born: April 9, 1887 in Warsaw, Poland
died: August 9, 1957 in Los Angeles, USA
buried: Hillside Memorial Park, Los Angeles, USA
wife: Zula Pogorzelska (1896-1936)
Fates before joining Anders Army :
He was born into a wealthy Jewish family of Kusevitzki merchants. He changed his name to Runowiecki, although he later always used his artistic last name – Tom. He graduated from the trade school of the Merchants’ Assembly in Warsaw. However, he never practiced his profession.
At first he became interested in journalism, but in 1909 he began studying acting at the Application School at the Warsaw Conservatory, and from 1910 he performed as an actor in many Polish theaters. Throughout the period before World War II, he was a valued actor, theater and cabaret director in Poland. He was a screenwriter, director and/or actor in over 40 of the most popular Polish films from the 1920s and 1930s. Konrad Tom was also the author of many song lyrics and a singer. He knew several languages and was considered erudite among theater people.
After the outbreak of World War II, he found himself in Lviv, where from December 1939 he was the manager, director and actor of the Polish State Theater of Miniatures in Lviv.
Military history:
In 1941, as an actor, he performed in a troupe operating at the Polish Armed Forces in the USSR, and from 1942, together with General Anders’ Army, he went to the Middle East. As a member of the theater company of the Polish 2nd Corps, he walked the combat trail leading through the Middle East to Italy, performing for frontline units. In Italy, in 1946, he wrote the screenplay for the only full-length film in and about the 2nd Corps, entitled “Great Road” (“Wielka droga”).
Post-War:
After the end of the war, he settled in the United States in Los Angeles. He worked in film studios and television stations, but did not achieve such success as in pre-war Poland. In 1948, for refusing to return to Poland, the communist authorities revoked his Polish citizenship. He spent the last years of his life in poverty. In 1956 he was severely injured in a car accident. A year later, he died in Los Angeles of cancer. He was buried at the local Hillside Memorial Park Jewish Cemetery.
