‘Actress of the Nation’ Mari Törőcsik dies at 85

The internationally acclaimed Hungarian actress, who always believed that to be an actor is to perform in your mother tongue, passed away on Friday as the nation mourns.

Mari Törőcsik was born in 1935 in Pély, northern Hungary and during her career spanning half a century she worked with nearly all important Hungarian film directors, including Zoltán Fábri, Miklós Jancsó and Károly Makk. She was also the actress of the Hungarian National Theatre between 1958 and 1978, and from 2002 up until now.

She was one of the most active actresses in the country and had several roles even after she turned 80. She performed in more than 130 theatre pieces and there was practically no year since 1956 in which she didn’t play in any movies. Her first movie, Zoltán Fábri’s 1956 Körhinta (’Carousel’) is regarded by critics as the best Hungarian film of all time and was nominated for the Golden Palm Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

During her career she was awarded numerous prizes, including the Kossuth Prize (for the person doing the most for Hungarian culture) three times, the Jászai Mari Prize (for being the best Hungarian actress) twice and even the Hungarian Order of Merit in 1995. She also won the Prize for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 for her performance in ‘Mrs. Déry, where are you?’, directed by Gyula Maár.

Source: MTI