User:Dahn/And more

Early life

Rădulescu was born in Râmnicu Vâlcea in a family of fishmongers—his origin resulted in his nickname, Bibanu ("Perch"), which was used throughout his lifetime.^[1] He credited his father as the earliest source for his distinct brand of humor,^[2] though he did not consider going into acting as a child. By his own account, he was still only vaguely familiar with the craft: he watched, and greatly enjoyed, films starring Jean Gabin, whom he regarded as an amateur of genius, but never attended a theatrical production until World War II, in 1943. The event involved a Bucharest troupe led by Constantin Tănase, with Maria Tănase as a musical act. The boy was charmed by the "miracle" of stagecraft, and would hang around for hours on end next to the actors' railroad car, which was stationed in close proximity to his childhood home.^[3]

Rădulescu became a public figure later in the 1940s, during the early stages of the Romanian communist regime. He attended Nicolae Bălcescu High School (now known as Alexandru Lahovari National College) in his native city,^[4] joining an amateur troupe and reciting his first poem at the age of sixteen.^[5] He then hesitated between acting, which his schoolmates had described as his natural inclination,^[2] and professional sports. While always attracted by boxing, he appeared in association football and volleyball competitions.^[6] By his own account, he was accepted as a trainee boxer by the heavyweight champion Gheorghe Lungu, but "got cold feet"^[7] after being pummeled by a lower-rated fighter "in the second round" of an unspecified event.^[8] From this episodic career, Rădulescu preserved several medals;^[1] he remained active as an amateur footballer into his forties, training with FC Progresul and Dinamo as a regular member of the Romanian actors' exhibition team.^[8] He was also close friends with footballers Ion Nunweiller of Dinamo and Dumitru Macri of Rapid,^[8] though he mainly supported his local team, Chimia.^[9]

Young Rădulescu moved to Bucharest, intending to be admitted into the Caragiale Institute (IATC, the future UNATC). He passed his examination with Gheorghe Storin, the 33rd out of ninety candidates, and then qualified for a national scholarship.^[10] His head teacher was tragedian Beate Fredanov,^[4] but he secretly considered going into comedy, and was hurt when once told that he lacked the chops for humorous projects.^[11] During his studies, he happened to run into a film crew, and debuted as an extra in a historical film, whose title he could not remember.^[12] He graduated in 1954, when he also made his debut at the National Theater Bucharest (TNB)—with a classical role in Anton Chekhov's Bear.^[4]

In 1956, Rădulescu joined the permanent teaching staff at his alma mater.^[13] He also appeared as the antagonist, Gryshka Ryzhykov, in a stage adaption of Anton Makarenko's Flags on the Battlements, directed by Ion Cojar at the TNB (and subsequently showcased at the Young Actors' Competition). Critics were divided: Manase Radnev enjoyed his "authenticity and naturalness",^[14] whereas Mira Iosif was not impressed by his "supposedly expressive grimaces" (though she noted his "great potential for comedy").^[15]

Rise to fame

As a rule, Rădulescu did not accept mentors in his comedic routine, though he once declared admiration for Jerry Lewis.^[16] His belief that he himself was only suited for comedic roles was cemented after 1959, when he appeared alongside Mitzura Arghezi at a Sala Palatului festival commemorating poet George Coșbuc. Wearing a folk costume, he recited a serious poem to some 2,600 spectators, all of whom proceeded to laugh copiously.^[17] Rădulescu was therefore relived when cast in a production of An Irkutsk Story,^[18] done in 1960 by the TNB. He won Mira Iosif's praise for his role (Lapchenko),^[19] and also claimed that the play's author, Aleksei Arbuzov, personally congratulated him.^[20] He was being scouted by Sică Alexandrescu, who held the belief that "comedy is a very serious matter."^[21] Alexandrescu used him in several productions of the Romanian repertory text, O scrisoare pierdută—he was Nae Cațavencu or the Inebriated Citizen.^[2] The play and its author, Ion Luca Caragiale, became main focuses of his studies, and he once claimed to have acted in all parts, except for the female lead.^[22]

Rădulescu's registered film debut came in 1959, when he starred in Lucian Bratu's Secretul cifrului. He had just completed his service in the Land Forces, which helped him prepare for the role; by 1988, he was a Sublieutenant in the reserves.^[23]

In 1965, Rădulescu had a secondary part in The Lace Wars, filmed in Romania by René Clair.^[24] In November 1967, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit [ro], fourth class.^[25]

