award from , while in 2013 he received the Gopo Award for lifetime achievement. In 1977, Popescu married the actress

Leopoldina Bălănuță Leopoldina Bălănuță (; 10 December 1934 – 14 October 1998) was a Romanian actress. Biography She was born in her grandparents' house in Hăulișca, Vrancea County, the daughter of Neculai Bălănuță, a priest, and Sanda. She was a 1958 ...

, who died in 1998. He died on 3 January 2023, at the age of 86, at the in Bucharest, where he was hospitalized. He was buried with military honors in the city's

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

, next to his wife.

Activity

Theatre

* ''

Philadelphia Here I Come! ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' is a 1964 play by Irish dramatist Brian Friel. Set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, County Donegal, the play launched Friel onto the international stage. Plot ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' centres around Gareth ...

'' by

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

(1973) * ''Vreți să jucați cu noi?'' by (1974) * ''Matca'' by

Marin Sorescu Marin Sorescu (; 29 February 1936 – 8 December 1996) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist. His works were translated into more than 20 countries, and the total number of his books that were published abroad rises up to 60 books. He ha ...

(1974) – Logodnicul, Momâie * ''Răspântia cea mare'' by

Victor Ion Popa Victor Ion Popa (; July 29, 1895 in Bârlad – March 30, 1946 in Bucharest) was a Romanian dramatist. He went to primary school in the village of Călmăţui, a village in the Grivița commune, in the former Tutova County, where his father was a ...

(1974) – Andrei * ''

Life of Galileo ''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a play by the 20th century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and received its first theatri ...

'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

(1975) – Sagredo * ''Mânia posturilor'' by

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...

(1975) – Serviescu * ''

The Andersonville Trial ''The Andersonville Trial'' is an American television adaptation of a 1959 hit Broadway play by Saul Levitt. It was presented as an episode of the PBS anthology series '' Hollywood Television Theatre'' on May 17, 1970. Description The movie was ...

'' by

Saul Levitt Saul Levitt (March 13, 1911 – 1977) was an American playwright and author, best known for his successful play ''The Andersonville Trial'', based on MacKinlay Kantor's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel '' Andersonville''. Levitt's play was later made ...

(1976) – Doctor John C. Bates * ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often t ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

(1976) – Hjalmar Ekdal * ''Cititorul by contor'' by

Paul Everac Paul Everac (August 23, 1924 – October 18, 2011) was a prolific Romanian drama writer who wrote under his birth name, Petre Constantinescu. He was Chairman of the Romanian Television (TVR) between 1993 and 1994. From 1995 to 1997 he was Chairma ...

(1976) * ''The Cave Dwellers'' by

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

(1976) – The duke * ''Două ore de pace'' by

Dumitru Radu Popescu Dumitru Radu Popescu (; 19 August 1935 – 2 January 2023) was a Romanian novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and short story writer. He was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and was, between 1980 and 1990, Chairman of the Romanian Wr ...

(1977) – Stelică * ''Omul, continuați să puneți întrebări'' by Ada D'Albon (1977) * ''The Émigrés'' by Slawomir Mrozek (1977) * ''

The Madwoman of Chaillot ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' (french: La Folle de Chaillot) is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play is in two acts. The story concerns an eccentric woma ...

'' by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work ...

(1978) – The garbageman * ''Să îmbrăcăm pe cei goi'' by

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

(1978) – Lodovico Nota * ''

Absurd Person Singular ''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christma ...

'' by

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

(1979) – Sidney Hopcroft * ''Nu sunt Turnul Eiffel'' by Ecaterina Oproiu (1979) – Old man * ''O șansă pentru fiecare'' by Radu F. Alexandru (1979) – The functionary * ''Evul mediu întâmplător'' by

Romulus Guga Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

(1980) – Ioachim * ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐf ...

'' by

Mihail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

(1980) – Koroviev * ''Niște țărani'' by

Dinu Săraru Dinu Săraru (born 30 January 1932) is a Romanian novelist and playwright. He was born in Slătioara, Vâlcea County. A member of Writers' Union of Romania, he belonged to the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party prior to 1989, ...

(1981) – Năiță Lucean * ''Ca frunza dudului din rai'' by

(1982) – Ticlete * ''Ivona, Princess of Burgundia'' by

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his f ...

