Irena Kwiatkowska (17 September 19123 March 2011) was a popular Polish actress, known in Poland for her many

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 o ...

roles and

monologues In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

, as well as appearances in (mostly

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

) movies and television shows.

Life

Kwiatkowska graduated from the Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej (National Theatrical Arts Institute) in 1935. Until the outbreak of

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 ...

, she appeared in the Teatr Powszechny 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 ...

, Teatr Nowy in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, Teatr Polski in Katowice, and in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

. During the War, she fought in the Armia Krajowa and participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. Kwiatkowska's first appearance after the War was in the Siedem Kotów (Seven Cats)

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 ...

, where the renowned Polish poet,

Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński (23 January 1905 – 6 December 1953), alias ''Karakuliambro'', was a Polish poet. He is well known for the "paradramatic" absurd humorous sketches of the ''Green Goose Theatre''. Biography Born to a lower-mid ...

, authored a number of roles for her. Gałczyński allegedly created the prominent character of Hermenegilda Kociubińska with Kwiatkowska in mind. In 1948 she came back to Warsaw, appearing in the Teatr Syrena and, now-legendary, Dudek and Szpak cabarets. She was also a prominent member of the cast in the famous televised '' Kabaret Starszych Panów''. Kwiatkowska's other famous television roles included the cult series, ''Wojna Domowa'' ("Civil War", 1965–66) and ''

Czterdziestolatek Czterdziestolatek or 40-latek (English: ''The Forty-Year-Old''); broadcast in English by TVP Polonia as ''Being Forty'' is a Polish television comedy series originally broadcast in Poland between 1975-78. The initial series enjoyed so much popu ...

'' ("Being Forty", 1974–77). In the

series, she portrayed the memorable "Kobieta Pracująca" ("Working Woman"), a recurring character who performs various unusual or absurd jobs. She is best remembered for this role, and the character's name has become synonymous with Kwiatkowska. She reprised the role in the series sequel, ''Czterdziestolatek 20 lat później'' (1993). She also appeared in many theatrical movies, mostly in comedies and musicals, including memorable cameos in later years. Her résumé included frequent

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

on the radio. During her lifetime Kwiatkowska received numerous awards, including the Wielki Splendor Polish Radio Theatre Award (1993) and the Superwiktor (2002), a special lifetime achievement award for outstanding television personalities. Her 90th birthday celebration in 2002 was a major cultural event which attracted a varied array of artists on stage during a special televised show. She performed with the Teatr Polski in Warsaw, where she continued to appear in an interpretation of Gałczyński's ''Zielona Gęś''. She appeared in ''Niarnia'' in 2009. She died in Skolimów on 3 March 2011.

Filmography

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwiatkowska, Irena 1912 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Warsaw Polish film actresses Polish stage actresses Polish television actresses Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989) Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Polish cabaret performers 20th-century Polish actresses Polish radio personalities Polish voice actresses Polish actresses Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland)

Life

Filmography

See also

Notes

External links