Constantin Tănase (; 5 July 1880 – 29 August 1945) was a
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n actor and writer for stage, a key figure in the
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...
style of theater in Romania.
Life
He was born into a working-class family living in a peasant house in
Vaslui, Romania. An adequate but unexceptional student (although he did apparently learn good
German), his first exposure to the stage was by attending plays at "Pârjoala" garden, where he saw popular theater, including actors such as Zaharia Burienescu and I.D. Ionescu. This inspired him to start an amateur theater group among his friends; they worked up scenes from the plays ''Meșterul Manole'', ''Căpitanul Valter Mărăcineanu'', and ''Constantin Brâncoveanu''; their closest thing to a stage was a barn.
His first professional experience as an actor was in the
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
-language theater troupe of Mordechai Segălescu: they were short an actor for a performance in Vaslui and drafted the youthful Tănase. In 1896 he completed
gymnasium. Despite his wish to become an actor, at his parents behest he enrolled in the Military School at
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, but his rebellious behavior there quickly got him booted out. He headed to
Brăila
Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the 2021 Romanian ...
, where he briefly attended the
Nicolae Bălcescu High School, but after a few weeks he dropped out due to lack of funds.
In Brăila he met the schoolteacher and writer Ion Adam, who suggested that the 18-year-old Tănase take over his teaching post in Cursești,
Rahova, since Adam was headed to take some courses in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. He didn't do badly at the job, but hit it off badly with the headmaster and some of the other teachers. With Adam's support, he got another teaching job at
Hârșoveni,
Poienești, where poet
Alexandru Vlahuță also taught. Tănase promptly developed his own style of teaching, bringing music and gymnastics to a central role, which drew new students to the school. He also involved his students' parents through field trips which he used to teach history and geography. He soon became a generally beloved local figure, but apparently the local notary and certain lawyers disapproved of him and his methods and managed to have him fired.
Out of work, he headed for
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
on October 14, 1899, where he volunteered to join a military regiment, the 1st Engineer Regiment (''Regimentul 1 Geniu''). After his military service, he worked in theater, and in 1917, he married Virginia Niculescu.
In Bucharest in 1919, he founded the theater troupe "Cărăbuș" (meaning
cockchafer
The common cockchafer (''Melolontha melolontha''), also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus '' Melolontha.'' It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-rel ...
). Over the course of 20 years, he would establish a tradition of humorous
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
/revue theater that still continues in Romania today, most notably at the "Constantin Tănase" Revue Theatre, the former home of "Cărăbuș" at 33-35
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei (''Victory Avenue'') is a major avenue in central Bucharest. Situated in Sector 1, and having a length of , it leads from (which runs parallel to the Dâmbovița River) to the north and then northwest up to Piața Victoriei, w ...
in the heart of Bucharest. At "Cărăbuș", Tănase launched the careers of numerous performers, notably
Maria Tănase and Horia Șerbănescu. "Cărăbuș" frequently toured Romania and on at least one occasion toured
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Tănase himself also performed in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
According to at least one source, he also founded 3 schools for children and a church.
Death

According to the official account, he died of complications from a
tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...
on August 29, 1945, in Bucharest.
However, it is rumored that he was killed by the
invading Red Army, as reported in the following account. Tănase was still performing in Bucharest a year after the arrival of the Russians, and was killed for satirizing the Red Army soldiers' habit of "requisitioning" all personal property in sight, in particular of taking people's watches, demanding them by saying, "Davai ceas" (''davai'' – Russian for "Give me", and ''ceas'' – Romanian for "watch"). Tănase made up a verse:
:''Rău era cu "der, die, das"''
:''Da-i mai rău cu "davai ceas"''
:''De la Nistru pân' la Don''
:''Davai ceas, davai palton''
:''Davai ceas, davai moșie''
:''Harașo tovărășie''
:It was bad with "der, die, das"
:But it's worse with "davai ceas"
:From the
Dniester
The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
to the
Don
:Davai watch, davai overcoat
:Davai watch, davai land
:Harașo comradeship
Another variant of these verses in loose translation:
:It was bad with "der, die, das"
:But it's worse with "davai ceas"
:From the
Dniester
The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
to the
Don
:Davai watch, coat and long-johns,
:You can forego your ownership,
:Harașo comradeship
After several performances he was arrested, threatened with death, and told not to do the sketch again. However, Tănase was not a man to be intimidated. At the next performance, he came on stage in a giant overcoat, with his arms festooned in watches. The audience applauded wildly as he simply stood there. Then he opened the overcoat, revealing a pendulum clock. Pointing to it, he said ''"El tic, eu tac, el tic, eu tac"'' (punning on ''tic-tac'', the Romanian equivalent of "tick-tock", but also meaning "It ticks, I am silent, it ticks, I am silent"). Two days later he was dead.
He is buried in
Bellu Cemetery, in Bucharest. Streets in
Sector 2 of Bucharest and in
Oradea
Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
are named after him.
Works
Tănase's theater was often political and ''avant garde''. Simona Pop quotes some lines from a song or his as typical:
:''În țara asta, țara pâinii''
:''Să aibă pâine până și câinii''
:''Guvernul nostru ne obligă''
:''S-avem o zi de mămăligă''
:''Lor ce le pasă cum e trăiul''
:''Scumpiră trenul și tramvaiul''
:''Scumpiră tot, la cataramă''
:''Până și pâinea și tutunul''
:''Și când înjuri pe șleau de mamă''
:''Ei, cică, eu fac pe nebunul.''
:In this land, the land of bread
:Even the dogs should eat bread
:Our government obliges us
:To have a day of ''
mămăligă
Mămăligă (;) is a polenta-like dish made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania, Moldova, south-west regions of Ukraine and among Poles in Ukraine (''mamałyga''), Hungary (''puliszka''), the Black Sea regions of Georgia (country), ...
''
:What do they care how good the living is?
:Expensive trains and trams
:Expensive everything, to the limit
[''la cataramă'': literally "at the belt-buckle".]
:Even bread and tobacco
:And when I openly curse their mother
:They claim I'm playing the fool.
:''Teoria mea-i uşoară''
:''Toată viața e o scară''
:''Care, pe rând, ca și la moară''
:''Toți o urcă și-o coboară".''
:My theory is easy
:All life is a staircase
:Which, by turn, just like at a mill
:Everyone climbs and descends.
Works about Tănase
The 1975 film ''
Actorul şi sălbaticii'' ("The Actor and the Savages") starred
Toma Caragiu (who died soon afterwards in the
1977 Bucharest earthquake
The 1977 Vrancea earthquake occurred on 4 March 1977, at 21:22 local time, and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a Moment magnitude scale, magnitude of 7.5, making it the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Socialist Republic of Ro ...
) as ''"Caratase"'' – a mixture of ''Caragiu'' and ''Tănase'' and a transparent allusion to Tănase. However, even with Romania's increased independence from the Soviet Union, it was politically impossible to show the Red Army as responsible for his death; in the screenplay, only the conflict with the
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
is illustrated, repeatedly irritating them with antifascist satire. His death is caused by a heart attack.
Quotations
"Ideals are like stars: you can't actually reach them, but you can orient yourself by them."
Filmography
*''Peripițiile călătoriei lui Rigadin de la Paris la București'' (1924, silent, ''The Adventures of Rigadin During His Travel from Paris to Bucharest''
*''Visul lui Tănase'' (1932, ''Tănase's Dream'')
*''Răbdare Tănase!'' (1943, ''Have patience, Tănase!'')
Legacy
From the time Tănase moved to Bucharest, his only visit to Vaslui and to his parents was on a tour by his theater troupe. Nonetheless, Vaslui has named one ''Casa de Cultură'' ("House of Culture") after him (one of two such institutions in Vaslui), his personal archives and many of his possessions now reside in the Vaslui county museum, and since 1970 Vaslui has memorialized him with a theater festival under the leadership of another native son of Vaslui,
Valentin Silvestru, which at least since 1980 has drawn comedians from all over Romania. The festival is now also an international festival of
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
.
References
*
"Constantin Tănase" Revue Theatre, Official site
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanase, Constantin
Romanian cabaret performers
Romanian comedians
Romanian male film actors
Romanian male stage actors
Romanian vaudeville performers
Romanian theatre directors
Romanian theatre managers and producers
People from Vaslui
Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni
Burials at Bellu Cemetery
1880 births
1945 deaths
19th-century Romanian male actors
20th-century Romanian male actors
20th-century comedians
Romanian humorists
Romanian satirists