The secrets of the master Radu Beligan, from “British agent” and “mason”, to a reliable and necessary member of the RCP

Master Radu Beligan’s secrets are out, and they put the great actor in the position of “British agent” or “mason”. Find out who made these accusations against one of Romania’s most famous actors.

Some people within the National Council for the Study of Security Archives have claimed that the Romanian actor came under the attention of the Romanian Securitate in the past. During the Communist period, as shown in archived documents from 1948, the State Security opened a file on the actor.

Radu Beligan was suspected of being a member of a Masonic lodge as well as an agent of the British secret service. After the extensive investigation ended, it was decided that the actor would not be convicted. Two years later, he became a member of the Romanian Workers’ Party, and later of the Romanian Communist Party, remaining a member until 1988. He was also a member of the Grand National Assembly from 1961 to 1975.

The man who was to become a big name on the Romanian stage was born on 14 December 1918 in Galbeni, Bacăul county. He had a brilliant career, being an actor on theatre, cinema, television and radio. It is known that he was of Greek origin on his mother’s side, and on his father’s side he was a descendant of one of Ion Creanga’s brothers.

Radu Beligan’s secrets that the Securitate thought he was hiding

In 2004, Radu Beligan became an honorary member of the Romanian Academy, and seven years later he received a star on the Bucharest Walk of Fame. On 15 December 2013, Radu Beligan is included in the Book of Records as the longest-serving actor still working on the theatre stage.

Throughout his seven decades of activity, Radu Beligan has interpreted famous roles of the most famous Romanian playwrights and not only such as Ion Luca Caragiale, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Camil Petrescu, Tudor Mușatescu, Mircea Ștefănescu, Victor Ion Popa, Victor Eftimiu, Mihail Sebastian, Aurel Baranga, Alexandru Mirodan and universal: William Shakespeare, Carlo Goldoni, Nicolai Vasilievich Gogol, Anton Chekhov, George Bernard Shaw, Maxim Gorky, Albert Camus, Jules Romain, Eugen Ionescu, Jean Anouilh, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Edward Albee, Peter Shaffer, Patrick Süskind, Neil Simon, Umberto Eco.

The famous actor died on 20 July 2016 in hospital, having been admitted to the Elias Hospital in Bucharest, suffering a cardio-respiratory arrest. Like many other artists who have passed away, he remains in the collective memory of Romanians.