Born: September 2, 1912, Cracow, Poland
Died: December 31, 2009, Melbourne, Australia
Buried: Springvale cemetery, Melbourne, Australia
Medals: Polish – Silver Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis”
Fates before joining Anders Army: He came from a Jewish family. He was born in Cracow as Gwidon Alfred Gottlieb (later changed his name to Borucki). He graduated from the Askola gymnasium in Warsaw. After graduating from high school in 1930 in Berlin, he studied in Lviv at the Higher School of Economics. There he earned money as a singer in restaurants and dance orchestras. In 1937 he was engaged in the famous theater “Cyrulik Warszawski” in Warsaw.
During the Soviet occupation of the Polish Eastern Borderlands, from 1939, he performed in the revue theater of Feliks Konarski (Ref-Ren).
Military history at Anders Army: In the USSR, he joined the theater group of the Anders Army. Together with it, he participated in the Italian campaign of the Polish 2nd Corps, toured the battlefields, giving entertainment and lifting the spirits of soldiers tired of fighting. In May 1944, soon after the battle of Monte Cassino was won by the Polish 2nd Corps under the command of General Władysław Anders, Gwidon Borucki sang the song “Red Poppie Flowers on Monte Cassino” for the first time in history.
Post-War: After World War II, he moved to London. Then he took the pseudonym Guy Borucki and often appeared on the British BBC radio, television and a number of films (including “Sahara”, “Colditz Story”, “Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s”), also musicals. In 1959, he came to Australia with the operetta-musical “Grab me a Gondola”, in which he played the main role and moved permanently to Melbourne. Gwidon Borucki under the pseudonym Guido Lorraine starred in 28 films, as well as numerous theater plays and TV programs. During his stay in Australia, he hosted his own TV program, organized revues, cabarets, and performances for the Australian Polish community. He also created an artistic agency and the Australian branch of the Association of Polish Stage Artists. He died because of the accident at the age of 97.
author: Aneta Hoffmann, Warsaw, Poland
