Jerzy Nowak (June 20, 1923 – March 26, 2013) was a Polish film and theatre actor and teacher.

Biography

During World War II, Novak fought with the Polish partisans. In 1948, he graduated from the Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow.

From 1994 on, Nowak primarily and continuously played the role of Singer Hirsch, who is a historic character in the legacy of Polish theater.

In cinema, he mostly took on supporting roles as a Jew, often set during World War Two, such as in Schindler's List (directed by Steven Spielberg), or as a 'bumpkin farmer' in Three Colors: White, and as the great creative Zucker in the film The Promised Land ( directed by Andrzej Wajda).

In 2005, he made a film on the subject of death, after allegedly learning of his own illness. In his will, his corpse was to be processed in formalin by Jagiellonian University Medical College . In 2007 the documentary Existence, directed by Marcin Koszalka focuses on the problem of death. The film attracted considerable media interest, and the rumors about the actor's disease has been denied.