Zbyszko Sawan and Aleksander Zelwerowicz in Huragan (1928)
Polish postcard, no. 83. Photo: publicity still for Huragan/Hurricane (Joseph Lejtes, 1928). Collection: Joanna.
Polish actor Zbigniew Sawan (1904–1984) starred both in silent and sound film, and was also a respected stage actor in his country. He also worked as a theatre director and manager.
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Aleksander Zelwerowicz (1877-1955) was a Polish actor, director, theatre president and a teacher. He received the Order of Polonia Restituta, one of Poland's highest Orders. He is also one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations, recognized by Yad Vashem as non-Jews who saved Jews from extermination during the Holocaust.
Aleksander Zelwerowicz was born in 1877 in Lublin, Russian Empire (now Lublin, Poland). In 1896, he made his stage debut in a production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. After a study year in Geneva in 1899, he joined the theater of Lodz. Then, he moved to the Municipal Theatre in Krakow, and during the period 1900-1908, he revealed a talent for comedy. He also started to direct plays, often comedies, in Warsaw, Riga and Prague. He probably made his film debut in the short romance Przesady (Józef Ostoja-Sulnicki, 1912) with Maria Duleba, followed by Obrona Częstochowy (Edward Puchalski, 1913), again starring Duleba and based on a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Three years later, he appeared in Ochrana warszawska i jej tajemnice (1916). In 19328, he played the father of Sawan in the silent drama Huragan/Hurricane (Józef Lejtes, 1928). A year later, he had a supporting part in the crime thriller Mocny czlowiek (Henryk Szaro, 1929) with Gregori Chmara.
Aleksander Zelwerowicz appeared in the early sound films Księżna Łowicka/Countess of Lowicz (Mieczyslaw Krawicz, Janusz Warnecki, 1932) starring Jadwiga Smosarska, the romance Palac na kólkach (Ryszard Ordynski, 1932) with Igo Sym and Zbigniew Sawan, and Dzieje grzechu/Story of a Sin (Henryk Szaro, 1933). He also appeared in Aleksander Ford’s Przebudzenie/Awakening (1934) with Igo Sym. Later in the 1930s, he was seen in supporting parts in the melodramas Serce matki/Mother's Heart (Michał Waszyński, 1938) and Wrzos/The Heather (Juliusz Gardan, 1938), both starring Stanisława Angel-Engelówna. The following year, he played in Doktór Murek/Doctor Murek (Juliusz Gardan, 1939) and the romantic comedy Trzy serca/The Three Hearts (Michał Waszyński, 1939) starring Jerzy Pichelski. Zelwerowicz was a member of General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland. During World War II, he was active for the Konrad Żegota Committee. This was a codename for the Council to Aid Jews (Polish: Rada Pomocy Żydom), an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland active from 1942 to 1945. It is estimated that about half of the Jews who survived the Holocaust in Poland (thus over 50,000) were aided in some shape or form by Żegota. In 1955, Aleksander Zelwerowicz died in Warsaw. He was 77. His wife was director Christine Severin-Zelwerowicz. The Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy, the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw, is named after him since 1996.
Sources: Wikipedia (English and Polish), and IMDb.
Zbyszko Sawan and Aleksander Zelwerowicz in Huragan (1928)
Polish postcard, no. 83. Photo: publicity still for Huragan/Hurricane (Joseph Lejtes, 1928). Collection: Joanna.
Polish actor Zbigniew Sawan (1904–1984) starred both in silent and sound film, and was also a respected stage actor in his country. He also worked as a theatre director and manager.
For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.
Aleksander Zelwerowicz (1877-1955) was a Polish actor, director, theatre president and a teacher. He received the Order of Polonia Restituta, one of Poland's highest Orders. He is also one of the Polish Righteous among the Nations, recognized by Yad Vashem as non-Jews who saved Jews from extermination during the Holocaust.
Aleksander Zelwerowicz was born in 1877 in Lublin, Russian Empire (now Lublin, Poland). In 1896, he made his stage debut in a production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. After a study year in Geneva in 1899, he joined the theater of Lodz. Then, he moved to the Municipal Theatre in Krakow, and during the period 1900-1908, he revealed a talent for comedy. He also started to direct plays, often comedies, in Warsaw, Riga and Prague. He probably made his film debut in the short romance Przesady (Józef Ostoja-Sulnicki, 1912) with Maria Duleba, followed by Obrona Częstochowy (Edward Puchalski, 1913), again starring Duleba and based on a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Three years later, he appeared in Ochrana warszawska i jej tajemnice (1916). In 19328, he played the father of Sawan in the silent drama Huragan/Hurricane (Józef Lejtes, 1928). A year later, he had a supporting part in the crime thriller Mocny czlowiek (Henryk Szaro, 1929) with Gregori Chmara.
Aleksander Zelwerowicz appeared in the early sound films Księżna Łowicka/Countess of Lowicz (Mieczyslaw Krawicz, Janusz Warnecki, 1932) starring Jadwiga Smosarska, the romance Palac na kólkach (Ryszard Ordynski, 1932) with Igo Sym and Zbigniew Sawan, and Dzieje grzechu/Story of a Sin (Henryk Szaro, 1933). He also appeared in Aleksander Ford’s Przebudzenie/Awakening (1934) with Igo Sym. Later in the 1930s, he was seen in supporting parts in the melodramas Serce matki/Mother's Heart (Michał Waszyński, 1938) and Wrzos/The Heather (Juliusz Gardan, 1938), both starring Stanisława Angel-Engelówna. The following year, he played in Doktór Murek/Doctor Murek (Juliusz Gardan, 1939) and the romantic comedy Trzy serca/The Three Hearts (Michał Waszyński, 1939) starring Jerzy Pichelski. Zelwerowicz was a member of General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland. During World War II, he was active for the Konrad Żegota Committee. This was a codename for the Council to Aid Jews (Polish: Rada Pomocy Żydom), an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland active from 1942 to 1945. It is estimated that about half of the Jews who survived the Holocaust in Poland (thus over 50,000) were aided in some shape or form by Żegota. In 1955, Aleksander Zelwerowicz died in Warsaw. He was 77. His wife was director Christine Severin-Zelwerowicz. The Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy, the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw, is named after him since 1996.
Sources: Wikipedia (English and Polish), and IMDb.