Mime Misu(1888-1953)

Mime Misu, born Misu Rosescu, in 1888, Botosani, Romania, was a ballet dancer, pantomime artist, film actor and director. He came from a family of artists, musicians and performers. Misu Rosescu made his stage debut as a child in ballet and pantomime, displaying enough talent to be admitted to the Bucharest Art Academy. Later assigned to the Royal National Theatre, and after graduating with honors he successfully played in provincial theatres in Romania. As Mime Misu he worked for the film production companies Lux and Pathé Frères in Paris before signing up with Continental-Kunstfilm of Berlin in 1912. After having some success with his film about the sinking of the Titanic, "In Nacht und Eis" (1912), in which he adopted the drama-documentary narrative style, he aimed for the United States of America. Lacking the support from the US film industry at the same time as the Great War came to dominate the current situation, Mime Misu returned to Europe, married Bertha and settled in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. His last known film is the Dutch production "Ontmaskerd" (1915). This was followed by several trips to the USA which did not result in anything artistic. In all Mime Misu directed five feature films and made a myriad of stage appearances in Europe. He died in Antwerp, Belgium, in the summer of 1953.