The “Polish Rudolf Valentino” did not avoid a glass. “he laughed that only vodka flowed in his veins”

Józef Węgrzyn was born on March 13, 1884 in Warsaw. He grew up in a long-term family, he had five siblings. His father was a caretaker, and his mother took care of the house and children. His older brother Maksymilian was an actor and moved to Krakow. At the age of 10, Joseph came to live with him. He graduated from the real school there. Saint Anna and the Gabriela Zapolska drama school. He took his first acting steps on the stage of the theater in Lviv. He made his debut there in 1904 in the play “Eros and Psyche” by Jerzy Żuławski. He was then replacing Stanisław Knake-Zawadzki.

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Węgrzyn’s first serious plays. Cooperation with theaters

Józef did not stay in Lviv for long. In the same year, he returned to Krakow, where he played at the People’s Theater, and later joined the Municipal Theater. The then director, Ludwik Solski, initially cast Węgrzyn in small roles, but they were very diverse. Over time, the actor received more ambitious roles in which he could prove himself. He played, among others: von Bismarck in “Frederick the Great” by Adolf Nowaczyński in 1909. His incarnation in Rhapsody from “Legion” by Stanisław Wyspiański in 1911 received wide attention. The actor performed on stage at the theater itself. Antoni Waśkowski recalled that during rehearsals Solski always “towered” over other roles, but a change occurred during the premiere.

Węgrzyn’s attitude, playing and voice were so dramatic, so heroic, that Solski suddenly lost his temper

– said Waśkowski, quoted by the portal.

In 1913, the Polish Theater was established in Warsaw, and the actor was engaged by Arnold Szyfman. The first play presented during the opening of the facility was “Irydion” by Zygmunt Krasiński, and the main role went to Węgrzyn. On the stage of the Polish Theater, the actor also played the role of, among others: Kostryna from “Balladyna” by Juliusz Słowacki or Brutus in the play “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare.

First World War. Węgrzyn on stage and screen

When World War I broke out, the actor was in Sopot. However, he managed to get to Krakow and return to performing on the well-known stage. However, in the same year he decided to go to Warsaw. He continued to develop his career at the Polish Theater, whose director was Bolesław Gorczyński. As reported by . In 1915, Węgrzyn played the role of Gustaw-Konrad from Mickiewicz’s “Forefathers’ Eve” for the first time. However, the performance was not very successful, just like the next two, six and 12 years later. Only the fourth staging of the Polish poet’s play in 1934 turned out to be a success. He managed to play the role of Kordian from Słowacki’s play and Konrad from Wyspiański’s play much better in 1916. For the next eight years he was associated with the Variety Theater, and in the years 1924-1938 with the National Theater.

He performed best in the romantic-heroic repertoire. He played King Oedipus, Brutus, and Gustav-Conrad many times. He had a brilliant contact with the audience, on whose aesthetic sensitivity he transferred his romantic ecstasies. He also had a great sense of tragedy

– said theater historian Hanna Baltyn on air.

Between performances on stage, Węgrzyn showed off his acting skills on film sets. According to the information provided on the website, his first role was in the film “The Sweetness of Sin” from 1914. He appeared in several films a year, thanks to which he had almost 50 roles before the outbreak of World War II, including roles in such works as “The Smile of Fate”, “Ten from Pawiak”, “The Quack” and “Strachy”. Węgrzyn also tried his hand at directing. He was a co-creator of the first version of “The Leper” from 1926, in which he also played one of the characters.

Węgrzyn’s authority in the theater. Alcoholism became a problem

Węgrzyn was a handsome man, which, combined with his extraordinary acting talent, made him have many admirers. He gave them flowers after performances. During his career, he played romantics and lovers, such as the titular Don Juan. Over time, he came to be called the Polish Rudolf Valentino.

It had the head of a Greek god. Navy blue hair arranged in sculptural locks, straight nose, narrow eyebrows, eyes like two stars, matte beautiful complexion and a low voice with a wonderful, metallic sound, southern temperament – these were the gifts that nature generously bestowed on young Józef Węgrzyn

– wrote Stefan Jaracz about the actor, quoted by .

The man married Anna Kurkiewicz, with whom he had two children: Mieczysław and Zofia. Their marriage did not survive because Węgrzyn fell madly in love with actress Zofia Lindorf, 21 years younger than him. He decided to abandon his family to get involved with a young artist. His new bride was Orthodox, so Józef decided to convert to this religion to get married in a Warsaw church. The couple had no children, and their marriage broke up after 15 years due to the actor’s alcoholism.

Józef Węgrzyn was an authority for many. Thanks to this, he could afford more than others.

Węgrzyn had a habit that if he didn’t like his partner, after several attempts he would say unceremoniously: “Please take IT away.” And THIS was taken away because he was not wrong in his assessments

– recalls Nina Andrycz in an interview for .

Józef did not shy away from high-alcohol drinks. The hip flask has become an inseparable attribute of Węgrzyn. Even though he abused alcohol himself and often drank it in the theater, he scolded other actors for drinking at work.

Węgrzyn always carried a flask with a screw-on cap, which was also a glass. Only the master could officially drink a glass in the dressing room, because no one would dare to draw attention to him, and when the master once noticed Gruszecka drinking, he knocked the glass out of her hand and scolded her quite sharply with the words: ‘Vodka? In the theatre? ‘Alcoholic!’

– wrote Henryk Szwajcer in his book “Smile from behind the scenes”, whose words are quoted by Onet. The actor quoted by the actor also recalled what Józef himself said about himself:

At one point, Węgrzyn laughed that only vodka flowed in his veins

The Second World War. Węgrzyn is sent to Pawiak and his son to Auschwitz

In 1939, Węgrzyn played Battler in “Geneva” by George Bernard Shaw. In the play, the man parodied Hitler, which was probably the reason for Józef’s arrest by the Gestapo. The actor was sent to Pawiak. When he was released after a few months, he decided to start working in public theaters licensed by the Germans. He did it out of fear for his son Mieczysław, who followed in his footsteps and started an acting career. Węgrzyn could earn up to PLN 20,000 for working in German theaters. PLN per month. Such high remuneration was attractive not only to Węgrzyn, but also to other Polish actors, including Adolf or Mira Zimińska.

Józef’s son was detained together with others present in the Artists’ Café and arrested by the Gestapo. According to reports, it was supposed to be retaliation for the assassination of an SS officer. Initially, Mieczysław was in prison, but later he was sent to a concentration camp as a political prisoner. On May 27, 1942, he was shot in front of block 11 in Auschwitz. The death of his son made Józef drink more and more of his sorrows, and his alcoholism deepened. Węgrzyn broke down and fell into a severe depression, which caused him to distance himself from his friends and even the theater.

After the end of the war, Józef appeared in several more theater performances, among others “Revenge” by Aleksander Fredro, “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare or “The Abduction of the Sabine Women” by Julian Tuwim, directed by Stanisława Perzanowska. His last film was “Two Hours” from 1946, which had its official premiere only nine years later. In addition to alcoholism, Węgrzyn was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Due to mental problems, the actor was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Kościan, where he died on September 4, 1952.

For his outstanding skills, he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit and the Golden Academic Laurel. One of the streets in Warsaw was also named after him.