(1983) – King Ignat * ''Mitică Popescu'' by

Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...

(1984) * ''O femeie drăguță cu o floare și ferestre spre nord'' by

Edvard Radzinsky Edvard Stanislavovich Radzinsky (russian: Э́двард Станисла́вович Радзи́нский) (born September 23, 1936) is a Russian playwright, television personality, screenwriter, and the author of more than forty popular history ...

(1986) – Fedea * ''Actorii'' (1990) * ''

The Mandrake ''The Mandrake'' (Italian: ''La Mandragola'' ) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likel ...

'' by

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

(1991) – Messer Niccia * '' Les Monstres sacrés'' by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

(1991) – Florent * '' Jacques and his Master'' by

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

(1992) – Jacques * ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...

'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

(1993) – Piotr Nikolaevici Sorin * ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(1996) – Amiens * ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'' by

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...

(1997) – Mr. Hardcastle * ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

'' by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

(1997) – Victor Velasco * ''

The Ghost Sonata ''The Ghost Sonata'' ( sv, Spöksonaten, links=no) is a play in three acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908. Since then, it has be ...

'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

(1999) – The old man * ''

The School for Wives ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

'' by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

(1999) – Chrysalby * ''

The Servant of Two Masters ''The Servant of Two Masters'' ( it, Il servitore di due padroni, links=no) is a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1746. Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco, one of the great Harlequins ...

' by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

(1999) – Pantalone * ''Cimitirul păsărilor'' by

Antonio Gala Antonio Gala Velasco (born 2 October 1930) is a Spanish poet, playwright, novelist and writer. Life and career Gala was born in Brazatortas, Ciudad Real ( Castile-La Mancha), although he moved very soon to Córdoba and is widely considered an ...

(2000) – Deogracias * ''Viitorul e maculatură'' by (2000) – Julien Rougier * ''Alex and Morris'' by Michael Elkin (2000) – Morris * ''Colonia îngerilor'' by (2000) – The old man

Filmography

* '' Umilință'' (2011) - Sandu * '' Ticăloșii'' (2007) * '' Păcală se întoarce'' (2006) – a peasant * ''Sistemul nervos'' (2005) * ''Lotus'' (2004) – Manasia * '' Dulcea saună a morții'' (2003) – Mutul * ''Turnul din Pisa'' (2002) – Colonel * ''

The Earth's Most Beloved Son ''The Earth's Most Beloved Son'' (originally ''Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni'') is a 1993 Romanian drama film, directed by Șerban Marinescu, based on the novel '' Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni'' by Marin Preda. Cast * Ștefan Iordache – ...

'' (1993) – Securitate officer * ' (1993) * ''Rămânerea'' (1992) * '' Miss Litoral'' (1990) * ''Idolul și Ion-Anapoda''(1988) – * ''Drumeț în calea lupilor'' (1988) – poștașul * ''Un studio în căutarea unei vedete'' (1988) * ''

The Moromete Family ''The Moromete Family'' ( ro, Moromeții) is a 1987 Romanian drama film based on the first volume of the eponymous novel by Marin Preda. A sequel was filmed in 2017. The movie, as well as its sequel, were shot in Talpa, Teleorman County. Cast ...

'' (1987) – Cocoșilă * '' Trenul by aur'' (1987) – Comisar Munteanu * '' Căsătorie cu repetiție'' (1985) – Mitică * ''Fapt divers'' (1984) * ''Emisia continuă'' (1984) * ''Fram'' (Serial TV) (1983) * ''Mitul lui Mitică'' (1982) – himself * ''Un Saltimbanc la Polul Nord'' (1982) * ''Saltimbancii'' (1981) * ''Vânătoarea by vulpi'' (1980) – Năiță Lucean * '' The Moment'' (1979) * '' (1979) * ' (1978) * ' (1978) * ' (1978) * ' (1977) * ' (1977) * ' (1976) * ' (1976) – Marin * '' Red Apples'' (1976) – prosecutor * ' (1975) * ' (1974) – Manea * ' (1974) – Peter * ' (1974) – Romniceanu

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Mitica 1936 births 2023 deaths Male actors from Bucharest Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film alumni People detained by the Securitate Inmates of Jilava Prison Romanian male film actors Romanian male television actors Romanian male stage actors 20th-century Romanian male actors 21st-century Romanian male actors Burials at Bellu Cemetery