Romanians at Hollywood (Part 8)

Maia Morgenstern (born May 1, 1962) is a Romanian film and stage actress, described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film". In the English-speaking world, she is probably best known for the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In Romania, she has been nationally known since her 1992 role as Nela in Balanţa, a film known in the United States as The Oak, set during the waning days of Communist Romania.

Born in Bucharest, in a Jewish family, she graduated from the Film and Theater Academy of Bucharest in 1985. She then played at the Teatrul Tineretului (Youth Theater) in Piatra Neamţ until 1988, and at the Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat (State Jewish Theatre) in Bucharest 1988-1990. From 1990–1998 she was a member of the company of the National Theater in Bucharest, and since 1998 of Teatrul Bulandra, also in Bucharest; in addition, she continues to act at the State Jewish Theater and other Bucharest theaters and elsewhere in Romania.

Since making her film debut in 1983 in Prea cald pentru luna mai (1983) she has appeared in dozens of Romanian feature films as well as several international productions, including the English-language Nostradamus (1994), starring F. Murray Abraham and Tchéky Karyo; the Hungarian-language Siódmy pokój (1995) and the English/Greek language Ulysses’ Gaze (1995), in which she co-starred with Harvey Keitel. More recently, she played Nonna in the French language feature Marie, Nonna, la vierge et moi (2000). Morgenstern also took on a role in the USA Network TV movie Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000). She has received two major awards for her work on the stage: Stars of Tomorrow Award (1992) and the Felix Prize as Best Actress (1993). Also in 1993, she won a European Film Award for Best Actress in Balanţa (1992).

Her surname Morgenstern means "Morning Star", a title of the Virgin Mary, the character she played in The Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson, a devout Traditionalist Catholic, thought this of great significance when casting her. In interviews, she has defended the film against allegations of antisemitism, saying that the high priest Caiaphas is portrayed not as a representative of the Jewish people, but as a leader of the establishment, adding that "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas."

Maia Morgenstern at IMDB and Wikipedia.

Romanians in Ukraine

Chernivtsi Oblast (Romanian: Regiunea Cernăuţi) of Ukraine comprises a significant Romanian community. Today's Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine was part of Romania until June 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union, and on 2 August 1940 it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. Prior to that, the territory had never been part of any Ukrainian entity, although ethnic Ukrainians have lived in parts of the area in increasing numbers since the 19th century. Rather, the region constituted the northern part of the historical region of Bukovina, the northern part of Hotin County of the region of Bessarabia, and the north-western corner of Dorohoi County of the region of Moldavia proper. The Romanian population of Chernivtsi Oblast was persecuted by Soviet authorities on ethnic grounds, especially in the years following the annexation until 1956. In neighboring Bessarabia the same persecution did not have a predominantly ethnic orientation, being based mostly on social, educational, and political grounds.


The historical region of Bukovine. The Northern part belongs now to Ukraine
The bulk or 88% of ethnic Romanian population is concentrated in four of the eleven districts (raions) of the Chernivtsi Oblast situated closer to the border with Romania and Moldova. In the Hertsaivskyi Raion (Romanian: Herţa), Romanians comprise about 95% of population. In Novoselytskyi Raion (Romanian: Nouǎ Suliţi), Moldovans represent about 60% of the population. In Hlybotskyi Raion (Romanian: Adâncata), Romanians and Moldovans sum up to 50%. Storozhynetskyi Raion (Romanian: Storjineţ) has a compact Romanian community in the south, especially around the village of Crasna. Romanians comprise 37% of that district's total population.

There are also other villages with a Romanian majority and important historical heritage, such as for example Boian (home of Ion Neculce) and Cernăuca (home of the Hurmuzachi brothers). Other than the 4 raions have smaller Romanian populations, usually never exceeding several hundred people. Exceptions are the Khotynskyi Raion (Romanian: Hotin) with 5,000 Romanians and Moldovans (7% of the raion's population) and Sokyrianskyi Raion (Romanian: Secureni) with 1,500 Romanians and Moldovans (3% of the total raion population).


