Toma Caragiu (; (21 August 1925 – 4 March 1977) was a prolific Greek-born

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 theatre, television and film

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 ...

. He was born in an Aromanian family from the village of Chroupista (since 1926 renamed

Argos Orestiko Argos Orestiko ( el, Άργος Ορεστικό, , Orestean Argos, before 1926: Χρούπιστα - ''Chroupista''; rup, Hrupishte) is a town and a former municipality in the Kastoria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government refo ...

) in the region of Macedonia in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

on 21 August 1925. Toma Caragiu was one of the best Romanian actors, with a rich activity in both film and theatre. He liked to play comic characters, but he excelled also in drama, one of his reference films being " Actorul şi Sǎlbaticii". He played alongside great actors such as Ştefan Bănică,

Octavian Cotescu Octavian Cotescu (14 February 1931 – 22 August 1985) was a Romanian actor. Activity Filmography * ''Diminețile unui băiat cuminte'' (1967) * ''Atunci i-am condamnat pe toți la moarte'' (1972) * ''Păcală (film), Păcală'' (1974) – the t ...

, Anda Călugăreanu etc. Toma Caragiu is most famous for his monologues. In these short stories, he managed to put together stories that combined sarcasm, satire and black humor. His monologues were subtle and dealt with a variety of topics, starting with politics and ending up with mythical concepts. In each and every monologue he added a personal touch to the script, thus creating a warm and humorous atmosphere. He died 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 ...

, during the earthquake of 4 March 1977. He is buried at

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 ...

. His first wife was the actress

Maria Bondar Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

and the second one was Elena Bichman.

Partial filmography

* '' Nufărul roşu'' (1956, directed by Gheorghe Tobias) * ''Nu vreau sa ma însor'' (1961) * '' Vară romantică'' (1961, directed by Sinisa Ivetici) * '' Străzile au amintiri'' (1962, directed by

Manole Marcus Manole Marcus (8 January 1928 – 12 October 1994) was a Romanian film director and screenwriter. Many of the actors who starred in his films won awards for their performances. Studies In 1955 he graduated from the National Institute of Theat ...

) - Comiserul * '' Poveste sentimentală'' (1962, directed by

Iulian Mihu Iulian Mihu (3 November 1926 – 20 June 1999) was a Romanian film director. He directed nineteen films between 1953 and 1998. His 1981 film ''The Pale Light of Sorrow'' was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival, where it ...

) - Ioachim * (1963, directed by Haralambie Boroș) * '' Cartierul veseliei'' (1965, directed by

) - Gheorghe Gheorghe * ''

Forest of the Hanged ''Forest of the Hanged'' ( ro, Pădurea spânzuraților) is a 1964 Romanian drama film directed by Liviu Ciulei, and based on the eponymous novel by Liviu Rebreanu. Ciulei won the award for Best Director at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. ''Fo ...

'' (1965) - Habsburg officer * '' Procesul alb'' (1966, directed by

) * '' Haiducii'' (1966) - Haiducul Raspopitul * '' Vremea zăpezilor'' (1966, directed by Gheorghe Naghi) * '' Subteranul'' (1967, directed by Virgil Calotescu) - Florescu * '' Șeful sectorului suflete'' (1967) - Horatiu * '' Răpirea fecioarelor'' (1968, directed by

Dinu Cocea Constantin "Dinu" Cocea (; 22 September 1929 – 26 December 2013) was a Romanian actor, film director and screenwriter. Biography Dinu Cocea was born in Periș, into a well-known theatrical family; his relatives included N. D. Cocea, Alice Co ...

) - haiducul Raspopitul * '' Răzbunarea haiducilor'' (1968) - Raspopitul * '' KO'' (1968, directed by

Mircea Mureșan Mircea Mureșan (11 November 1928 – 24 April 2020) was a Romanian film director. He directed 22 films between 1961 and 2004. Mureșan won the prize for Best First Work at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Răscoala''. Born in ...

) - Olympian * ''

Brigada Diverse intră în acțiune ''Brigada'' (russian: Бригада), also known as ''Law of the Lawless'', is a Russian 15-episode crime television miniseries that debuted in 2002. It became very popular in Russia and ex-Soviet countries as well as Eastern Europe, but recei ...

