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Quick Facts
- NAME: Roman Polanski
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Director
- BIRTH DATE: August 18, 1933 (Age: 79)
- EDUCATION: Polish National Film Academy
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Paris, France
- ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
Best Known For
Known for his films, charges against him of statutory rape, and for his wife's murder by Charles Manson, Roman Polanski is a complex and controversial figure.
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Play NowRoman Polanski. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:30, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411.
Roman Polanski. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Roman Polanski." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 04:30 http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411.
"Roman Polanski," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Roman Polanski," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Roman Polanski [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411.
Roman Polanski, http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Roman Polanski. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/roman-polanski-9443411. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Contents
and in 1977 Polanski was indicted on six criminal counts for having sexual relations with a minor.
Early Life in Europe
Director, actor. Born Raimund Polanski, on August 18, 1933, in Paris, France. At the age of three, Polanski moved with his family to his father's native city of Krakow, Poland. In 1941, his parents were imprisoned in various Nazi concentration camps, where his mother eventually died in Auschwitz. In order to escape deportation, Polanski lived with several different Polish families until he was reunited with his father in 1944.As a teenager, Polanski developed his acting skills in radio dramas and films. In 1954, he enrolled at the Polish National Film Academy in Lodz, where his body of work consisted of short films and documentaries. Upon his graduation, he appeared in a number of movies'many of which were the work of famed Polish director Andrzej Wajda, including Lotna (1959), Innocent Sorcerers (1960), and Samson (1961). In 1962, he directed his first feature-length film, Knife in the Water . The international recognition that followed, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film, gave Polanski the chance to bring his movies to a more mainstream audience. The following year, he moved to London, where his next offering, the psychological thriller Repulsion (1965), was considered equally compelling by critics and audiences.
Wife Sharon Tate's Murder
In 1968, Polanski moved to Hollywood, making his American film debut with the classic thriller Rosemary's Baby, which featured exceptional performances by Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes. Despite his burgeoning film career, Polanski endured a devastating tragedy the following year when his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered by members of the Charles Manson cult. The extreme violence experienced by Polanski throughout his life was often reflected in his films, which tended to focus on the darker themes of alienation and evil-most notably, in the modern film noir Chinatown (1974), featuring John Huston, Jack Nicholson, and Faye Dunaway.
Sexual Abuse Case
In 1977, Polanski was indicted on six criminal counts for having sexual relations with a minor. The alleged act took place with a 13-year-old girl, in the home of the actor Jack Nicholson. Both Nicholson and his longtime girlfriend, actress Anjelica Huston, testified against Polanski when the highly publicized case was brought to trial. Polanski pleaded guilty to one charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and underwent six weeks of psychiatric evaluation at a state prison in California. Although additional criminal charges were still pending, Polanski fled the United States after his discharge.
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