Historical Moldavia
The history of Romanians in what is now southwestern Ukraine, roughly between the Dniester River and the Bug River, who traditionally have not belonged to any Romanian statal entity (nor to Transnistria), but have been an integral part of the history of modern Ukraine, and are considered natives to the area. Vlachs and Brodniks are mentioned in the area in the 12th and 13th century. As characterized by contemporary sources, the area between the Bug and Dniester had never been populated by a single ethnicity, or totally controlled by Kievan or other rulers. Since 14th century, the area were intermittently ruled by Lithuanian dukes, Polish kings, Crimean khans, and Moldavian princes (such as Ion Vodă Armeanul). In 1681 Gheorghe Duca's title was "Despot of Moldavia and Ukraine", as he was simultaneously Prince of Moldavia and Hatman of Ukraine. Other Moldavian princes who held control of the territory in 17th and 18th centuries were Ştefan Movilă, Dimitrie Cantacuzino and Mihai Racoviţă.

The end of the 18th century marked Imperial Russia's colonization of the region. The process of Russification and colonization of this territory started to be carried out by representatives of other ethnic groups of the Russian Empire. In Ukraine, the Soviet government continued this policy of assimilation of the native Romanian population. Elite elements of the Romanian population were then deported to Siberia, much like their Bukovinian and Bessarabian counterparts. Russian and Ukrainian settlers were recruited to fill the vacant areas caused by the deportation of Romanians. Romanians who continued to identify themselves as Romanians and not Moldovans were severely punished by the Communist regime.

Historically, the Orthodox Church in today's Transdneister and Ukraine was subordinated at first to the Mitropolity of Proilava (modern Brăila, Romania). Later, it belonged to the Bishopric of Huşi. After the Russian annexation of 1792, the Bishopric of Ochakiv reverted to Ekaterinoslav (modern Dnipropetrovsk). From 1837, it belonged to the Eparchys of Kherson with seat in Odessa, and of Taurida with seat in Simferopol.

According to the 2004 census, in Chernivtsi Oblast live 181,800 Romanian speaking population (19.78% of the region's population) out of which 114,600 (12.5%) declared to be of Romanian ethnical minority and 67,200 Moldavians; in Transcarpathia live 32,152 Romanian ethnics—mainly living in Teaciv rayon with 21,300 (12.4% of the rayon population) and Rahiv with 10,300 (11.6% of the rayon population), and in Odessa 724 declared to be Romanian, 123,751 Moldavian (includes historically Ukrainian and eastern Bessarabian territories). In line with common practice, Ukrainian, the language of the historical ethnic/linguistic majority, is constitutionally the sole state language, and the state system of higher education has been switched to Ukrainian. By the terms of a bilateral agreement, Ukraine guaranteed the rights of Romanians in Ukraine: there are schools teaching Romanian as a primary language, along with newspapers, TV, and radio broadcasting in Romanian.

Romanians in Bulgaria

The Romanian minority in Bulgaria (Români or Rumâni in Romanian; Vlasi or Rumuni in Bulgarian) is concentrated in the northwestern part of the country, in Vidin Province, Vratsa Province and Pleven Province. They speak the Oltenian variety of the Romanian language. The Romanians from the Vidin Province are separated into 2 main groups: the "Dunăreni" (who live around the Danube river) and the "Pădureni" (who lived in the higher placed regions with many woods). In southwestern Bulgaria lives also a very small Aromanian population, such as in the village Peshtera (English: The Cave). The territory where the Romanians from Bulgaria live never belonged to Romania and most of them declare themselves Vlasi (= Vlachs) when asked in Bulgarian (e.g. on the census), though they use the self-designation "Rumân" (= Rumanians) in their language. The Romanians in Bulgaria are not recognized as a national minority, but as en ethnic group and they don't enjoy ethnic rights in schools and churches since the Interwar period. The 2001 census shows 10,566 Vlachs. Most of the Vlachs (Romanians) are Romanian-speakers, but the figure includes some Aromanian-speakers as well.


It has been suggested that south of the Danube the Vlachs were once more numerous and occupied a much greater area than now. The region between the Serbians and Bulgarians has place names with continued Latin origins, whereas those further into Serbia area have no Latin base. This area of modern east Serbia was mostly associated with the Bulgarians until the expansion of Serbia just before the Ottoman times. The Vlachs provided a separation of the southern Slavs which may have lead to the separate Bulgarian and Serbo-Croat languages.


