Tudor Mușatescu (; February 22, 1903 – November 4, 1970) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n playwright and short story writer, best known for his humorous prose.

Biography

Mușatescu was born in Câmpulung-Muscel to a family of middle-class intellectuals — his father was a lawyer while his mother was a writer. He studied at the Dinicu Golescu High School in his hometown, and began writing during his early years in school. He completed studies at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...

, where he earned a degree in Law and one in Literature. Afterwards, he wrote for several newspapers, including ''Rampa'' and ''

Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published du ...

''. Much of his work centers on provincial life in his native city, and includes political

satire Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

s such as ''Titanic Vals'' (arguably, his most influential writing). The 1964 movie

Titanic Waltz ''Titanic Waltz'' (Romanian: ''Titanic vals'') is a 1964 Romanian comedy film directed by Paul Călinescu and starring Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic, , and .Iordanova p.25 It was based on a play of the same name by Tudor Mușatescu. The film's sets we ...

, directed by Paul Călinescu and starring Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic, was adapted from his play. He died in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

and was buried in the city's

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

, next to his wife, actress Kitty Stroescu (1907–1990) and their son, Bogdan Mușatescu (1941–2016), also an actor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musatescu, Tudor 1903 births 1970 deaths People from Câmpulung University of Bucharest alumni Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Romanian male writers Burials at Bellu Cemetery