The addiction ruined the career of Osta³owska’s father. “It separated us.” At the end of his life, the actor was begging on the street

Ryszard Ostalowski was born on May 11, 1934 in Warsaw. Although he grew up during the war, which left a mark on his later life, he was interested in art from an early age. After completing compulsory education, he began studying at the Warsaw theater school, which he successfully graduated in 1956.

Alcohol addiction was stronger than love for the theater. He lost his family because of his addiction

He made his screen debut even before he graduated, appearing in 1955 in the short story “Trzy Starty” as Tadeusz Zaremba. Later, he appeared on the big screen several times in such productions as “Everything for sale” by Andrzej Wajda, “The Deluge” or “Trędowata” by Jerzy Hoffman. He has also had roles in TV series. The most popular ones include “07 report”, “Alternatywy 4” or “Zmiennicy”. However, his true passion and greatest vocation was theatre. Ostalowski was mainly associated with the capital’s institutions. He performed on the stage of the Dramatic, National, Folk and Contemporary Theatres, as well as in the performances of the Television Theatre.

Privately, the actor was associated with the journalist Irena Ostalowska. The couple met in the late 1960s and at the beginning of 1971 they welcomed the fruit of this love into the world, daughter Dominika, who many years later followed in the footsteps of her famous father. The family idyll did not last long. The actor often looked into the glass, which is why the woman decided to break up. At that time, Dominika was only 3 years old. “Times were hard back then. In addition, my mother was not a particularly resourceful woman. She never cared about material things. (…) For my mother, spiritual matters were more important: books, plays, music, intellectual discussions. Such was the world of her values. Despite this, she tried to make sure that I did not miss anything – the star of “M jak miłość” in an interview for the magazine “Tina”.

Alcohol ruined Ostalowski’s life. He died forgotten

When Dominika took her first steps on stage, Ostalowski became more and more addicted. He tried to meet his daughter, and when it was not possible, he sent her letters, which to this day are the only memento she has left of him. Despite their best efforts, their relationship continued to deteriorate. “Father was a very good and charming man, but his sensitivity turned out to be greater than the ability to cope with adversity,” recalled the actress, adding that she tried many times to get him out of addiction, but he never wanted to take advantage of the help offered to him. – It separated us – she said in “Rewia”. In the last years of his life, Ryszard Ostalowski lived in extreme poverty. He was often seen begging in the streets, asking random passers-by for food or cigarettes. The actor died on November 2, 1998. He was 64 at the time of his death.