The first record of a Balkan Romanic presence in the Byzantine period can be found in the writings of Procopius, in the 5th century. The writings mention forts with names such as Skeptekasas (Seven Houses), Burgulatu (Broad City), Loupofantana (Wolf's Well) and Gemellomountes (Twin Mountains). A Byzantine chronicle of 586 about an incursion against the Avars in the eastern Balkans may contain one of the earliest references to Vlachs. The account states that when the baggage carried by a mule slipped, the muleteer shouted, "Torna, torna, fratre!" ("Return, return, brother!"). However the account might just be a recording of one of the last appearances of Latin (Vulgar Latin). Blachernae, the suburb of Constantinople, was named after a certain Duke from Scythia named "Blachernos". His name may be linked with the name "Blachs" (Vlachs).


In 1185, two Vlach noble brothers from Tarnovo named Peter and Asen led a Bulgarian revolt against Byzantine Greek rule and declared Tsar Peter II (also known as Theodore Peter) as king of the reborn state. The following year, the Byzantines were forced to recognize Bulgaria's independence and the Second Bulgarian Empire was established. Peter styled himself "Tsar of the Bulgarians, Greeks, and Vlachs", though the reference to Vlachs in the style fell out by the early 13th century.


The first Bulgaria’s census (in 1881) recorded circa 50,000 of those who declared themselves as Vlachs (what was 2,5% of total Bulgaria’s population). Half of them lived in the district of Vidin. According to Bulgaria’s census of 1891 there were 2,300 those who have been of Aromanian identity. However, it is believed by the scholars that at that time have been circa 5000 of them, while in the first decade of the next century Bulgaria had around 7000 Aromanians including and those who came to Bulgaria in summer time. The census of 1910 showed 96,502 native Romanian speakers of whom there were 80,000 Romanians. The number of Aromanians/Vlachs among them is not known. It is estimated that after 1913 there were 16,000 Aromanians in Bulgaria. Census of 1926 recorded only 1,550 Vlachs and 10,648 Aromanians, out of 83,747 Romanian native speakers. According to the census of 1992, there were 5,159 citizens of Vlach minority group, but also 6,715 those whose mother tongue was Vlach/Aromanian out of 8,487,317 Bulgaria’s citizens.


As a result of democratic orientation of Bulgarian minority policy after 1989, two neo-Latin speaking groups (Aromanians and Romanians) who composed one legal minority group in Bulgaria (the Vlachs) became more active in establishing their own cultural (but still not political) organizations. Consequently, today there is no Vlach political party in Bulgaria, but only cultural-educational Association of Vlachs in Bulgaria (registered in 1992) with the main task to slow down Vlach assimilation by promotion of Vlach ethno-cultural characteristics.

Romanians at Hollywood (part 3)

Edward G. Robinson
Edward Goldenberg Robinson, Sr. (December 12, 1893 - January 26, 1973) Born in Bucharest, he emigrated with his family to New York City. An interest in acting led to him winning an American Academy of Dramatic Arts scholarship, after which he changed his name to Edward G. Robinson (the G. signifying his original last name).

He began his acting career in 1913 and made his Broadway debut in 1915. He made his film debut in a minor and uncredited role in 1916; in 1923 he made his named debut as E. G. Robinson in The Bright Shawl. One of many actors who saw his career flourish in the new sound film era rather than falter, he made only three films prior to 1930 but left his stage career that year and made fourteen films in 1930-32. An acclaimed performance as the gangster Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931) led to him being typecast as a 'tough guy' for much of his early career in works such as Five Star Final (1931), Smart Money (1931; his only movie with James Cagney), Tiger Shark (1932), Kid Galahad (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and A Slight Case of Murder and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). In the 1940s, after a good performance in Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), he expanded into edgy psychological dramas including Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1945) and Scarlet Street (1945); but he continued to portray gangsters such as Johnny Rocco in John Huston's classic Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart. Other notable roles were The Ten Commandments in 1956, A Hole in the Head (1959) opposite Frank Sinatra and The Cincinnati Kid (1965), which showcased Robinson alongside Steve McQueen. His last scene was a euthanasia sequence in the science fiction cult classic Soylent Green (1973).


