Emil Hossu

Emil Hossu was a Romanian actor.

Biography

Hossu was born into a Greek-Catholic family in Ocna Sibiului, Sibiu County and grew up in Cluj. Since his father was a diplomat during the time of Ion Antonescu, his whole family was deported on August 23, 1945 to a camp in Germany; after a year and three months, they escaped and returned to Romania. In 1948, his father was sent by the Communist authorities to forced labor at the Danube–Black Sea Canal, from where he returned after 6 months, only to die from cancer.
After completing Cantemir Vodă High School in Bucharest, Hossu studied at the I. L. Caragiale [National University of Theatre and Film|Institute of Theatre and Film Arts], which he graduated in 1965. With his first wife, violinist Anca Hossu, he had a son, Dan. He was a well-known actor of stage and screen in the 1980s and 1990s, having performed in over 50 movies and stage productions. In 2002, he was awarded the National Order of Faithful Service, Knight rank.
At the time of his death, on 25 January 2012, he was performing at the in Bucharest alongside his wife of 20 years, the actress Catrinel Dumitrescu. Hossu died of a cardiac arrest, just as he was about to go on stage in a play called The Anniversary. He is interred at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.