Jerzy Kosiński was a Polish-American writer and two-time president of the American Chapter of P.E.N., who wrote primarily in English. Born in Poland, he survived World War II in Poland as a Jewish boy and, as a young man, emigrated to the U.S., where he became a citizen.
Being There is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, and Richard Basehart are featured in support.
The Painted Bird is a 1965 novel by Jerzy Kosiński that describes World War II as seen by a boy, considered a "Gypsy or Jewish stray," wandering about small villages scattered around an unspecified country in Central or Eastern Europe.
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to simply by his surname, is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.
Jerzy Władysław Pawłowski was a Polish fencer and double agent. He is regarded among the most successful Polish fencers in history having won 5 Olympic medals as well as seven gold medals at the World Fencing Championships. He was awarded the Polish Sports Personality of the Year title twice, in 1957 and 1968.
Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz was a Polish writer, journalist and author of over a dozen popular novels. One of his best known works, which in Poland became a byword for fortuitous careerism, was The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma. Literary historians believe the book inspired the 1971 novel Being There by Jerzy Kosiński, with some charging Kosiński with plagiarism, which sparked considerable controversy in the West.
Return from the Stars is a science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem. Written in 1961, it is the story of a cosmonaut returning to his homeworld, Earth, after more than a century in Earth time, but just 10 years for him, finding it a completely different place, with many developments he dislikes. The novel touches the ideas of social alienation, culture shock and dystopia. It was first translated into English in 1980 by Barbara Marszal and Frank Simpson.
"The Handicap Spot" is the 22nd episode of the fourth season and the 62nd overall episode of Seinfeld. It aired on May 13, 1993 on NBC. The episode deals with the numerous misfortunes which befall the characters as a result of their illegally parking in a handicapped space.
4 Alternative Street is a Polish comedy TV series that was completed in 1983 and, due to the censorship, first aired only in 1986. Many famous Polish actors appeared in the series. The filming location used in Alternatywy 4 was a residential complex, still in existence at 3 Marii Grzegorzewskiej Street in Warsaw, Poland. The series was a satire of life under the Communist rule in Poland.
Klan is a Polish soap opera that premiered on 22 September 1997 on the public TVP1 channel. With more than 4,000 episodes spanning 25 seasons, the show is the longest-running Polish TV series. It airs from Monday to Friday at 5.50 p.m. on TVP1.
The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma is a 1932 Polish bestselling political novel by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz. It was his first major literary success, with immediate material rewards, prompting Mostowicz to write and publish roughly two books per year. The book, very popular already in the interwar period, was made into a 1956 Polish film with Adolf Dymsza in the title role, then into a 1980 television miniseries starring Roman Wilhelmi, and into a 2002 comedy film starring Cezary Pazura.
Blind Chance is a Polish film written and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Bogusław Linda. The film presents three separate storylines, told in succession, about a man running after a train and how such an ordinary incident could influence the rest of the man's life. Originally completed in 1981, Blind Chance was suppressed by the Polish authorities for several years until its delayed release in Poland on 10 January 1987 in a censored form.
Passion is a 1982 film by Jean-Luc Godard, the second full-length film made during his return to relatively mainstream filmmaking in the 1980s.
The Ranch is a Polish television comedy series, directed by Wojciech Adamczyk, that originally aired from March 25, 2006 to May 24, 2009, and again from March 6, 2011 to November 27, 2016 on TVP1. It follows the story of Lucy Wilska, a Polish-American who has inherited her great grandmother's country home in the fictional small village of Wilkowyje. She arrives in Wilkowyje with intent to sell the cottage but, after seeing the charm of the village, decides to stay.
Jerzy Bielecki was a Polish Catholic social worker, best known as one of the few inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp who managed to escape successfully. With the help of other resistance members in the camp, he escaped in 1944 together with his Jewish girlfriend, who was an inmate of Auschwitz II. In 1985 Bielecki received the Righteous Among the Nations award. He also co-founded and headed the postwar Christian Association of the Auschwitz Families.
The Calm is a film by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski made in 1976 but not exhibited until broadcast on Polish television in 1980. It starred Jerzy Stuhr, Izabella Olszewska, and Jerzy Trela. Based on a story by Lech Borski and a screenplay by Kieślowski and Jerzy Stuhr, the film is about a young man who leaves prison after a three-year sentence seeking to start a new life. His dreams of a better life are broken, however, when he is forced into a conflict between a corrupt construction company boss and his fellow workers who go on strike. The Calm was filmed on location in Kraków and completed in 1976, but was banned by the state because of its subject matter—strikes were illegal in Poland during that time. The film was finally shown on Polish television for the first time on 19 September 1980. In 1981, The Calm received the Polish Film Festival Special Jury Prize.
Steps is a book by a Polish-American writer Jerzy Kosiński, released in 1968 by Random House. The work comprises scores of loosely connected vignettes or short stories, which explore themes of social control and alienation by depicting scenes rich in erotic and violent motives. It was Kosiński's second novel, a follow-up to his successful The Painted Bird released in 1965. Steps won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1969.
Cockpit is a novel by Polish-American author Jerzy Kosiński, published in 1975.
The Ugly Black Bird: The Real Story of Jerzy Kosiński's Wartime Childhood is a 1994 book by Polish journalist Joanna Siedlecka about Jerzy Kosiński. The books presents the results of Siedlecka's journalistic investigation about Kosiński's life during World War II, which up till then had often been seen as similar to the tragic fate of the protagonist of his well known novel, The Painted Bird.
Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography is a 1996 biography of the Polish-American and Jewish writer Jerzy Kosiński by American scholar James Park Sloan, published by Dutton.
