| Helenka Adamowski Pantaleoni | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 22, 1900 Brookline, Massachusetts |
| Died | January 5, 1987 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Polish American |
| Occupation | Humanitarian, actress |
| Known for | Founder and Director U.S. Committee for UNICEF |
| Parents | Jozef and Antonina Adamowski |
Helen Tradusa "Helenka" Adamowska-Pantaleoni (November 22, 1900 - January 5, 1987) was an American silent film actress and humanitarian who was the founding director of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, a role that she held for 25 years. Pantaleoni was the daughter of Polish musicians Jozef and Antonina (Antoinette) Adamowski,[1] who with Jozef’s brother Tymoteusz (Timothee) Adamowski made up the Adamowski Trio. Helenka's mother was also the sister of Helena (Helene), the second wife of Polish pianist and diplomat Ignacy Paderewski.[2]
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After touring Europe and the United States her parents settled in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she was born.[3] She attended Miss Winsor's School in Boston.[4] She studied dramatics and appeared in plays presented by the Junior League and the Vincent Club.[5] "In 1917, on the occasion of Paderewski's presence in Boston in connection with aid for war victims, she appeared in a specially written play entitled: "The Spirit of Poland," which was given at Jordan Hall in Boston".[6] In the 1920s, she appeared in silent films[7] as well as on Broadway.[8] She subsequently became head of the Children's Theatre Department of the Junior League of New York.[9]
She married Guido Pantaleoni, Jr., in 1935. Guido, a New York lawyer, was a widower with three children (Guido, Nina, and Hewitt).[10][11] He was a graduate of Milton Academy, Harvard University (1921), and Harvard Law School. Guido was a nephew of Italian economist and politician Maffeo Pantaleoni. He and Helenka had two children, Anthony and Michael Pantaleoni.[12] Guido volunteered for service during World War II. As a Lieutenant Colonel attached to the Office of Strategic Services he was killed in action in Sicily in 1943, leaving Helenka with five children to raise.[13]
Helenka Pantaleoni founded the Paderewsi Fund for Polish Relief in 1941.[14] She served the fundraising arm of the American Red Cross during World War II. After the war, she continued to serve in fundraising for the Polish Relief Commission. "Her work with the United Nations commenced when she was made accredited observer for the National Council of Women of the U.S.A. in 1946. She helped found the Women United for United Nations...."[15]
She helped to found the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in 1947,[16] and served as the organization’s president from 1953 until her retirement in 1978.[17] Her service as president of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF was unpaid. The Executive Director of UNICEF, James P. Grant, wrote in 1994:
For 26 years, from 1953 through 1978, Helenka Pantaleoni served as volunteer president of the U.S. Committee. While she headed the Committee more than $113 million was turned over to UNICEF in the name of the American people. . . .[18]
Helenka was the sister of Tadeusz Adamowski, who played for the Polish national hockey team in the 1928 Olympics. Helenka's stepson Hewitt Pantaleoni was a professor and ethnomusicologist. Helenka’s granddaughter is American actress Téa Leoni, who has served as a Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2001 and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Her father (Helenka Pantaleoni's son) Anthony Pantaleoni is Chair of the Board of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF[19] and Of Counsel to Fulbright & Jaworski, the successor of the New York City law firm that his father Guido had founded in 1935.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | “Second Fiddle” | Cragg’s Daughter | |
| 1924 | “Grit” | Annie Hart |