![[Gaszynski Picture]](GaszynskiM_01.JPG)
Gaszynski, Michael
Official of the Consulate General of Poland in Chicago. Business address: 49 E. Cedar St. Chicago, Ill. Born in Warsaw, Poland, April 2, 1911; son of George Gaszynski and Irene Zukowska. Studied at Athenee Royal de Chimay (Belgium) -- granted high school diploma in 1930; Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Paris, France (University of Commerce), 1932. Served as clerk, cashier, bookkeeper and secretary in Polish Bank (Bank Polska Kasa Opieki), Paris, France, 1933-1938. Interpreter on Cunard White Star liners between England and New York and Canada, 1939. Secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare in Polish Government, Paris and Angers, October, 1939 to June, 1940. Private secretary to Minister John Stanczyk in Polish Government, June, 1940 to October, 1940. Residence: 1258 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Ill.
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943
Michael Gaszynski
Businessman, interpreter, diplomat, restaurateur and artist
by Gene Harubin Zygmont
During his rich, full life, Michael Gaszynski has been a businessman, interpreter, diplomat, restaurateur and artist. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, on ApriI 2, 1911, to an aristocratic family. His father, a businessman, held the legal title of Count but chose not to use it. Young Michael attended High School in Zakopane and this popular colony for artists, writers and musicians undoubtedly was an early influence in shaping his own creative endeavors. However, after graduation Gaszynski studied Finance in Belgium and France and then worked for the Paris Branch of the Pekao Bank for seven years.
However, Gaszynski wasn't entirely happy with the business world. He wanted to see America and, as he was fluent in five languages - Polish, French, Flemish, Russian and English, he took a position as interpreter with the Cunard Lines. On September 1, 1939, as Hitler's forces attacked Poland, he was aboard the Aquitania, en route to New York. He could not return to Poland. His widowed mother had married a Polish official, Karol Popiel, and they had moved with the government-in-exile to Paris. Michael joined them there to work as liaison between the French government and the Polish government-in-exile. When France fell, he moved to London to continue his diplomatic duties. He later joined the Polish Army in Scotland and was sent to Windsor, Canada, to recruit Americans for the Polish Army. He then became Press Attache to the Polish Consul General in Chicago, Karol Ripa, and was later transferred to the Polish Consulate in Los Angeles. In 1945, he was sent as observer to the organizational conference of the United Nations in San Francisco, where he distributed information on Polish contributions to the Allied war effort. Unfortunately, Poland, an active participant in the Allied cause throughout the entire war, was now under Russian controlled Communist rule and Gaszynski found himself unemployed and stranded in California. Fortunately, a young, suave, debonair and handsome bachelor, (who was an accomplished linguist and could legally use the title of Count,) had no problems in becoming a sought after guest in Hollywood. But he still needed to earn a living.
He rented a small stall in the Farmers Market and, using his mother's recipe, began making and selling cheesecake to his friends. He effectively used his title of Count to create publicity for his business venture and soon was known as the "Cheesecake King". He has said that he would deliver cheesecakes at the back door of Hollywood mansions, then return that same evening in formal attire and enter by the front door as guest. In 1951, at one such soiree, he met Huntington Hartford, who offered him a position as Director of the Huntington Hartford Foundation in Pacific Palisades, a live-in retreat where creative individuals lived and worked under one roof. It was here that he realized his long held ambition to paint and began serious studies in watercolor. It was also here that he met and married a sculptor, Viviana Pritchard. They soon tired of dealing with artistic temperaments and left the Foundation.
Gaszynski now embarked on still another career. During his early "Cheesecake Years" he had managed a restaurant in Encino and several night clubs on the Sunset Strip. In 1952 he decided to open his own restaurant, Michael's Canoga Inn. It was extremely successful. However, after 15 years of interminable restaurant hours, he decided to retire and devote more time to painting. But, as he was not the retiring type, when he heard of a Beverly Hills restaurant that was up for sale he soon became a partner in an elegant continental restaurant which he named Polonaise. He and Viviana moved their household from Canoga Park to Brentwood and he was soon hard at work. After three years he sold the restaurant to his partner and again thought of retirement but instead took over a seafood restaurant in the Farmers Market. Here he conceived a way to combine business with pleasure and installed an Art Gallery in the upstairs patio where patrons could dine amid art-filled surroundings. From 1976-85 the Top of the Market Gallery hosted many exhibitions by Polish artists and exhibited Polish crafts and posters.
Health problems finally forced his retirement and, in 1986, he and Viviana moved to Encinitas where he could continue to paint. He is active in the San Dieguito Art Guild where both he and Viviana exhibit extensively and he is looking ahead to many more years of active retirement.
From: Polish Americans in California, vol. II. National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs & Polish American Historical Association. California 1995.