was born on July 18, 1927 in the town of Podhajce near Lviv, while Jan, 2 years younger, was born on June 30. Their mother Jadwiga was a teacher by education, but she took care of the house, and their father Marian worked at the post office as a clerk. Their happy and peaceful childhood was interrupted by the war, during which the whole family was resettled to the West. First they lived in Dębica, and after some time they moved to Krakow, but even there they did not do very well at first.
The war changed their lives. What did the Łomnickis do during the occupation?
During the occupation, their father continued to work in his profession, and supplemented the household budget by drawing portraits of Germans, while their mother became a worker in the Wedel factory. The brothers also quickly found employment. Jan sold cigarettes near the ghetto, and Tadeusz worked on a construction site and played the violin at weddings. At that time, he was already a member of the Grey Ranks, from where he later joined the Home Army. His decision was confirmed by the tragic death of his father, who was shot in 1942.
Already at that time Tadeusz secretly dreamed of trying his hand at the world of film. At first he dreamed of a career as a playwright, he even had a few works under his belt and it was with them that he went to a course organized by the Theater Studio at the Krakow Old Theater. However, absent-mindedly he confused the rooms where the classes were to be held and instead of the scriptwriters’ department, he ended up in the one for actors. Although it seemed at the time that his appearance disqualified him, he was short, broad in the shoulders and had no makings of a lover, the examiners saw his potential. “Only he will count,” said the legendary actress Maria Dulęba at the time. And she was right.
The careers of the Łomnicki brothers. One became an actor, the other graduated in directing
Tadeusz Łomnicki quite quickly began performing on the stages of the largest theatres in Poland, such as the National and Contemporary in Warsaw or the Municipal in Katowice, while also trying his hand at the world of film. He played in many productions of esteemed directors, including “Steel Heart”, “Two Brigades” and “Crew”. Without a doubt, his greatest popularity and critical acclaim came with the role of Stach in the war drama “Pokolenie” by Andrzej Wajda, and later in Jerzy Hoffmann.
While he was fulfilling himself on the screen, his brother was studying law at the Jagiellonian University. Only after graduating did he take up another field, which was the Łódź Film School. At that time, he founded the Kolektyw group, which included many of his outstanding colleagues. Although he was not as famous as his brother, he enjoyed recognition in the community. He created mainly documentaries and feature films such as “Pośliz”, “Mistrz Nikifor”, “Akcja pod Arsenałam”, “Jeszcze tylko ten las”, as well as the series “Modrzejewska” and .
How many times was Tadeusz Łomnicki married? He was close to his brother, who was 2 years younger than him, although they were diametrically different.
The Łomnicki brothers were very close, although not only their career paths were completely different, but also their private lives. Tadeusz Łomnicki was considered a real womanizer, because he stood up as many as 5 times, which resulted in two sons, Jacek and Piotr. He was considered an extremely temperamental and explosive person, he was unyielding and did not agree to compromise. His last wife called him a “monster”, and he agreed with her, adding that he was a “bastard” and with a big ego. “I envy them that they can watch me,” he is supposed to have said before one of the performances, looking at the audience.
Jan was his complete opposite. In the 1950s, he married Danuta of the Piłsudski family, Kościesza coat of arms, with whom he had a son, Marcin, and a daughter, Jadwiga. It was precisely these different characters that meant that they could not reach an understanding professionally, or rather, they did not even try. They knew each other “like bald horses” and knew that finding a common language in art would border on a miracle. – Not because I did not appreciate my brother. I could quite ruthlessly demand from another performer the kind of acting that I wanted the most. It was difficult for me to enter into arguments with Tadzik. He immediately introduced his own atmosphere, something incredibly real – said Jan Łomnicki after his brother’s premature death in February 1992. If you’d like, please vote in our poll below.
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.
