Ilarion Ciobanu (Romanian pronunciation:[ilariˈontʃjoˈbanu]; 28 October 1931 – 7 September 2008) was a Romanianactor. He has been described as "a legend" in the press and the last true Romanian comic.[2]
Biography
Ciobanu was born in Ciucur, Tighina County, Kingdom of Romania (now Moldova), in a family with six brothers. When he was 8, his father, Vlase, a longshoreman in the Port of Constanța, died in an accident.[3] His mother, Olga, moved to Constanța, where she had to work as a cook at a hospital to support her children, two of whom would die due to illness.[3][4] From age 12, Ciobanu held a variety of jobs: he worked as a longshoreman, farmer, tractor driver, miner, digger, carpenter, sailor, and fisherman. He distinguished himself as a volunteer at the building of the Bumbești–Livezeni railroad; as a dump truck driver, he transported stone from Ovidiu for the construction of the Danube–Black Sea Canal.[3][4]
Ciobanu married twice (and divorced twice) Tamara Barna, a dancer with the Ciocârlia ensemble. In 1972, he married Marion; the two adopted Natalia Doina, the daughter from his wife's first marriage, and in 1978 their son Ioachim was born.[3][4]
He died in Bucharest at age 76 of laryngeal cancer; according to his wishes, his remains were cremated[5] and his ashes were thrown into the Black Sea.[6]
