Grigore Vasiliu Birlic

Romanian actor. He started in the local theater where he was noticed by Dragoș Protopopescu, the theater director. He received his first role as a mute character in the comedic play "Musca spaniolă" ("The Spanish Fly") by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach. He was hired at the National Theater in Cernăuți, and his next appearance was in Victor Ion Popa's "Amanetul" (The Pawn Shop) by Ludvig Holberg. Birlic, who struggled with a lisp, failed to get into the Dramatic Art Conservatory of Cernăuţi seven times before succeeding the eighth. There, he was a student of Petre Sturdza and met Jules Cazaban as a colleague. His big breakthrough was with Iancovescu's play Împăratul ("The Emperor") by Luigi Bonelli. Alongside him were Mania Antonova and N.N. Matei. Following this success, he played the main character in Tudor Mușatescu's adaptation of the play Birlic by Franz Arnold and Ernst Bach. The play was another success for the actor who became known as Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic due to the character h