Piotr Fronczewski (born 8 June 1946 in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

, Poland), is 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 (), lit ...

and a

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 dinin ...

and theatre singer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors of his generation.

Life and career

He was born to a Polish mother, Bogna Duszyńska (1912–2016) and a Polish-Jewish father, Władysław Fronczewski (1900–1969). His father was born as Władysław Finkelstein and changed his last name before 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He is a graduate of the Karol Świerczewski Liceum 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 officiall ...

. Piotr Fronczewski created a fictional character ''Franek Kimono'' he issued a disco LP in 1983 which was meant to be a musical joke but turned out to be a great success. Fronczewski started his acting career playing in the theater. He also performed in cabarets. His daughters – Kasia and Magda Fronczewski were very popular child-singers in late 1980s and early 1990s. From his TV and movie work, he is best known as '' Pan Kleks'' (''Mr Inkblot''), the main character of a series of movies based on books written by

Jan Brzechwa Jan Brzechwa (), (15 August 1898 – 2 July 1966) was a Polish poet, author and lawyer, known mostly for his contribution to children's literature. He was born Jan Wiktor Lesman to a Polish family of Jewish descent.

and illustrated by Craig Bonner. He also voiced Robert "Bob" Parr

Mr. Incredible Robert "Bob" Parr, also known as Mr. Incredible, is a fictional superhero who appears in Disney/ Pixar's 6th animated film ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and its sequel and 20th animated film '' Incredibles 2'' (2018). He is a superhuman that has ...

in the Polish dub of ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, ...

'' franchise and

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. ...

in the Polish version of the ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

'' film series. In 1990,

Gustaw Holoubek Gustaw Teofil Holoubek (21 April 1923 – 6 March 2008) was a Polish actor, director, member of the Polish Sejm, and a senator. Holoubek participated in the September Campaign and was a prisoner of war during the Nazi German Occupation of Po ...

ranked Piotr Fronczewski among the three greatest Polish dramatic actors post-1965 alongside

Andrzej Seweryn Andrzej Teodor Seweryn (born 25 April 1946) is a Polish actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to ...

and

Wojciech Pszoniak Wojciech Zygmunt Pszoniak (2 May 1942 – 19 October 2020) was a Polish film and theatre actor. Biography and career Pszoniak was born in Lwów, Nazi occupied Poland, now in Ukraine. He gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda's 19 ...

. He played outstanding leading roles in some films of the prominent Polish directors, e.g. Andrzej Wajda, as well as countless supporting roles in big productions. Also, very well known for his unforgettable role of "Pan Piotrus" in the Cabaret of Olga Lipinska. Later became active and very successful on the Polish Cabaret and Standup Comedy scene. Piotr Fronczewski is known as a master of intelligent humour and snappy retort.

Selected filmography

* 1958 – '' Wolne miasto'' as Boguś * 1972 – '' Boleslaw Smialy'' as Brother Adalbertus * 1974 – '' Ziemia Obiecana'' as von Horn * 1975 – ''

A Woman's Decision ''A Woman's Decision'' ( pl, Bilans kwartalny, also known as ''The Quarterly Balance'') is a 1975 in film, 1975 Poland, Polish drama film written and directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, w ...

'' as Jan * 1976 – '' Parada Oszustów'' as Narrator and additional roles * 1978 – '' Halo Szpicbródka'' as Fred Kampinos / Szpicbródka * 1979 – ''

Kung-Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

'' as Witek Markowski * 1980 – '' The Moth'' as Psychiatrist * 1981 – ''

The Quack The Quack ( pl, Znachor) is a 1982 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The screenplay was written based on the novel by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz written in 1937. The first adaptation of the book was filmed the same year the book was ...

'' as Dobraniecki * 1982 – '' Aby do świtu...'' as Szczygieł * 1983 – '' Akademia Pana Kleksa'' as Professor Ambroży Kleks and

* 1983 – '' Szaleństwa Panny Ewy'' as dr Hieronim Tyszowski * 1985 – '' Podróże Pana Kleksa'' as Professor Ambroży Kleks * 1987 – '' Cesarskie cięcie'' as Dr. Erdman * 1987 – '' Zabij mnie glino'' as Zientara * 1988 – '' Pan Kleks w Kosmosie'' as Professor Ambroży Kleks * 1989 – ' as Czesław Wiśniak / Jacek Ben Silberstein * 1989 – ''

A Tale of Adam Mickiewicz's 'Forefathers' Eve' ''A Tale of Adam Mickiewicz's 'Forefathers' Eve ( pl, Lawa. Opowieść o 'Dziadach' Adama Mickiewicza) is a 1989 Polish drama film directed by Tadeusz Konwicki. It was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Gustaw Hol ...

'' as Sobolewski * 1990 – ''

Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema ''Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema'' ( pl, Ucieczka z kina "Wolność") is a 1990 Polish drama film directed by Wojciech Marczewski. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Janusz Gajos - The ...

'' as Party Secretary * 1994 – '' Tata, a Marcin powiedział'' as Dad * 1995 – '' Awantura o Basię'' as Stanisław Olszowski * 1997 – ''

Rover Dangerfield ''Rover Dangerfield'' is a 1991 American animated musical comedy film starring the voice talent of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas showgirl. R ...

'' as Rover Dangerfield (voice, Polish dub) * 1998 – ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' as „Kaleka” * 1999 – '' Lot 001'' as Captain * 1999 – '' Tygrysy Europy'' as Henryk Laskowski * 1999 – '' Rodzina zastępcza'' as Jacek Kwiatkowski * 2001 – '' Tryumf pana Kleksa'' as Professor Ambroży Kleks (voice) * 2002 – '' Day of the Wacko'' as TV doctor * 2004 – ''

'' as Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible (voice, Polish dub) * 2006 – '' Rozmowy z katem'' as

Jürgen Stroop Jürgen Stroop (born Josef Stroop, 26 September 1895 – 6 March 1952) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era, who served as SS and Police Leader in occupied Poland and Greece. He led the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 194 ...

* 2018 – ''

Incredibles 2 ''Incredibles 2'' is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to ''The Incredibles'' (2004) and the second ...

'' as Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible (voice, Polish dub) * 2018 – '' The Mire'' as Hotel Manager * 2021 – '' Kontrakt'' as the Narrator * 2021 – '' Pan Kleks. Wojna i milosc'' as the Narrator

References

External links

IBFP entry
*
Link to official Franek Kimono project page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fronczewski, Piotr 1946 births 20th-century Polish male actors Actors from Łódź Living people Polish people of Jewish descent Polish Roman Catholics Polish cabaret performers Polish male film actors Polish male stage actors Polish male television actors Polish theatre directors Polish male voice actors Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Polish male soap opera actors 20th-century Polish male singers Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw alumni

Life and career

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links