Ernest Maftei

Ernest Maftei (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈernest mafˈtej]; 6 March 1920 – 19 October 2006) was a Romanian film actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1953 to 2006. Born in Prăjești, Bacău County, he attended high school in Bacău, and, at age 17, he joined the youth branch of the Iron Guard. For his militant activities, he was detained, in 1938, for 5 months at a correctional facility in Vaslui and, later, at prisons in: Galați, Jilava and Văcărești. In 1944, he graduated the Academy of Music and Dramatic Art of Iași. During the early Communist regime, he was arrested and spent more time in prison before being released, after the intervention of some Jews he helped. In December 1989, Maftei took an active role in the Romanian Revolution, while in June 1990, he was severely beaten during a Mineriad, in Bucharest. He died in Bucharest, in 2006.