Radu Beligan, oldest Romanian actor, dies aged 97

Radu Beligan, the oldest Romanian actor still in activity, has died in Bucharest, aged 97. Many fellow actors as well as politicians and other figures have expressed their appreciation for the long and prolific career of the actor, which spans more than 70 years.

Born 14 December 1918, Radu Beligan was an actor as well as a director and essayist. He acted on the stage of many theaters in the capital and has been an actor of the National Theatre Bucharest (TNB) since 1945. Beligan studied Law and Philosophy in Bucharest (1937 -1938) and later enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama, where he was taught by Lucia Sturzda Bulandra. He never completed his drama education.

Radu Beligan was the director of the National Theatre Bucharest between 1969 and 1990. In 2013 the actor entered the Guinness World Records in recognition for the achievement of being the eldest active actor still in activity.

Numerous actors and theater lovers expressed regret at the news of his passing away. “With his disappearance a wonderful story of the Romanian theatre is gone, an actor of an extraordinary spiritual and artistic calibre,” Alexandru Arsinel said. “It was not by chance that he stood out as a name and as a manner of acting as well as personality in the group of Romanian actors; he was always somewhere in a special category,” Arsinel said.

President Klaus Iohannis wrote a moving message on his Facebook page, recalling the actor’s commitment to acting and to the public. “Life is a stage, Shakespeare said. Today, Radu Beligan, the embodiment of the consummate actor, of a man of theatre, is leaving this stage. Through the energy dedicated to the public throughout his entire life, has left us with a fundamental message: nothing can be built without devotion, belief in the fundamental values of humanity and without love. The public’s applause were his dearest song and impulse, may they accompany his memory to posterity. We will remember Radu Beligan each time the curtain is lifted and descends,” the message read.

Actor and politician Mircea Diaconu said: “his apparition was under the sign of light and all his life, almost one century long unraveled precisely in this manner and I believe there has not been one single actor (…) who, upon coming into contact with Radu Beligan, has not learnt anything from him. In my turn, he taught many things, of all kind – life knowledge, professional,” Diaconu said. “He was an utterly special and he lived in his own way, unique.”

Georgeta Gheorghe