Rădulescu was greatly loved by the public for his recurring comedic role as Gogu Steriade in Brigada Diverse, a police-procedural series that began in early 1971 with Brigada Diverse în alertă!. Initially conceived as a lengthy project with some eleven feature-length episodes, it was stopped abruptly after only two more installments, allegedly because a high-ranking militiaman realized that his institution was the butt of the jokes.^[26] As noted in 2019 by critic Georgiana Mușat, Steriade's team of ne'er-do-wells, also comprising Patraulea (Jean Constantin) and Trandafir (Puiu Călinescu), subverted communist morality in their very on-screen depiction as likable social parasites.^[27] Additionally, Rădulescu shared credits with Sebastian Papaiani in Geo Saizescu's Tonight We'll Dance at Home, for which he filmed on location in Turnu Severin during September 1971. He enjoyed his role as the serial seducer Temistocle Temistocle, calling the project "my dearest film".^[28]

Rădulescu was used by director Liviu Ciulei, who took him on as Farfuridi in his 1972 production of O scrisoare pierdută. He won praise for the comedic duo he formed with Mircea Diaconu (as Brânzovenescu): Rădulescu did Farfuridi as a "doubting" and "infantile" man, while Diaconu played his part as "humble [and] shy", a "tormented shadow" to the more visible Farfuridi.^[29] As noted in 1979 by critic Traian Șelmaru, Rădulescu managed to sabotage his "admirable" performance by continuously adding "props" (cârlige) in the subsequent stagings.^[30]

In the early 1970s, Rădulescu was a regular voice actor for Ion Vova's Unda Veselă, the main variety show on Romanian Radio.^[8] In 1972, he had another highly popular role, as "the most combative tomcat", Dănilă, in the children's musical Veronica, created by Elisabeta Bostan. Mușat observes that, in a country where children's programming was scarce, "Veronica was everywhere—it was learned by heart by grandchildren, grandparents and parents alike."^[31] The now-famous comedian was also called upon to provide live commentary during boxing matches aired by the state television company, including Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman (January 1973).^[8]

Rădulescu was especially proud of his titular role in Cojar's version of Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea (1974), since this was the first recorded instance of the audience bursting out with laughter at that classical farce.^[2] Critic Valentin Silvestru lauded his "inexhaustible comedic fantasy", but observed that he had failed to understand Leonida as a "type", being in this inferior to his predecessors.^[32] In parallel, he was filming on Ion Popescu-Gopo's Poveste fantastică. Originally called Spionaj interplanetar,^[9] it had him as one of the main characters—a Martian robot spying on Earth's population. Columnist D. I. Suchianu was pleasantly impressed by this "very polemical" effort, and in particular by Gopo and Rădulescu's experiments with surreal humor.^[33]

During late communism

In the 1975–1976 theatrical season, Rădulescu was both a performer and dramaturge at the TNB. He and Jean Grossu co-wrote a stage version of The Good Soldier Švejk, with Rădulescu in the title role. Critics were unimpressed, suggesting that he had retained Švejk's "self-declared idiocy, and nothing of his fundamental humanity",^[34] and being put off by "his pulling faces and his onomatopoeias", imported in from the revue genre.^[35] As a lecturer at the IATC, Rădulescu directed his 1977 class' rendition of George Ciprian's tragicomedy, Man and His Mule, with Carol Erdős as the lead. It was badly received by Teatrul magazine, seen by its chroniclers as "incompatible with the good traditions of the IATC."^[36] His own return as the Inebriated Citizen, in Radu Beligan's 1979 version of Caragiale's play, was panned by Șelmaru, who found him to be "hesitant".^[30]

Rădulescu returned to cinema with another Saizescu comedy, the 1981 Grăbește-te încet. Done from a script by Ion Băieșu, it was described by contemporary reviewers as enjoyable, but not truly a masterpiece.^[37]

In the 1985–1985 season, Horea Popescu directed Vladimir Mayakovsky's Bedbug at the TNB, relying on a comedic compatibility between Rădulescu (Prisypkin) and Gheorghe Dinică (Bayan).^[38] By 1986, Rădulescu had been cast as Mr. Poskett in a Bulandra Theater production of The Magistrate—a role he viewed as unique in that he made spectators laugh without ever laughing himself.^[39] The production was a major hit with the public, with over 900 runs over the following two seasons.^[40] He returned to the radio in a musical version of Tudor Mușatescu's interwar play, Titanic Waltz; called Secretul succesului, it was aired in June 1988.^[41] Before the close of 1988, he starred in a filmed version of the Coana Chirița series, Chirița în Iași—using a classical text by Vasile Alecsandri, adapted for the screen by comedienne Draga Olteanu Matei. Journalist Octavian Andronic reports that the film was enormously successful, not least of all because of Rădulescu's "savory" immersion into the role, with its thick Moldavian accent.^[40]

