Piotr Fronczewski (born 8 June 1946) is a Polish actor and a cabaret and theatre singer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors of his generation.
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Life and career
He was born in Łódź to a Polish mother, Bogna Duszyńska (1912–2016) and a Polish-Jewish father, Władysław Fronczewski (1900–1969). His father was born as Władysław Finkelstein and changed his last name before the outbreak of World War II. He is a graduate of the Karol Świerczewski Liceum in Warsaw.
Piotr Fronczewski is also known for the fictional character/musical project Franek Kimono. Under this name, he issued a disco LP in 1983 which, though meant as a satire of Poland's disco culture, turned out to be a great success. Fronczewski started his acting career playing in the theater. He also performed in cabarets. His daughters – Kasia and Magda Fronczewska were very popular child-singers in late 1980s and early 1990s.
From his TV and movie work, he is best known as Pan Kleks (Mr Inkblot), the main character of a series of movies based on books written by Jan Brzechwa and illustrated by Craig Bonner. He also voiced Robert "Bob" Parr Mr. Incredible in the Polish dub of The Incredibles franchise and Diego in the Polish version of the Ice Age film series.
In 1990, Gustaw Holoubek ranked Piotr Fronczewski among the three greatest Polish dramatic actors post-1965 alongside Andrzej Seweryn and Wojciech Pszoniak. He played leading roles in films with prominent Polish directors, e.g. Andrzej Wajda, as well as many supporting roles in big productions. He is well known for playing "Pan Piotrus" in the Cabaret of Olga Lipinska. Later, he became active on the Polish Cabaret and standup comedy scene. Piotr Fronczewski is known as a master of intelligent humour and snappy retort.
Selected filmography
1958 – Wolne miasto as Boguś
1972 – Boleslaw Smialy as Brother Adalbertus
1974 – Ziemia Obiecana as von Horn
1975 – A Woman's Decision as Jan
1976 – Parada Oszustów as Narrator and additional roles
1978 – Halo Szpicbródka as Fred Kampinos / Szpicbródka
1979 – Kung-Fu as Witek Markowski
1980 – The Moth as Psychiatrist
1980 – Głosy as Andrzej Domański, former husband of Ewa
1981 – The Quack as Dobraniecki
1982 – Aby do świtu... as Szczygieł
1983 – Akademia Pana Kleksa as Professor Ambroży Kleks and Jan Brzechwa
1983 – Szaleństwa Panny Ewy as dr Hieronim Tyszowski
1983 – In the Land of the Wizard of Oz as Scarecrow (voice, episodes 1-7)
1985 – Podróże pana Kleksa as Professor Ambroży Kleks
1987 – Cesarskie cięcie as Dr. Erdman
1987 – Zabij mnie glino as Zientara
1988 – Pan Kleks w Kosmosie as Professor Ambroży Kleks
1989 – Konsul as Czesław Wiśniak / Jacek Ben Silberstein
