Witold Sadowy is one of Poland's most famous actors. He spoke about his homosexuality for the first time in an interview on his 100th birthday. Sadowy was born in 1920 and experienced the Nazi occupation of Poland at the age of 19. "I applied to the State Academy of Performing Arts and scheduled the exam for September 7, 1939," he recalled.
But the German Wehrmacht invaded for seven days. The dream of acting nevertheless came true: in 1945, Sadowy had his first engagement at the Dramatic Theater in Warsaw. He was also active as a film actor and most recently as an author and theater columnist in Poland for over four decades. He has been officially retired since 1989.
Eight years ago, Sadowy was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Polish Republic's second highest civilian award. The 100-year-old was also named an “Excellent Member” by the Association of Polish Stage Artists.
Polish LGBTI organizations celebrated the coming out exuberantly. “Congratulations Mr. Witold,” wrote the queer magazine “Replika” on Facebook. “We wish you another 100 years.”
It's never too late to come out: 100-year-old Witold Sadowy, one of Poland's most famous actors, has come out as gay.
"For me, the most important thing is that the truth survives," Sadowy said at the end of a lengthy interview with the state cultural channel TVP Kultura, conducted on the occasion of his 100th birthday on January 7th. And dropped the bombshell: "I'm proud that I'm an honest man. I never married, I don't have children, that's something I really regret. But I was born different. I'm gay."
The acting legend then said: “Now I’ve said everything, like a confession.”