Robinson was popular in the 1930s and 1940s and was able to avoid many flops during a 50-year career that included 101 films. In 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen... in sum, a Renaissance man".

Romanians at Hollywood (part 2)

Marcel Iureş (born 1951 in Băileşti, Romania)
Marcel Iureş is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and screen actors, having starred in more than two dozen features in his native country and twice being named its best actor. After the 1989 Revolution, he left for Hollywood but preferred to return to Bucharest where in 1998 he created ACT Theatre - the only independent stage in Romania at its time. He has enjoyed a prolific stage career, being famous for his acting in Shakespeare plays.


Name is pronounced Mar-tshel Yoo-rresh.

His American film credits include The Peacemaker starring George Clooney, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) starring Cruise and Brad Pitt, Mission: Impossible (1996) starring Tom Cruise, Hart's War (2002), Amen (2002) directed by Costa-Gavras, Cambridge Spies (2003), The Tulsa Luper Suitcase 2 (2004), Goal! (2005), Youth without Youth (2007).
Among his most noted Romanian films are Vacanţa cea mare (1988) (The Big Holiday), Balanţa (1992) (The Oak), Society's Pillars, The Duel, The Last Messenger, and Romanian.

Romanians at Hollywood (part 1)

Johnny Weissmuller (June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984)
Born Peter Johann Weissmüller in Freidorf, now a district of Timişoara, Romania; when he arrived in the US he used his brother's name, Johnny, because it was more American.
At age nine, Weissmuller contracted polio. At the suggestion of his doctor, he took up swimming to help battle the disease. As a teen, Weissmuller dropped out of school and worked various jobs including a stint as a lifeguard at a Lake Michigan beach. While working as an elevator operator and bellboy at the Illinois Athletic Club, Weissmuller caught the eye of swim coach William Bachrach. Bachrach trained Weissmuller and in August 1921, Weissmuller won the national championships in the 50-yard and 220-yard distances. Though he was foreign-born, Weissmuller gave his birthplace as Tanneryville, Pennsylvania, and his birth date as that of his younger brother, Peter Weissmuller. This was to ensure his eligibility to compete as part of the United States Olympic team, and was a critical issue in being issued an American passport. On July 9, 1922, Weissmuller broke Duke Kahanamoku's world record on the 100-meters freestyle, swimming it in 58.6 seconds. He won the title in that distance at the 1924 Summer Olympics, beating Kahanamoku on February 24, 1924. He also won the 400-meters freestyle and the 4 x 200 meters relay. As a member of the American water polo team, he also won a bronze medal. Four years later, at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, he won another two Olympic titles.

In all, he won five Olympic gold medals, one bronze medal, won fifty-two U.S. National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. Johnny Weissmuller never lost a race and retired from his amateur swimming career undefeated.


His acting career began when he signed a seven year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and played the role of Tarzan in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The movie was a huge success and Weissmuller became an overnight international sensation. Tarzan author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, was pleased with Weissmuller, although he so hated the studio's depiction of a Tarzan who barely spoke English that he created his own concurrent Tarzan series filmed on location in Central American jungles and starring Herman Brix as a suitably articulate version of the character.
Weissmuller starred in six Tarzan movies for MGM with actress Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane and Cheeta the Chimpanzee. Then, in 1942, Weissmuller went to RKO and starred in six more Tarzan movies with markedly reduced production values. Although not the first Tarzan in movies, (that honor went to Elmo Lincoln), he was the first to be associated with the now traditional ululating, yodeling Tarzan yell. (During an appearance on television's The Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, Weissmuller explained how the famous yell was created. Recordings of three vocalists were spliced together to get the effect - a soprano, an alto, and a hog caller).
Aside from a first screen appearance as Adonis and the role of Johnny Duval in the 1946 film Swamp Fire, Weissmuller played only three roles in 35 films and 26 series during the heyday of his Hollywood career: Tarzan, Jungle Jim, and himself.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Johnny Weissmuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.