81. Collection of letters and photos addressed to actor Tivadar Bilicsi (1901-1981).

Tivadar Bilicsi was born in Budapest in 1901. His passion for performing arts came from home. His mother, Szerafin Tarczal, was a singing teacher in Buda. According to family recollections, his father, Tivadar Grawátsch, also performed in amateur productions. After graduating from high school, he worked as a postal clerk for a while, followed by a long period of trying his wings in the countryside: Miskolc and Szeged were the two main locations. In the capital, he was a member of the Operetta Theatre and the Hungarian Theatre, among others. It was at the latter that he met actress Liza Timár, whom he married in 1942 and with whom he had four daughters. From 1952 until his retirement, he was a member of the Vígszínház theatre company. Before the Soviet occupation in 1945, he was an extremely busy and popular film actor. In 15 years, he appeared in nearly 80 films: The Case of Noszty Boy with Mari Tóth, Pesti Tale, Deadly Spring and Katyi! are just a few examples from the extensive list. According to family recollections, Bilicsi was not allowed to perform because of his religious beliefs, but he reappeared on television in the 1960s. In the theatre, he initially played comic characters, appearing as a comedian in comedies, farces and operettas. Later, he also proved his talent in dramatic roles. He is associated with numerous legendary performances: he played Beppo in Jenő Heltai's Néma leventje (The Silent Levant), Rageunean in Cyrano and Vidorov in Ostrovsky's comedy Erdőben (In the Forest). He played Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet, but his most famous dramatic role was perhaps that of Ill in Dürrenmatt's classic The Visit. However, many people associate him with the character of Fridolin Rettegi. In addition, he appeared in numerous radio plays, had several hit songs to his name as a performer, and, last but not least, was Bruhaha Kelemen in the Csinn-Bumm Circus. He passed away on 11 July 1981 in Siófok. Most obituaries unanimously stated that the last representative of an era had passed away. "The old king of comedians is gone, Tivadar Bilicsi is gone. [...] The symbol of the Fridolins who lived and died for the stage, the scion of the great comedians, the virtuoso comedian of musical and dance pieces – who, moreover, in the prime of his life at the Víg Theatre, proved to be not only the eternal Beppo, but also a great dramatic actor, whose genius was even sufficient for Dürrenmatt." (Esti Hirlap, 11 July 1981) Thanks to his long career, public esteem and cheerful, kind personality, he was surrounded by a wide network of contacts. Our collection contains nearly 100 letters, postcards, photos, drawings and various documents. Among the actors, we find the names of contemporaries such as Gizi Bajor, Sári Fedák, Kamill Feleki, Hilda Gobbi, and Árpád Latabár. There are also writers such as Jenő Heltai, Tibor Gyurkovics and Gábor Vaszary, composers such as Mihály Eisemann and Jenő Huszka, as well as directors, compères, costume designers and two major figures in cultural life, György Aczél and Péter Erdős. This is undoubtedly an extremely exciting collection of theatre history. A detailed description of the item can be found on our website.
 
Starting price: 600 000,-