Wojciech Frykowski
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Wojciech Frykowski (December 22, 1936 - August 9, 1969) was a Polish actor and writer who was murdered in the home of Sharon Tate and Roman Polański by members of Charles Manson's "Family".
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[edit] Early life
Born in Poland to Jan and Teofila Frykowski, he grew up in a wealthy, well-known family in Łódź. He had two younger brothers, Jerry and Matt, and was educated exclusively at the film school in Poland. His parents owned a small textile factory in their hometown. His younger brother Jerzy "Jerry" Frykowski is a famous movie producer in his native Poland. In late 1950's Frykowski was married to his first wife Eva and soon after she gave birth to a son, Bartłomiej "Bartek" Frykowski, who was born in 1959. The couple eventually divorced, and Frykowski's ex-wife and son moved to Paris, France.
In 1963, he married Polish song writer and author Agnieszka Osiecka. The couple divorced a year later and they had no children. In his early years, Frykowski was a very close friend and financier of film director Roman Polański and played the part of a thief in one of Polanski's early Polish-made short films, Mammals, in 1962. In 1966, Frykowski moved to France, then a year later to the United States in the hope of furthering his writing career, but was not successful.
[edit] Relationship with Abigail Folger
Frykowski was involved in a common-law relationship with coffee heiress Abigail Folger. The couple met in New York City in January 1968, when Folger was introduced to him by his old friend, author Jerzy Kosiński. She gave Frykowski a tour of New York City. At the time he had little command of English but, like Folger, he was fluent in French. Their relationship developed as she taught him English.
According to Polanski's 1984 autobiography, Folger was very good to Frykowski, paying all of the couple's living expenses at the time. After living together for several months in her New York City apartment, the couple decided to move to Southern California. Frykowski wanted to get back financially on his feet, while Folger wanted to be a social worker. In August 1968 they arrived in Los Angeles County, and they rented their first hilltop house in a wealthy section of Hollywood Hills, just off Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Their neighbor was famous singer Cass Elliot. Frykowski then introduced Folger to Polański and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. Through the Polanskis, the couple met Jay Sebring and other people from their circle.
On July 20, 1969 Frykowski and Folger agreed to remain at 10050 Cielo Drive with Tate, who was eight months pregnant, until Polański returned from Europe, where he was working on a film project. Polanski was expected to return to California on August 18, 1969. The couple had been taking care of the Polanski residence since April 1, 1969, when the Polanskis had left for Europe. On the evening of August 8, Frykowski and Folger joined Tate and Sebring for late dinner at the Mexican restaurant El Coyote on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. After dinner, the group returned to the Polanski residence, where Frykowski fell asleep on the couch in the living room and Folger went to her bedroom to read a book.
[edit] Death
In the early morning hours of August 9, 1969 just after midnight, Frykowski and Folger were murdered, along with actress Sharon Tate, celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring and Steven Parent by members of Charles Manson's "Family" who broke into the Polanski residence in Beverly Hills, California. Frykowski was shot twice, struck over the head with a blunt object and stabbed in total 51 times. According to his killers — Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins — Frykowski fought very hard for his life and for the lives of other victims. During the fight with their assailants, Frykowski and Folger escaped the house only to be overwhelmed and stabbed to death. Their bodies were discovered the next day by Tate's housekeeper, resting not far from each other on a front lawn of the property.
[edit] Final Resting Place
Wojciech Frykowski was cremated on August 22, 1969 in Los Angeles, California. After a private memorial his remains were claimed by his Polish relatives and buried in the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in his native Łódź, Poland.
[edit] Birth of His Granddaughter and Death of His Son
Frykowski has three grandchildren, his eldest granddaughter, Agnieszka Frykowska (born December 23, 1977) is an actress who competed in the Polish edition of the reality television series Big Brother.
His son, Bartłomiej Frykowski [1] (March 9, 1959 - June 8, 1999) was a cinematographer. Bartłomiej Frykowski died in Wyszków from knife-wounds he suffered while staying at his girlfriend Karolina Wajda's mansion in Głuchy, Poland. According to a statement made by the court prosecutor [2], Bartłomiej Frykowski had committed suicide.
[edit] First Name
Frykowski's proper first name, Wojciech, has often been published in popular media using various alternate forms, such as Voytek, Wojtek, and Voityk. A bestseller book about the Manson Family murders titled Helter Skelter gives his name as Wojiciech and his common name as "Voytek", both of which are incorrect; the common name is "Wojtek" which is the diminutive form of "Wojciech". "Wojtek" is pronounced as "Voytek".
