Zdzisław Maklakiewicz was born on July 9, 1927 in Warsaw. Years later, he said that during the war he was a soldier of the Home Army, and after the Warsaw Uprising he was deported to Germany. He also claimed that he “personally killed several dozen Germans.” How much truth was there in this? No one knows this. Maklakiewicz consistently told legends and stories throughout almost his entire life. One day, when he was talking about fighting in the partisans during World War II, one of the listeners couldn’t stand it. – Dude, what are you talking about? Do you think we’re idiots? After all, you were a child during the war – It is true that he belonged to the underground, took part in the Warsaw Uprising, and returned to Poland in 1945. Two years later, he started acting studies in Krakow.
After a year, Zdzisław Maklakiewicz dropped out of college. It’s all because of the exam
He couldn’t stay in Krakow for long and moved to Warsaw in 1948. He received his diploma from the capital’s PWST in 1950. A year later he made his debut on the stage. He first appeared on screens in “Common Room”. In the theater, cinema and television, he mainly played supporting roles. Maklakiewicz also tried to study directing, but after a year he was expelled from studies, all because of a “slaughterhouse” in one of the exams. When asked about a little-known song by Niemcewicz, he said that he associated the name only with the address where he “had a dick”.
He created a number of unforgettable roles. Thanks to his duets with Himilsbach, Maklakiewicz made history
He performed in the largest and leading theaters, but also in numerous cult productions. Productions with his participation include “The Manuscript Found in Saragossa”, “The Law and the Fist”, “The Holy War”, “The Stakes Greater than Life”, “The Doll”, “The Cruise”, “Hydrozagadka”, “Chłopi” and “Brunet in the evening.” However, he went down in cinema history primarily thanks to his duets with Jan Himilsbach, with whom he starred in “Rejs” and “Jak to do się”. An on-screen partner, friend and drinking companion – this was how this relationship could be summed up, and their parties in luxurious restaurants and dens were the stuff of legends.
My father played over a hundred roles, he was an idol for many people, but he played the roles of husband and father badly. He was foolish about everything. He was usually drunk
– years later, the daughter in the book “Maklak. Through the eyes of her daughter”. He also admits that Maklakiewicz’s mother gave them “hell on earth” because she did not like her daughter-in-law. It ended in divorce, but the actor’s second marriage was also not happy. In both cases, alcohol was the reason for the breakup.
Up to a certain point he was the king of life. The king of mood, wit, atmosphere. But when he was alone in Warsaw, he had no reason not to drink. He guarded his legend for some time, he knew it existed, he knew how much it meant. But as the addiction developed, this faded. Then things weren’t so rosy anymore
– wrote Gabriel Michalik in the book “Assumption. A Thing about Zdzisław Maklakiewicz and his times”.
The death of Zdzisław Maklakiewicz surprised everyone. There are legends about it to this day
Maklakiewicz last appeared on screen in “What Will You Do to Me If You Catch Me?” It was 1977 and the actor was having more and more problems with addiction. – He was increasingly drowning in the fiction of an imaginary trickster and drunkard and he could no longer free himself from it – recalled director Jan Maciejowski.
On an October morning in 1977, as Magda Jaros did in her book “Angel and a Tough Guy. Biography of Roman Wilhelmi”, Maklakiewicz was found “sitting on the windowsill in the Kultura cinema”. It is known that in the evening, like every day, he partied. It is also known that he lay unconscious and beaten for several hours on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw, near the European Hotel. Many legends have arisen around the actor’s death over the last 40 years. Some say that addiction and untreated diabetes killed him, others mention “jealous husbands”, brutal beatings by the police, sex workers, and even the fatal mistake of a mysterious nurse. Zdzisław Maklakiewicz a few days later, on October 9, 1977.
If you are struggling with addiction or want to find out how you can help a loved one, you can contact the specialists on duty at these numbers:
- National Addiction Helpline (daily from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.): 800-199-990
- Telephone Trust for behavioral addictions (daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.): 800-889-880
- Orange line for parents of children drinking alcohol (Monday to Friday, 2-8 p.m.): 801-140-068
- National Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence Blue Line (24 hours a day): 800-120-002
More information can be found on the websites
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.