'' (1970) - Capitanul Panait * ''B.D. în alerta - Profesorul de mimica'' (1970) - IMDb Capitanul Panait * ''

Haiducii lui Șaptecai ''Haiducii lui Șaptecai'' is a 1971 Romanian film directed by Dinu Cocea. Cast * Florin Piersic Florin Piersic (; born 27 January 1936) is a well-known Romanian actor and TV personality. He is particularly famous for his leading roles in ''T ...

'' (1971) - Raspopitul * '' Zestrea domniței Ralu'' (1971) - Raspotitu * ''

Brigada Diverse în alertă! ''Brigada Diverse în alertă!'' is a 1971 Romanian action film directed by Mircea Drăgan. Cast * Toma Caragiu - Cpt. Panait * Dem Rădulescu - Gogu Steriade * Sebastian Papaiani - NCO Capsuna * Puiu Călinescu - Trandafir * Iurie Darie - Maj ...

'' (1971) - Capitanul Panait * '' B.D. la munte și la mare'' (1971) - Captain Panait * '' Săptămîna nebunilor'' (1971) - Raspopitu * '' Facerea lumii'' (1971, directed by

Gheorghe Vitanidis Gheorghe Vitanidis (1 October 1929 – 25 November 1994) was a Romanian film director. He directed 19 films between 1958 and 1987. His 1969 film ''A Woman for a Season'' was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1979 ...

) - } * ''B.D. în alerta - Vaduve cu termen redus'' (1971) - Capitanul Panait * ''

Bariera ''Barrier'' ( pl, Bariera) is a Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, released in 1966. The hero quits his studies, resolving to seek social advancement by any means. A new girlfriend changes his mind. (in Polish) Details * Title ...

'' (1972, directed by

) - } * ''

Ciprian Porumbescu Ciprian Porumbescu (; born Cyprian Gołęmbiowski on 14 October 1853 – 6 June 1883) was a Romanian composer born in Șipotele Sucevei in Bukovina (now Shepit, Vyzhnytsia Raion, Ukraine). He was among the most celebrated Romanian composers ...

'' (1973) - The Colonel * ''

Explozia ''Explosion'' ( ro, Explozia) is a 1973 Romanian drama film directed by Mircea Drăgan. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Diploma. Plot The film is about a real event that took place in 1970, the fire ...

'' (1973, directed by

Mircea Drăgan Mircea Drăgan (3 October 1932 – 31 October 2017) was a Romanian film director. He directed 23 films between 1955 and 1992. His 1961 film ''Thirst'' was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Silver Prize ...

) - Corbea * } (1974, directed by Virgil Calotescu) * ''Dragostea începe vineri'' (1974) * '' Tatăl risipitor'' (1974, directed by Adrian Petringenaru) - Oaie * '' Proprietarii'' (1974, directed by Șerban Creangă) * '' Nu filmăm să ne-amuzăm'' (1974) * '' Actorul și sălbaticii'' (1975) - Costica Caratase * '' Mastodontul'' (1975, directed by Virgil Calotescu) - Gogan * '' Singurătatea florilor'' (1976) - taximetristul Grigore Pascu * ''Dincolo de pod'' (1976) * '' Operațiunea Monstrul'' (1976) - } * '' Serenada pentru etajul XII'' (1976, directed by Carol Corfanta) - Retired Worker Firu * ''

Premiera ''Premiere'' is a 1976 Romanian comedy film directed by Mihai Constantinescu and starring Carmen Stănescu, Radu Beligan, Toma Caragiu, Dem Rădulescu and Vasilica Tastaman. Cast * Carmen Stănescu as Alexandra Dan, wife of Mihai * Radu Beligan ...

'' (1976) - Titi Precup * '' Gloria nu cântă'' (1976, directed by Alexandru Bocăneț) * } (1976) * '' Condiția Penelopei'' (1976, directed by Luminița Cazacu) * '' Buzduganul cu trei peceți'' (1977, directed by

Constantin Vaeni Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konsta ...

) - Pamfilie / Popa Traista * '' Marele singuratic'' (1977) * '' Tufǎ de Veneția'' (1977, directed by Petre Bokor) - (final film role)

References

External links

* 1925 births 1977 deaths Romanian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian actors Romanian comedians Romanian male film actors Romanian male stage actors Romanian television personalities Victims of the 1977 Vrancea earthquake Burials at Bellu Cemetery Greek emigrants to Romania 20th-century Romanian male actors 20th-century comedians {{Romania-bio-stub People from Argos Orestiko