The “Manole” of the Securitate used to make his victims laugh to make it easier for him to pull their tongues. Mircea Albulescu – a life as an actor, poet, prose writer and informer

Mircea Albulescu is, without a doubt, one of the most famous Romanian actors, and the figure of the artist is emblematic for the theatre scene, but also for film.

However, like many other Romanians who lived under communism, Mircea Albulescu was not perfect, preferring to play into the hands of the Securitate, in a desire to live as smoothly as possible in a regime that was putting “obstacles” in the way of all Romanians.

mircea-albulescu-batran
Mircea Albulescu, in the film Signs in the Wilderness (1996) Photo: taken from IMDB.com

Mircea Albulescu, the actor you couldn’t confuse with anyone else

It should be mentioned that, for a good understanding of the situation, the man Mircea Albulescu must be separated from the actor Mircea Albulescu, and this must be done with absolutely any artist who, for one reason or another, does not excel in humanity or, as the case may be, in morality.

Full name Iorgu Constantin Albulescu, the actor was born on October 4, 1934, in the capital, graduating from the High School of Architecture in 1952 and the Institute of Theatrical and Cinematographic Arts in 1956.

Throughout his career, he has acted in numerous plays, including “Danton” (1974), directed by Horea Popescu, “A Lost Letter” (1999), directed by Alexandru Tocilescu, “Anna Karenina” (2003), directed by Alice Barb, “Cherry Orchard” (2010), directed by Felix Alexa.

Read:  REVIEW Watcher - the thriller set in Bucharest
Mircea Albulescu in Cabotinul - TNB
Mircea Albulescu in Cabotinul (Photo: TNB)

He also starred in films, including Dacii (1967), Mihai Viteazul (1971), Nea Mărin Miliardar (1979) and Noi, cei din linea prima (1986), all directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu; Șerban Marinescu’s Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni (1993) and Francis Ford Coppola’s TinereÈ›e senza bătrâneÈ›e (2006).

In addition, adevarul.ro also reports, he has written poetry as well as short prose, is a member of the Union of Journalists and has a doctorate in arts. Between 1985 and 2005, Mircea Albulescu taught at the University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest.

He passed away on April 8, 2016, at the Emergency Clinical Hospital in Bucharest.

Kirk Douglas with Mircea Albulescu
Kirk Douglas and Mircea Albulescu – Buftea Studios

Humor, the perfect tool of “Manole”

Beyond his artistic life, it seems that Mircea Albulescu used to occupy his time with “pâra” at the Securitate”, having a colossal success because he used his humour to pull his “victims” by the tongue. It seems that the artist’s ease had the gift of making people trust him.

In 1988, the Third Counterintelligence Directorate of the Securitate asked the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) for approval to use the actor as a source. Officers gave Albulescu the conspiratorial name “Manole”, reports the source cited above.

Read:  Footage from the next Walking Dead reveals the return of established characters to the franchise: when you can see the show

Later, the National Council for the Study of Security Archives discovered a rather interesting report-note concerning Albulescu in relation to a Romanian director who had attended a conference at the American Library.

“When questions were asked, a young man stood up and tried to make a read statement, deeply hostile to our socialist regime, in which he tried to point out the lack of rights and the non-existence of freedom of speech in our country. “‘Manole’ communicated to us his impression that the word the individual had started was of foreign inspiration, ‘communist countries’ and not ‘socialist countries’, as is customary in our language,” wrote the Securitate employee.

The library director would try to calm the situation, but without success, because “Manole” would get up and “liven up” the atmosphere. “The source used the opportunity to make the others laugh and, in this way, the atmosphere relaxed,” the officer noted at the time.

Of course, you might wonder why an accomplished artist like Mircea Albulescu would anchor himself in such sinister activities. The answer is as simple as it gets: all those who collaborated with the Securitate at that time had advantages at work.

However, it must be borne in mind that some informers did so out of sheer conviction. We will never know, however, if this is the case of Mircea Albulescu.

The Best Online Bookmakers March 28 2024

BetMGM Casino

Bonus

$1,000