Zygmunt Kęstowicz is still considered one of the most popular actors in Poland. He has played roles in productions such as “In Any Weather”, “Journey for One Smile” or “The Secret of Enigma”. However, he most willingly created for the youngest audience, whose sympathy he gained thanks to the popular “Pora na Telesfora” and the equally hit format “Piątek z Pankracym”. The older audience, in turn, associated him with the role of Władysław Lubicz in the cult soap opera.
Janina and Zygmunt Kęstowicz met during the war. They got married soon after
However, before he made his debut on the screen, he was supposed to start his studies, but the outbreak of World War II prevented him from doing so. He started looking for a job and found a job as an extra at the Lutnia Musical Theater in Vilnius. At one of the rehearsals, an 18-year-old choir singer, Janina, showed up for whom he completely lost his mind. As it later turned out, he also caught her eye. – He was standing surrounded by a group of girls, and I didn’t have the courage to approach him, so I just looked, looked, looked… The next day I told him: “I had a dream about you”, and he walked me home after the rehearsal. From then on, I never came back from the theater alone – an actor’s wife in “Przyjaciółka”.
In May 1941, the lovers got married and from then on until their deaths they were inseparable. They experienced many difficult moments together, which only strengthened their marriage. They had to face the first challenge almost immediately after taking the oath. It turned out that the Germans had entered Vilnius and they were on the list of people to be deported. So they quickly packed the most necessary things and fled the city.
Zygmunt Kęstowicz dreamed of becoming a father. He never had children of his own
Until the end of the war, the actor and his wife wandered around the surrounding villages, doing small jobs to earn money. After liberation, they decided to return to Poland. First they moved to Białystok, and later to Krakow, but finally they settled in Warsaw. They believed that they would find work in the capital and finally start living. And so it happened. They both joined the cast of one of the theaters and started to get back on their feet. They lacked the complete happiness they had always dreamed of. However, they were not allowed to experience parenthood. – The scriptwriters of “Klan” compensated for the lack of children in my private life. As the head of the Lubicz family, I have a bunch of children – said the actor in an interview with “Tele Tygodnik”, although he did not hide the fact that it was a huge blow for both him and Janina.
Kids! Unfortunately, we didn’t have them, and Janeczka and I were dissatisfied for many years
– he said in the book “On the revolving stage of life”. However, they poured huge amounts of love onto the foundations under their care, which they decided to support together. In 1987, when Kęstowicz received PLN 100,000. PLN of the award for artistic work for Polish radio and television, he decided to spend it on establishing his own institution. This is how the “Give a Chance” foundation was created, and the couple treated the children under its care as their own. – We have a lot of children who, although they are not ours, are still ours – he argued in an interview for “Przyjaciółka”. – These are children cruelly harmed by fate. Helping them is the most important thing in our lives. We will take care of them as long as we have enough health and energy, he declared. He fulfilled his promise because he was actively involved in charity and social activities until the end of his life.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