Final years

Following the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Rădulescu embarked on a brief political career. Initially affiliated with a satirical "Party of Free Change", he handed in his resignation from that group just ahead of the May 1990 general elections; he presented himself on a list of the "Party of Democratic Unity", seeking a Senate seat for his native Vîlcea County.^[42] In a 1993 interview, Rădulescu argued that the post-revolutionary transition to capitalism had made him into a "sad man", and that the country itself was like a battered boxer. He still hoped that the trend would be met by solidarity between citizens, for the greater good, and by the cultivation of artistic values.^[2]

The year 1992 witnessed Rădulescu's major success in televised drama. The national station TVR 1, produced its own repertory version of Titanic Waltz, with Dinu Cernescu called in to direct him as the main character, Spirache. According to Contemporanul columnist Marina Săndulescu, he excelled at it and was thus rescued from oblivion, also allowing the play itself to be rediscovered and quoted by the post-revolutionary public.^[43] In December 1992, he and Mădălina Manole hosted a Saint Nicholas Day gala at Iași. In an accompanying interview, he described himself as "too old" for politics, and noted that he was leaving the political game to other actors-turned-politicians (namely, Ion Caramitru and Sergiu Nicolaescu).^[44]

In 1993, Rădulescu was considered for the role of Trahanache in a planned filmed version of O scrisoare pierdută, as announced by Mircea Cornișteanu; at the time, he expressed hopes that he would be also asked to study for the role of Pristanda, which had once been recommended to him by dramatist Aurel Baranga.^[2] By February 1994, he was a regular in the nightclub circuit, starring alongside Nicu Constantin, Nae Lăzărescu and Rodica Popescu Bitănescu in a series of adult-oriented shows that also involved erotic dancers.^[45] His reputation was harmed in February 1995, when he allegedly slapped a younger colleagues, Costin Mărculescu, who had propositioned Rădulescu's mistress. Mărculescu announced that he would sue, demanding either a public apology or 20 million lei in reparations.^[46]

During 1995, Rădulescu had a one-man satirical show, Musca ("The Fly"), airing on Tele7ABC. It was purchased by Pro TV, but his contract with that station was abruptly suspended in early 1996; as explained by Rădulescu himself, this sacking was caused by rumors that he had joined a political group not aligned with Pro TV's own agenda;^[13] elsewhere, the group was named as the Democratic Party.^[47] Rădulescu issued a strong denial of this claim, threatening to sue Cartelpress, which he had identified as a fabricator of fake news. Since Cartelpress was based in Oltenia region, Rădulescu informed the public that he could no longer view himself as an Oltenian; he also stated his deep dislike of political life, calling politics "a whore".^[47] In the scandal's wake, he returned on Tele7ABC. It produced his new edition of Musca, which he was still contributing in November 1996. Also then, he resumed a series of tours in Western Europe and the United States, but complained about his increasing fear of flying.^[13] At around the same time, he was headlining Cabaret politic, a series of live shows on Romanian Radio.^[48]

Rădulescu smoked regularly, and in the 1980s had a penchant for the Bulgartabac brand.^[49] During his final years, he became noticeably tired, but ignored his family's pleas to "at least give up on the radio."^[50] His career was hampered by hypertension, in turn caused by stress and weight gains. In October 1998, he was rescued by the staff of Colentina Hospital after a near-fatal hypertensive urgency, which had resulted in pulmonary edema and a myocardial infarction.^[51] Days later, he issued statements condemning the press for its coverage of his health, calling the reporting a "base fabrication", and indicating that he was in fine shape.^[52]

At New Year's 1999, Rădulescu performed at Continental nightclub in Timișoara, declaring that he no longer intended to be associated with televised holiday programs, since these had become excessively bawdy. On the occasion, he expressed admiration for the comedy troupe Divertis, which he regarded as a laudable exception.^[53] He planned a return to the big screen, and also announced that he had completed a teleplay for a television sequel to Brigada Diverse. He claimed to be in production talks with Antena 1, and optioned Radu Gheorghe as his lead.^[53] Rădulescu suffered a fatal heart attack on the afternoon of 10 September 2000, while being driven by a friend through Telega; his final words were Vai ce aer proaspăt! ("My, this air is so fresh!").^[54] He was transported to a hospital in Câmpina, but could not be resuscitated.^[54]