Actor Marin Moraru dies aged 79

Well-known actor Marin Moraru has died on Sunday afternoon, around 17.30, at Elias Hospital, said, for AGERPRES, the manager of the institution, Dr. Doina Dimulescu. 

According to her, the actor had been admitted to Elias Hospital approximately 10 days ago, suffering from a grave disease. 

Marin Moraru was born on January 31, 1937 in Bucharest. 

He graduated from the Theater and Cinema Arts Institute (IATC) in Bucharest in 1961, under the guidance of professor Dina Cocea, his role for the diploma was that of Agamita Dandanache in the play "A lost letter" by I.L. Caragiale. 

In his film career, that debuted in 1966, with the movie "Haiducii" (Outlaws), directed by Dinu Cocea, Marin Moraru played in around 25 feature films, one of them being "Amen", directed by famous French director Costa Gavras. 

Before his debut in feature film, he was an actor at the Youth Theatre (1961-1964). In parallel with his film career, he also took to the stage, working at the Comedy Theater (1965-1968), the Bulandra Theater (1968-1971), finally stopping at the most prestigious theater in the country, the National Theater in Bucharest. From 1974 to 1980 he also took on teaching, being an associate professor at his alma mater, the IATC. 

His roles were of the most different, playing, beyond Romanian plays, Patroclus in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Diderot in Denis Diderot's "Rameau's nephew", The King in Georg Buchner's Leonce and Leona, The Doctor in Jean Anouilh's Number One (originally Le Nombril) and others. Marin Moraru also played various roles in Romanian soap operas in the late 2000's and early 2010's. 

He worked with directors belonging to several generations - David Esrig, Lucian Pintilie, Liviu Ciulei, Moni Ghelerter, Valeriu Moisescu, Sanda Manu, Grigore Gonta, Mihai Manutiu, Alexandru Dabija. 

In 2007 he was awarded the Excellence Prize of the VIP Magazine. Together with Gheorghe Dinica and Victor Rebengiuc, Marin Moraru received in 2008 an honorary degree from the Theater and Cinema Arts University (UNATC) on the occasion of the institution's anniversary. That same year, the actor was decorated by President Traian Basescu with the National Order Faithful Service in the rank of Grand Cross. In 2009, Marin Moraru received the Gopo Prize for his entire career. 

In 2012, he was granted a star on the Celebrity Alley in Time Square in Bucharest, while in November 2013, at the Gaudeamus Book Fair, he launched his autobiographical book "We are what our memories are". He was awarded in 2015 the Excellence Prize of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) 2015 for his entire activity. AGERPRES