| Kazimierz Krukowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1901 Poland |
| Died | 1984 |
| Other names | Warsaw |
Kazimierz Krukowski (Kazimierz Zawisza) born 1901 Lodz, died 1984 in Warsaw, stage name Lopek, was a Jewish cabaret performer and writer, revue and film actor, Master of Ceremonies. He performed songs and monologues by famous poets and songwriters like Marian Hemar, Jerzy Jurandot, Antoni Słonimski, Julian Tuwim and Andrzej Włast.
He was engaged at the cabaret Qui Pro Quo by his cousin Julian Tuwim. He performed in theaters, kleynkunst, and cabarets including Morskie Oko, Banda, Cyganeria, Cyrulik Warszawski, Wielka Rewia, and in 1939 he founded his own theater, the Ali Baba.
"in the cabarets, a new genre of entertainment—the Jewish joke, monologue or sketch known as szmonces—rose to prominence. The szmonces, inevitably characterized by a more or less subtle żydłaczenie, at its best turned the pretentious Jewish assimilator or the harried Jewish tradesman into universally accessible symbols of the dislocations of modern life; at its worst, it became vulgar antisemitic caricature. The performer Kazimierz Krukowski (1902–1984), known as Lopek, was among those acclaimed as a specialist in the genre."[1]
He made his first movie in 1927 (Ziemia obiecana) as part of a comedy duo, "Lopek and Florek," with Adolf Dymszą; they made several more movies together including Janko Muzikant; Ułani, ułani, chłopcy malowani, and Ułani, ułani, chłopcy malowani (What does my husband do at night?)
During the second World War he appeared in one of the cabarets in the Warsaw ghetto. He fought in the Soviet Union and subsequently lived in Britain, the United States, and Argentina, where he ran the El Nacional theater.
He wrote several books: Mała antologia kabaretu (Small cabaret anthology), Z Melpomeną na emigracji (From Melpomene in exile) and Moja Warszawka (My Warsaw).
Polish actor. In 1935 he starred in the film ABC miłości.[2]