Jules Cazaban

Jules Cazaban (March 16, 1903 – September 23, 1963) was a Romanian playwright and director.

Born in Fălticeni, Romania, he studied law at the University of Iaşi. He then studied at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art in the same city and made his stage debut in 1927, appearing in Tristan Bernard’s “The Little Café” at the Iasi National Theatre.

In 1929, he moved to Bucharest, and worked in the theatre, radio and movie industries until his death; he was primarily based at Bucharest’s Municipal Theater.

At the beginning of his activity, he was a theater actor in Iaşi (between 1927 and 1929), then moved to Bucharest, where he played an important role in theater and in the movie industry until his death.

Cazaban’s stage appearances included Shakespeare’s "As You Like It" and "The Twelfth Night", Dürrenmatt’s "The Visit of the Old Lady", Miller’s "The Death of a Traveling Salesman", Sarment’s "Mamouret", Shaw’s "You Never Know", Mayakovsky’s "The Bath" and Popa’s "Take, Ianke and Cadâr". He worked with the National Radio Theatre, and featured in over 30 plays produced for broadcasting, including works by Popa, Cocteau, Petrescu, Gorky and Ostrovski. His films include Thirst (1961), The Storm (1960) and Telegrame (1959).

He was a professor at the Institute of Theatre and Cinematography in Bucharest.

He was awarded the titles of Emeritus Artist and People's Artist (before 1960).

Family

Jules was the older brother of the writer, Theodor Cazaban, who spent time in exile in Paris; Jules married actress Irina Năjejde, thus becoming the son-in-law of journalist Iosif Nadejde; the couple had a son, composer and musicologist Costin Cazaban.

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