Łomnicki, Tadeusz

(1927-1992)

   Accomplished film actor, stage director, and a legend of Polish theater, voted the most important twentieth-century Polish actor in the weekly Polityka's poll from 1998. Although his fame has to do mostly with his theatrical accomplishments, Łomnicki appeared in more than sixty films since his screen debut in 1946. He gained recognition for his first major roles in films by Aleksander Ford (Five Boys from Barska Street, 1953) and Andrzej Wajda (A Generation, 1955). Later he became one of the recognizable faces of the Polish School, in particular after his appearances in Ewa and Czesław Petelski's Damned Roads (1958) and The Sky of Stone (1959), Andrzej Munk's Eroica (1958), and Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers (1960).

   In the 1960s, after appearing in films such as Janusz Morgenstern's Life Once Again (1964) and Jerzy Skolimowski's Hands Up (1967), Łomnicki received not only critical recognition but also wide popular acclaim starring as Colonel Michał Wołodyjowski in Jerzy Hoffman's adaptations of Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical novels: Pan Michael (1969) and The Deluge (1974). During the Cinema of Distrust period, he acted in Wajda's Man of Marble as director Burski and played main roles in films by Krzysztof Zanussi (Contrakt, 1980), Wojciech Marczewski (The Housekeeper, 1979), and Andrzej Trzos-Rastawiecki (Wherever You Are, Mr. President... , 1978). He also received critical recognition for his roles in films by Filip Bajon, such as Inspection at the Scene of the Crime, 1901 and Daimler Benz Limousine, both released in 1981, and in films by Krzysztof Kieślowski, such as Blind Chance (1981) and Decalogue 8 (1988).

   Łomnicki is also known for his fine performances in Polish Television Theater and his work as an acting teacher; between 1970 and 1981, he headed the State Acting Academy in Warsaw (PWST). He was also an active member of the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) from 1951 (and a member of its Central Committee from 1975) to 1981, when he resigned after the introduction of martial law. He is the brother of director Jan Łomnicki.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof