Tadeusz Łomnicki (; 18 July 1927 – 22 February 1992) was a Polish actor, one of the most notable stage and film artists of his time in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He is remembered mostly for his roles in comedies and dramas, as well as for the role of Kordian in Juliusz Słowacki's play of the same title. He was also a notable professor and a rector of the State Theatre School in Warsaw.

Biography

He was born on 18 July 1927 in

Podhajce Pidhaitsi (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located approximately south of Berezhany, from Ternopil, and south-east of Lviv. In 1939, Pidhaitsi obtained the formal status of a city.Lwów in the Second Polish Republic to a family of a post office clerk and a teacher. After graduating from a trade school in Dębica he moved to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where he started to work as railway worker and study violin play. There he spent

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and fought against the Germans in the ranks of the Grey Ranks. In 1945 he passed his exams to an actors' school organized by the Stary Teatr (''Old Theatre''), one of the most prestigious Polish theatres of the epoch. After his stage debut in an episodic role in Stary Teatr he briefly appeared in Słowacki's theatre in Kraków and the Municipal Theatre in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

. For his role of Puck in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' he received an award of the Shakespeare Festival in Warsaw. Finally in 1949 he moved to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, where he became a member of Teatr Współczesny, one of the best Polish stages at the time, led by renowned director Erwin Axer. About that time he also debuted as a playwright, with two of his plays staged in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

and Kraków. He was also engaged in the National Theatre in the role of Kordian in Juliusz Słowacki's play of the same title, which gained him much popularity and fame. He was also admitted to the National Theatre Academy (Akademia Teatralna) in Warsaw and graduated from the Directors' Division in 1956. In 1955 he played the first major role in a film appearing in

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

's '' A Generation''. This film, undoubtedly the first major production of Wajda, led to ever-increasing popularity of Łomnicki, who started to be regarded as one of the most notable actors of the so-called Polish Film School. The following years he also appeared in most major films screened by the Polish Film School movement members, among them in Wajda's '' Innocent Sorcerers'' (1960), '' Heroism'' by Andrzej Munk (1958) and ''Depot of the Dead'' by Czesław Petelski. In 1969 he appeared in his most famous films, the '' Colonel Wolodyjowski'' and '' The Deluge'' by Jerzy Hoffman, the latter being nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1974. He also won the award for Best Actor at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. Tadeusz Lomnicki Polish actor 02

He continued to play in Teatr Współczesny until 1974, and gained much fame for his lead roles in ''Iphigenia in Paris'', Bertold Brecht's ''

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (), subtitled "A parable play", is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago mobster, and his attempts to control the cauliflower ra ...

'',

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

's '' The Annuity'', the role of Edgar in Friedrich Dürrenmatt's '' Play Strindberg'' and the role of Nikita in Lev Tolstoy's '' The Power of Darkness''. Between 1970 and 1981 he was also the rector of his alma mater in Warsaw. During his work there he modified the actor's studio by introducing new lectures, mostly designed to fit the new role of the actors in television and films. About that time he also became the founder and the first head of his own theatre, the Warsaw-based Teatr na Woli. There he appeared in a number of plays, including in the roles of Goya in Antonio Buero Vallejo's ''The Sleep of Reason'', the lead role in Słowacki's ''Fantazy'' and the role of Salieri in Peter Shaffer's '' Amadeus''. He also appeared in numerous films, among them

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy, ''Three Colours'' ...

's '' Blind Chance'', Krzysztof Zanussi's ''The Contract'' and Andrzej Wajda's '' Man of Marble''. However, with time Łomnicki's popularity began to fade. This was due partially to his involvement with the Polish United Workers' Party, of which he was an active member. Although on the imposition of

Martial Law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

in 1981 he resigned all his posts and party membership, his reputation never recovered. In addition, during the 1980s, he suffered from serious health problems and he appeared only in episodic roles in almost all of Warsaw-based theatres. Finally he was offered the lead role in Shakespeare's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

''. What he considered his most important role was highly anticipated by the critics. The opening night was scheduled for the 29 February 1992. However, a week before, on 22 February, Łomnicki died suddenly of a heart attack during one of the last dress rehearsals on the stage of

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

-based Teatr Nowy. His last words were King Lear's line: ''Then there's life in't. Nay, if you get it, you shall get it with running. Sa, sa, sa, sa.''

References

Bibliography

* Witold Filler, ''Tadeusz Łomnicki'', Wydawnictwo Artystyczne i Filmowe, Seria Wydawnicza: ''Głowy Wawelskie'', Warszawa 1976. * Tadeusz Łomnicki, wybór i oprac. Maria Bojarska, ''Spotkania teatralne'', 1984, * Maria Bojarska, ''Król Lear nie żyje'', 1994,

External links

*
''Tadeusz Łomnicki''
at the Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Lomnicki, Tadeusz 1927 births 1992 deaths People from Pidhaitsi Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Polish film directors Polish male stage actors Polish male film actors 20th-century Polish male actors Home Army members Polish atheists Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw alumni 20th-century Polish screenwriters Polish male screenwriters 20th-century Polish male writers Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland