the play and described Birlic as "[a] genius of comedy, of the Romanian humor". In 1956, Alexandrescu, Birlic, Alexandru Giugaru and George Calboreanu performed the play Bădăranii ("The Boors") by Carlo Goldoni at the Goldoni Festival in Venice. A storm erupted while the actors were on stage, yet the guests remained in the garden of Palazzo Grassi, entranced by Birlic's interpretation of Caciani. End of Career After his return from Italy, Birlic continued acting in D-ale carnavalului, Conu Leonida față cu reacțiunea, Avarul și Burghezul gentilom by Molière, Egor Bulicov by Maxim Gorki, Revizorul by Nikolai Gogol, Oameni care tac by , Nunta lui Krecinski by Aleksandr Sukhovo-Kobylin, and Mielul turbat by Aurel Baranga. In his entire career, Birlic portrayed 13 of Caragiale's characters. For Romanians, the face of Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic merges with the notion of a Caragiale character. Birlic himself said "As one of the actors who have played the most characters – 13 – from the work of our great dramatist, I recall Caragiale with affectionate gratitude for the theatrical successes that he occasioned me with. These roles represented to me in over 35 years of theater, a great school of acting knowledge, characters of our drama masters. " Sensing that his end was near, Birlic asked his manager, Gaby Michăilescu, to help him direct his last theatrical appearance. He chose to reenact the play that gave him his name, "Birlic". Actors who also played in Birlic's last appearance were , Alexandru Giugaru, , , , and Ion Antonescu-Cărăbuș. On 14 February 1970, Grigore Vasiliu-Birlic died at the age of 65 in Bucharest. He is buried at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest. Film In 1934, Birlic began in his film career with the movie alongside Stroe and Vasilache, followed by Doamna de la etajul II ("The second floor lady") starring Birlic, Maud Mary, Mihai Popescu, and Mihai Fotino. During World War II, artistic activities in Romania were limited, but Birlic returned in 1951 in Jean Georgescu's Vizita ("The Visit"), an adaptation of Caragiale's sketch. Following this success, he was featured in O Scrisoare Pierdută, in Gheorghe Naghi and Aurel Micheles's Două lozuri ("Two Lottery Tickets"), and in Iancovescu's D-ale carnavalului ("The Carnival"). The three adaptations of Caragiale's work formed the highlight of Birlic's career. Filmography External links Birlic Cultural Association Birlic, a perfect actor References Romanian comedians Romanian male film actors Romanian male stage actors People from Fălticeni Burials