Kobiela, Bogumił

(1931-1969)

   A popular actor specializing in comedy, Kobiela became known for his film, theatrical, cabaret, and television theater performances. After graduating in 1953 from the acting school (PWSA) in Kraków, Kobiela worked for the theater in Gdańsk (the Seashore Theater) and, with his friend Zbigniew Cybulski, was also a member of the prominent student cabaret Bim-Bom. In cinema he became popular toward the end of the 1950s, thanks to his roles such as Lieutenant Dąbecki in Andrzej Munk's Eroica (1958) and, in particular, as Drewnowski, an opportunistic secretary to the town's president in Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958). During the Polish School period, Kobiela also played the lead role of Jan Piszczyk, the unheroic, luckless character in Munk's Bad Luck (1960). In the 1960s, Kobiela starred in popular comedies, for example in Leon Jeannot's Codename Nectar (Kryptonim nektar, 1963) and Man from an Apartment (Człowiek z M-3, 1969), and appeared in several films in supporting roles, for example in Wojciech Has's classic films The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) and The Doll (1968). In 1967 Kobiela played in Jerzy Skolimowski's Hands Up, one of the first films dealing with the Stalinist past, which was released as late as 1985. He also played the lead role in Wajda's television productions—the science fiction film Roly Poly (1968) and, as himself (Bobek), in Wajda's self-reflexive Everything for Sale (1969). Kobiela died tragically in a car accident returning from a film set.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof