POLISH FILM ACADEMY

Before WW2, he was the most famous Polish theatre, film and cabaret actor and a gifted singer.

He was born on July 24, 1900 in Warsaw; died on May 31, 1958 in Warsaw. Graduate of a military school, he also studied law at Warsaw University and acting at Nina Niovilli’s Warsaw School of Theatre and Film Acting. He debuted on the stages of Warsaw theatres – Reduta, Polski and Narodowy, then performing in Lvov, Poznan and Lodz. He was particularly fond of lighter repertoire, hence his frequent appearances in revue shows, operettas and cabarets. After the war, he appeared in several Warsaw theatres: Mały (1947), Klasyczny (1948-1949), and Polski (1949-1958).

In cinema, he also preferred light repertoire – comedy, musical, or melodrama. He created the character of a heartthrob with a soft melodious voice, who often expresses his feelings in the form of a song. His screen debut was a small role as a doctor in Czerwony błazen [Red clown] (1926) by Henryk Szaro, a crime drama set in one of Warsaw's cabarets. Larger roles came five years later in two thrillers by Ryszard Ordyński – Kobieta, która się śmieje [The woman who laughs] and Głos serca [The voice of the heart] (1931); he played a lawyer in both these films. He played his first major romantic role in a comedy of errors by Jan Nowina-Przybylski and Michał Waszyński Panienka z poste restante [The girl from general delivery] (1935). Then followed a number of similar characters – funny, flirty, and singing, including: Fred, son of Count Orzelski in Ada! To nie wypada! [Ada! Do not Do That!] (1936) by Konrad Tom; Jacek, son of the Duchess Oksza in Jadzia (1936); the hockey player Jerzy Piątek in Sportowiec mimo woli [Involuntarily athlete] (1939) by Mieczysław Krawicz, or double roles as Lieutenant Niko and Count Quanti in Manewry miłosne [Love exercises] (1935) by Nowina-Przybylski and Tom, or and Sebastian Maria Rajmund, Count de Santis and an official of the Ministry of Public Morality in Pani minister tańczy/Miss Minister Dances (1937) by Juliusz Gardan. He appeared in 26 films. In 2009, Marek Maldis made a documentary about him, Już nie zapomnisz mnie [You’ll never forget me], borrowing the title of a song Żabczyński performed in Zapomniana melodia/The Forgotten Melody (1938) by Tom and Jan Fethke.

Jerzy Armata