Biography
Jan Ciecierski (7 March 1899 – 20 February 1987) was a Polish actor and theatre director. He studied law at the University of Warsaw before transferring to the Dramatic Department of the Warsaw Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1927. His stage career included work at theatres in Katowice, Warsaw, Vilnius and Kraków, and he later taught at the Actor’s Studio of the Old Theatre in Kraków.
Ciecierski appeared in numerous films from the late 1930s onwards. He is best known internationally for his role as the hotel porter in Andrzej Wajda’s Ashes and Diamonds (1958). He also gained wide popularity in Poland as Józef Matysiak in the long-running radio series Matysiakowie (1956–1987). His film credits include Samson (1961), Provincial Actors (1979) and The Conductor (1980). He received the Knight’s Cross and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
