Irena Kwiatkowska photographed by Jacek Łagowski/AG
Actress Irena Kwiatkowska has passed away at the age of 98
Born on September 17, 1912, Irena Kwiatkowska was one of Poland's most popular stars for many decades. A theatre, film and television actress, she was best known endearing roles in popular cabaret programmes. She died at a home for retired actors outside the Polish capital on the morning of March 3, 2011 after a lengthy illness.
After receiving her degree from the National Theatre Institute in 1935, she began her acting career on the stage of Warsaw's Teatr Dramatyczny and Teatr Powszechny, as well as Poznań's Teatr Nowy and Katowice's Teatr Polski, in performances of classic works by Juliusz Słowacki, Aleksander Fredry and Stefan Żeromski.
During the Nazi occupation, she worked odd jobs in the day while acting at theatre meetings set up by Leon Schiller in the evenings. She joined the forces of the opposition and fought in the Warsaw Uprising. After the war she lent her voice to radio shows broadcast by Polish Radio for a number of years and also joined the Kraków-based "7 Cats" cabaret. In the 1960s she reached the apex of popularity thanks to the Elderly Gentlemens' Cabaret (Kabaret Starszych Panów) - a witty comedy show produced by Jeremi Przybory and Jerzy Wąsowski for television. She also sang and acted in stage cabarets - Zenon Wiktorczyk's "Szpak" and Edward Dziewoński's "Dudek" - and other television programmes. Her pithy monologues, catchy vocal style and endearing charm made her an integral part of popular entertainment in the day when astute social observations had to be well-veiled to escape the attention of the authorities. One of her most memorable roles was the part of a modern-day working woman in the smash television series Czterdziestolatek" / "The Forty-year-old, which ran between 1974-1977.
In 1972 Irena Kwiatkowska joined the Teatr Ludowy in Warsaw, only to spend the next 20 years on the stage of Teatr Nowy. She continued to act throughout the '80s and early '90s, playing principal parts in such productions as Goethe's Faust (dir. Bohdan Cybulski), Mary Chase's My Friend Harvey (dir. Marcin Sławiński) and Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński's Zielona Gęś" / "Green Goose (dir. Jarosław Kilian). Her last film role was in the 2008 film Jeszcze nie wieczór" / "It's Not Yet Evening, directed by Jacek Bławuta. She played herself in the feature film based on everyday life in the Skolimów home for retired actors, which won a Silver Lion at the 2008 Film Industry Awards in Gdynia.
She has received dozens of awards over the years for her contributions to the arts, including the Minister of Culture's Gloria Artis Gold Medal in 2005 and President's Commander of the Cross with the Star of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland in 2009.
After battling illness for many years, Irena Kwiatkowska died at the age of 98 on March 3, 2011.
Source: Gazeta.pl, Culture.pl