Home – Culture – He was both a favorite of children and a scandalous handsome man

Perhaps today there is no other Hungarian actor as popular among young people as Lajos Balasovitz. Most twentysomethings must have seen it AbigailT Pancakes are kingt is stephan kingt or poor Zoni and Arnicat – the performances of the late theater artist are always remembered.

There was something unmistakable and typical in his playing, maybe the traits of his character, maybe his versatile character. The characters he portrayed were both likable and strange, sometimes minor but always significant.

Unparalleled career

He was still a student, but already Karay Makk Before God and people he distinguished himself in the film, which was subsequently followed by a number of roles. Martha Meszáros as Partner Katya Kovacs Luna Court she starred in a film directed by Miklós Jancso. bright windswas Balashovitz’s partner in

The actor has become a regular character in Jancso’s films: az heavenly lambalso played in and then in 1972. People are still askingformed a young officer. The film won the Best Director award at Cannes.

Balaszowitz is also a director

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he also appeared on screen in his own arrangements.

International doors have also been opened for the actor as acclaimed Italian director Luchino Visconti cast him as Tadzio in his upcoming new film. Death in Venice for the film, although he ended up not getting the part. Later, Balazhovits allegedly got the lead role in an Italian film about the Tibetan yoga Milarepa thanks to the director.

It was in the second half of the seventies Abigail The series is considered a cult film in Hungary – it was no less popular than Magda Sabo’s novel. The four-part series was later made into a two-part film. Balashowitz may be familiar to most people from this film: he played the teacher Kalmar, a young, charming, sometimes infantile teacher who was the exact opposite of the tough teacher Koenig (Desso Garas).

Apart from the role of “Abigeles”, his previous characters have also made him a darling of the youth: the younger György Palasti Ha ha, sea! could be seen in his 1971 production, but in 1973 Pancakes are kingin which he played Prince Elias.

actor of the nation

Dramatic changes followed, as one of the collaborations with Jancso had a huge international impact: based on the Mayerling tragedy. Private crimes, public morality was one of the Italian films entered in competition at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to filming, he also had a significant career in the theater: he has been a member of the Vígszínház company since 1974 and the Mafilm company since 1979. Between 1982 and 1990 he was an artist at the Madah Theatre, and in 1989 he played the lead role and directed a play at the National Theater in Szeged. In 1991 he signed a contract with the National Theatre, from 1992 to 2012 he was the director of the Budapest Theatre. He retired from the leadership of the theater in 2012, after the theater passed into private hands.

In 2012, he also shared his thoughts on the essence of theater with theatr.hu. Then he said:

At the end of the 1960s, Hungarian theaters were in a relative paradise, there were many spectators, many strong performances and we had a good reputation abroad. Then there were many ups and downs, and since then there are always those who want to reform the theater under some supposedly new slogan. I think the real problem is that we don’t realize that the theater is not monotheistic, but that the theater has many gods, like the ancient Greeks. I would not venture to say which one is more salutary.

In 1969, he received the Hungarian Film Review Award, in 1982 – the Bela Balas Award, in 1987 – the title of Honored Artist, and in 2015 became a hereditary member of the Society of the Immortals. In 2022, instead of Peter Haumann, he was elected Artist of the Nation.

After his death, colleagues, politicians and public figures said goodbye to him.